Cognitive Psychology Essay -- Papers Neurology Essays

Cognitive Psychology Psychology is defined as the study of mind, emotion and behaviour. One major perspective within psychology is known as cognitive psychology, which is primarily concerned with the explanation of thought processes through the development of theoretical mental systems. Cognitivism is somewhat broad in it’s approaches to psychology and only linked in it’s goal to create hypothetical mental structures to explain behaviour (â€Å"History & Scope Of Psychology†). The exact origins of cognitivism are difficult to pinpoint. Ideas that make up the perspective have been traced back to ancient Greece; however it is in modern times that it has developed to it’s prominent status of today. This period of time is referred to as the â€Å"cognitive revolution† of the 1960’s, lead by the work of those such as Piaget and Chomsky. Prior to this revolution, behaviourism (the study of cause and effect; environmental factors and their effect upon behaviour) was considered to be the dominant school of thought in psychology; however cognitivism soon emerged as the new dominant perspective. (â€Å"The History & Scope of Psychology†). It was in the 1967 publication of Cognitive Psychology by Neisser that a name was coined for the rising field of psychological science, and an outline of major research-to-date and significant concepts was offered. (Maclin & Solso, 2000) The goals of cognitivism are to attempt to understand the way in which the many processes of our minds work, through use of the scientific research method. It emphasises the importance of the mind in .. ...d adverse behaviour. Appleton Century Crofts: New York. Maclin, Otto H & Solso, Robert L. (2000) â€Å"Cognitive Psychology: History Of The Field† in Encyclopedia Of Psychology, Vol 2. American Psychological Association: New York. Neisser, U (1967) Cognitive Psychology. Appleton-Century-Crofts: New York. Piaget, J (1962) Play, Dreams & Imitation In Childhood. WW Norton: New York. Piaget, J (1970), Piaget's theory. In P. Mussen (ed) Handbook of child psychology, Vol.1. Wiley: New York. Ross, Suzanne L & Sharpe, Pete R. (1987) Living Psychology. Scribe Publications: Victoria Shannon, CE (1948) Mathematical Theory Of Communication in Bell System Tech. J. 27, 379-423, 623-656 Smith, E.E (2001) â€Å"Cognitive Psychology: History† in Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol 3. Elsevier: Oxford