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Defining Cognitive Psychology

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Defining Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology, by definition, is a branch of psychological science that claims the study of mental processes including how people think, perception, remembering, and learning (Dowd & Arnold, 2010). The core of cognitive psychology revolves around many other branches while its inner core is based on how people acquire, store, and process information (Dowd & Arnold, 2010). The most common applications of cognitive psychology are to help improve memory as well as how to increase decision processes, and how to structure or enhance learning (Dowd & Arnold, 2010).
Historically, between 1950 and 1970, behaviorism was psychologies most dominant school of thought (Dowd & Arnold, 2010). When studies began to shift the focus onto attention, problem solving, and memory, it became known as the cognitive revolution which then generated masses of research studies which included processing models (Dowd & Arnold, 2010). While behaviorism focused mainly on observable behavior, internal mental state was the main concern of cognitive research (Dowd & Arnold, 2010). Cognitive research also surpassed psychoanalysis in that it relied solely on the scientific method while psychoanalysis used subjective perceptions (Dowd & Arnold, 2010).
Major contributors of the cognitive school of thought include Wilhelm Wundt, William James, and Edward B.Titchener (Dowd & Arnold, 2010). While these founders helped establish what we know today as cognitive research or cognitive psychology, it quickly began to encompass many other fields of study (Dowd & Arnold, 2010). Some of the branches of cognitive psychology include but are not limited to behavioral neuroscience, linguistics, organizational psychology, and artificial intelligence (Dowd & Arnold, 2010). These areas of study also cover a wide range of jobs in the

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