Introduction
Cognitive psychology is one of the branches of psychology as a scientific field. It is centered around studying mental processes such as perception, attention, memory, language, and problem-solving. Its historical foundations originated in the works of Descartes and Kant, who introduced the idea that the mind processes information actively (Cognitive Psychology, 2023). Later, behaviorists rejected this view and focused on observable behavior. However, in the 1950s, behaviorist ideas were challenged, and cognitive theory started developing due to the need to understand the human mind.
History of Cognitive Psychology
Ulric Neisser: The Founding Father of Cognitive Psychology
This paper will focus on Ulric Neisser, the founder of cognitive psychology. His works shaped the way psychology understands human thought processes. Neisser pioneered experimental methods to study attention and memory (Anastasi, 2019). He focused on studying how people perceive, process, and store information in their minds (Szokolsky, Costall, Read et al., 2022). His contributions to psychology continue to impact psychological research and practice.
Behaviorism’s Dominance and Its Limitations
The history of the development of cognitive psychology can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century, when behaviorism was the dominant field of psychology. According to behaviorists, all behavior can be explained by observable stimuli and responses (Cognitive psychology, 2023). Some key behaviorist assumptions included focusing on the environment as one of the most important behavior-influencing factors, also known as conditioning, as well as equating animal and human learning (Anastasi, 2019). As no distinction was made between the learning process of animals and humans, behaviorists concluded that it was possible to research both equally and interchangeably (Cognitive psychology, 2023). These assumptions, however, were about to be challenged.
Back then, in the first half of the 20th century, cognitive psychology did not exist as a separate field and was only at the first stages of its independent development. The rudiments of cognitive psychology appeared mainly in the studies of Jean Piaget, who belonged to the behaviorist school of thought (Anastasi, 2019). Normally, as behaviorism emphasized only the behavior that could be observed and explained, it considered human thoughts unobservable, and thus, they were not subject to research. Jean Piaget, however, was one of the pioneers who attempted to study human thoughts and minds.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the previous assumptions of behaviorists on the unexplainable nature of human intelligence started to become challenged by scientists. This was mainly related to the war and post-war influence, as technological developments made it necessary to pay more attention to how the human mind works. The possibility of studying human intelligence and internal thought processes did not seem implausible anymore, but rather seemed essential. This led to the emergence of cognitive psychology and the start of the Cognitive Revolution.
The Cognitive Revolution and the Decline of Behaviorism
The 1950s were a period of significant progress in computer science, which also influenced the cognitive field of psychology. The information processing theory was one of the first theories of cognitive psychology. Some of the founders of this theory are George Armitage Miller, John William Atkinson, Richard Shiffrin, Alan Baddeley, and Graham Hitch. According to this theory, information processing passes through certain stages, similar to those in a computer (Bouchrika, 2023). Information is first received through one’s senses, then passes through various stages; finally, it is stored in long-term memory.
Albert Bandura and the Emergence of Social Learning Theory
Social learning theory is another pillar theory in cognitive psychology. It was first presented by Albert Bandura in 1977 and takes behaviorism’s idea of conditioning, both classical and operant, as its basis (Anastasi, 2019). It suggests that people learn through observing others and imitating their actions and behavior. It also emphasizes the relevance of reinforcement and punishment in shaping behavior.
The Development of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Another theory that combines behavioral and cognitive psychology is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which appeared in the 1960s-1970s. One of the founders of CBT was Aaron Beck, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania. He noticed that some of his patients would adhere to negative thoughts that were shaping their mental health problems. This led to developing a new therapy approach focusing on shifting these negative beliefs. This approach quickly became known and widely used among mental health professionals.
Neisser’s Lasting Legacy and the Concept of Ecological Validity
A pivotal figure in the development of cognitive psychology was Ulric Neisser: his foundational work “Cognitive Psychology” was published in 1967. Neisser was the developer of the concept of cognitive psychology. He was among the first researchers to introduce the notion that mental processes could be studied scientifically by experiment. As it was stated before, the view that prevailed in behaviorism consisted of the belief that only the behavior that could be observed could be studied. Thus, Neisser’s approach challenged this idea.
Another important contribution that he made was the concept of ecological validity. Ecological validity claims that human cognition can only be understood if it is studied in real-world conditions and not in artificially created ones. This idea changed the approach towards psychological research and experiments. He also conducted research on visual perception and the importance of context in visual processing.
Conclusion
To conclude, cognitive psychology became the logical continuation of behaviorism and provided a new, valuable approach to studying the human mind. It emerged due to the need to understand how human intelligence works and technological development. Some of the most important theories include the information processing theory, the social learning theory, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Ulric Neisser was among the most authoritative researchers in the history of cognitive psychology; the concepts he invented shaped the development of the field.
References
Anastasi, J. (2019). Cognitive psychology: An anthology of theories, applications and readings (2nd ed.). Cognella, Incorporated.
Bouchrika, I. (2023). What is information processing theory? Stages, models & limitations. Research. Web.
Kalat, J. W. (2017). Chapter 1: What is Psychology? In Introduction to psychology (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Szokolsky, A., Costall, A., Read, C., Palatinus, Z. (2022). Ulric Neisser – Interview and Reflection. In Intellectual journeys in ecological psychology. Routledge.
Wikipedia Foundation. (2023). Cognitive psychology. Web.