The Cognitive ApproachIntroduction to the Cognitive Approach Journals Related to the Cognitive Approach
Introduction to the Cognitive ApproachAs its name implies, the cognitive approach deals with mental processes like memory and problem solving. By emphasizing mental processes, it places itself in opposition to behaviorism, which largely ignores mental processes. Yet, in many ways the development of the cognitive approach , in the early decades of the 20th century, is intertwined with the behaviorist approach.For example, Edwin Tolman, whose work on "cognitive maps" in rats made him a cognitive pioneer, called himself a behaviorist. Similarly, the work of David Krech (aka Ivan Krechevsky) on hypotheses in maze learning was based on behaviorist techniques of observation and measurement. Today, the cognitive approach has overtaken behaviorism in terms of popularity, and is one of the dominant approaches in contemporary psychology. Resources Coglab at Purdue University--includes a variety of online experiments for memory and other cognitive processes, with detailed background discussions; to log on, type guest when prompted for user ID. Cognitive Science Dictionary--created by Michael Dawson at the University of Alberta Where Cognitive Science Went Wrong--Introductory chapter from Concepts, a critique of cognitive research by Jerry Fodor, a philosopher who writes extensively about cognitive processes. (Adobe Acrobat file; requires Acrobat Reader viewer, available here.)
Most people take memory for granted--until they forget something. Yet the fact that we remember more often than we forget tends to lead us to overlook the underlying complexity of memory as a cognitive process. As the text notes, there are many forms of memory, which vary in duration as well as other characteristics. Even in the relatively permanent long term memory, there are different ways that information and experiences can be represented. To illustrate this, try the following simple experiment. Ask a friend to name all the months of the year, and time how long their response takes. (Most people can do this in about 8 seconds.) Now ask the person to name the months in alphabetical order. (Almost no one can do this correctly in less than two minutes!) Why does this happen?
Basically it has to do with how the information is organized in memory.
Not surprisingly, most people learn (and remember) the months in their
calendar order. When asked to recall them in alphabetical order, there is
a mismatch between the encoding and the retrieval task. As a result,
answering requires retrieving all the names (in calendar order), then
keeping them in immediate memory while sorting them alphabetically--a
working memory task. As you can imagine, this takes considerably longer! Memory Demos and Exhibits--Enjoyable site with a variety of on-line demonstrations, from the S. F. Exploratorium Memory Quiz--Interactive quiz created by Time Magazine to assess your memory. Home page for Elizabeth Loftus--Loftus, a noted memory researcher; is best known for her work on memory as reconstruction (e.g., eyewitness testimony) and her strong view on recovery of traumatic memories (which she sees as mostly false); includes access to several of her articles. (For more on this topic, see the Psychodynamic Approach.) The Machinery of Thought--1997 article from Scientific American on the physiological basis of working memory. In bookstores, often one of the largest sections is for "self-help" books, which relate to everything from social skills to mental health. Despite the wide array of titles, one should generally approach these books with skepticism and caution, as the quality and accuracy can vary considerably. Interestingly, one of the few topics for which the books tend to be reliable and practical is memory improvement! The text gives suggestions for both techniques and further reading, but you may also wish to explore some of the information available on-line. Resources How to Improve Your Memory--Feature from Time Magazine (June 12,2000), discussing techniques for enhancing effectiveness of memory.
Resources Problem Solving Techniques--Series of articles on various techniques for problem solving and decision making on Mindtools site.
One of the basic questions about cognitive processes is the relationship between thinking and language. We are all aware of the ongoing flow of thoughts which William James called "the stream of consciousness", but does this mean that all thinking occurs in words? Various forms of research indicate that language is not necessary for thinking (for example, infants have been shown to be capable of forming hypotheses about cause and effect). However, there is also no denying that much of our thinking occurs in words. A fascinating example of the conflicts that can occur between language and other cognitive processes is the Stroop test, which demonstrates how interference can occur between linguistic processing and naming of colors. To see this, time how long it takes you to name each of the colors below. Time for the first row, and then for the second row. (Remember, you are naming the colors, not the words.) red green yellow blue purple purple blue yellow green red You likely found that naming the colors in the second row took considerably longer, because accessing the names of the colors is disrupted by the words themselves. This effect was first identified in 1935 by J. R. Stroop, and has been extensively studied since. While it does not directly answer the question of how language and thought are related, it shows that the relationship can be complex! As noted in the text, anthropologist Benjamin Whorf once asserted that the language we speak shapes the way that we think--that is, that people who speak a different language actually perceive the world, and think about it, differently! The strong version of his hypothesis, that language directly shapes thought, has been largely disproved. However, there are still ways in which language can influence thinking--for example, most people who are bilingual will say that some concepts are easier to express in one language than another. Still, the topic still generates a great deal of interest and debate, as the article below shows. ResourcesThe Warp Factor--Steven Harnad's discussion/partial rebuttal of Whorf's hypothesis
Journals and Online Archives Related to the Cognitive ApproachCogprints--Electronic archive of articles in Cognitive Science, with subsection on psychology; searchable by title, author, keywords. Stevan Harnad's Web Site--Site maintained by a cognitive researcher at the University of Southampton ; includes links to archive of his own publications, as well as the Cogprints online archive and other resources. PSYCHE--full-text online journal focussed on research on consciousness , including material relevant to cognitive psychology Cognitive Psychology--home page for Academic Press journal; contents pages available, but no full-text |