On Applying Cognitive Psychology In the article “On Applying Cognitive Psychology”, Alan Baddeley recounts several research experiences in which he yielded applicable results. His main purpose in writing this article is to demonstrate the ways in which cognitive psychology could be applied beyond the lab to ultimately create a link between theory and practice. In this article, Baddeley’s emphasis on the interplay between theory and practice can be understood through several of the research examples he wrote about. An example is Ivan Brown’s study in which he combined telephoning and driving to “demonstrate the practical importance of our limited attentional capacity (Baddeley).” Baddeley believes that concepts that are established in the lab could pave way to new theoretical insights that in the end yield a more profound understanding. The main idea overall is for researchers to come up with ideas for research that could be of practical use in the real world. I found this article to be fascinating as well as thought provoking as it gave insight to how research psychologists go about conducting experiments. One of the many things I found interesting was how Baddeley went about constructing a new visual recognition test called Doors of Dublin. I found it surprising that doors could provide more variety of realistic material “that in contrast to faces is unlikely to reflect a highly specialized anatomical system (Baddeley).” The results were shocking as there were some exceptions to the patients with memory disorders; patients with injuries on the right side performed poorly on visual tasks while those with left-sided lesions performed poorly on the task involving remembering names (Baddeley). Furthermore, I found it quite interesting that one of Baddeley’s initial claims was contradicted when he met a patient named Jon who had a damaged hippocampus.