Modern cognitive psychology

Other founders of cognitive psychology

The founders of cognitive psychology also include Heider (the theory of cognitive balance) and Festinger (the theory of cognitive dissonance).

The essence of Heider's theory of cognitive balance is as follows. A person strives for a correct, agreed-upon opinion about the world around him. To achieve such an opinion, a person determines one or another basic concept (the so-called center of the causal nature of the world), based on which he interprets all occurring events

This concept acts as the core on which a person’s attention is concentrated and around which all other events are perceived as superficial, less significant

The essence of Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance is that a person strives for a consistent picture of the world, and therefore each new information, before being assimilated, must find its connections in the cognitive system of this person. If information contradicts the acquired system of concepts and images, significant psychological tension arises, called cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is accompanied by the emergence of defensive motives aimed at relieving psychological stress and bringing new information into line with existing information.

Cognitive psychology - briefly and clearly about the complex

Cognitive processes are all that cognitive psychology is about. She tries to model human thinking in the process of cognition of the world around us, to study exactly how the mind perceives incoming information and how all this is stored in memory.

Cognitive psychology and its methods are used to find answers to the following questions:

how a person manages to isolate and process information about the world around him;
how the image of a single object is built in the mind;
how information is processed into knowledge, concepts and associations are formed;
in what form the information is stored;
how a person prefers to think and express his thoughts;
how does the process of generalization occur;
why connections between objects appear and how they are analyzed;
how categories are built and decisions are made.

The direction affects almost the entire range of mental processes, from perception and attention to learning and pattern recognition.

The basic concept of cognitive psychology is the psyche, the processes of which are devices for input and output of received data, and their storage.

Because of this, a newfangled metaphor has become widespread, according to which the organization and functioning of the human brain is compared to the actions of a computer processor. All this became possible due to the scientific works of Richard Atkins, Donald Broband and Noam Chomsky.

Certain attempts to understand consciousness were made in distant Antiquity. Ancient Greek philosophers asked questions about where human memory is stored. Scientists and doctors of Ancient Egypt believed that memories were located in the heart. Even Aristotle adhered to this opinion, but Plato already believed that they were located in the brain.

Later philosophers also did a lot for the development of cognitive psychology. They formed the basic theories on which science later began to be based. Examples include the works of Rene Descartes, Immanuel Kant, and David Humo. The French philosopher R. Descartes put forward a theory about the structure of the mental apparatus. D. Hume contributed to the establishment of laws of association of ideas and classification of mental processes. In turn, I. Kant showed that the mind is a mental structure, and experience is a fact that can fill it.

Cognitive approach: brief description

Cognitive scientists are very interested in conscious human behavior. It is this that becomes the main subject of scientific research. But this is done from a certain point of view in order to reveal as best as possible the main tasks posed by psychology.

The cognitive approach allows us to understand exactly how a person perceives, deciphers and encodes information extracted from the surrounding world. Thus, using this approach, the process of comparison and analysis of the obtained data is revealed. In the future, they help make decisions and create behavioral patterns.

Basic provisions

The main provisions of cognitive psychology can briefly be called a protest against the views of behaviorism (behavioral psychology, early 20th century). The new discipline stated that human behavior is a derivative of human mental abilities. “Cognitiveness” means “cognition”, “knowledge”. It is his processes (thinking, memory, imagination) that stand above external conditions. They form certain conceptual schemes with the help of which a person acts.

The main task of cognitive psychology can be briefly formulated as understanding the process of deciphering signals from the external world and interpreting them and making comparisons. That is, a person is perceived as a kind of computer that reacts to light, sound, temperature and other stimuli, analyzes all this and creates action patterns to solve problems.

Methods of cognitive psychotherapy

The methods of cognitive psychotherapy include the fight against negative thoughts, alternative strategies for perceiving the problem, secondary experience of situations from childhood, and imagination. These methods are aimed at creating opportunities for forgetting or new learning. In practice, it was revealed that cognitive transformation depends on the degree of emotional experience.

Cognitive psychotherapy for personality disorders involves the use in combination of both cognitive methods and behavioral techniques that complement each other. The main mechanism for a positive result is the development of new schemes and the transformation of old ones.

Cognitive psychotherapy, used in its generally accepted form, counteracts the individual’s desire for a negative interpretation of events and themselves, which is especially effective for depressive moods. Since depressed patients are often characterized by the presence of thoughts of a certain type of negative orientation. Identifying such thoughts and defeating them is of fundamental importance. For example, a depressed patient, recalling the events of last week, says that then he could still laugh, but today it has become impossible. A psychotherapist practicing a cognitive approach, instead of accepting such thoughts unquestioningly, encourages studying and challenging the course of such thoughts, asking the patient to remember situations when he overcame a depressive mood and felt great.

Cognitive psychotherapy techniques

The cognitive approach to therapy is inextricably linked with the formation of cognitive psychology, which places the main emphasis on the cognitive structures of the psyche and deals with personal elements and logical abilities. Cognitive psychotherapy training is widespread today. According to A. Bondarenko, the cognitive direction combines three approaches: direct cognitive psychotherapy by A. Beck, the rational-emotive concept of A. Ellis, and the realistic concept of V. Glasser.

The cognitive approach involves structured learning, experimentation, mental and behavioral training. It is designed to assist the individual in mastering the operations described below:

— detection of one’s own negative automatic thoughts;

— finding connections between behavior, knowledge and affects;

— finding facts “for” and “against” identified automatic thoughts;

— finding more realistic interpretations for them;

— training in identifying and transforming disorganizing beliefs that lead to deformation of skills and experience.

Training in cognitive psychotherapy, its basic methods and techniques helps to identify, dismantle and, if necessary, transform negative perceptions of situations or circumstances. People often begin to fear what they have prophesied for themselves, as a result of which they expect the worst. In other words, the individual’s subconscious warns him of possible danger before he gets into a dangerous situation. As a result, the subject becomes afraid in advance and tries to avoid it.

By systematically monitoring your own emotions and trying to transform negative thinking, you can reduce premature fear, which can be modified into a panic attack. With the help of cognitive techniques, it is possible to change the fatal perception of panic attacks that is characteristic of such thoughts. Thanks to this, the duration of a panic attack is shortened and its negative impact on the emotional state is reduced.

The technique of cognitive psychotherapy consists of identifying the attitudes of patients (that is, their negative attitudes should become obvious to patients) and helping them to understand the destructive impact of such attitudes

It is also important that the subject, based on his own experience, make sure that, due to his own beliefs, he is not happy enough and that he could be happier if he were guided by more realistic attitudes. The role of the psychotherapist is to provide the patient with alternative attitudes or rules

Cognitive psychotherapy exercises for relaxation, stopping the flow of thoughts, and controlling impulses are used in conjunction with the analysis and regulation of daily activities in order to increase the subjects’ skills and focus on positive memories.

Further development of interest

In the subsequent years of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, researchers delved deeper into the field of human-computer interaction. A theory that portrays the psyche as a kind of center that can perceive a finite number of signals emanating from the environment and then processed by the human brain has gained wide popularity. The human cognitive system was viewed as similar to a computer system, with input, output, and information storage devices.

Psychologist George Miller conducted a number of interesting tests to determine human memory abilities. So, as a result of the experiment, Miller found out that we can remember no more than 7-9 characters at a time. It could be nine numbers, eight letters, or five or six simple words.

Where is cognitive behavioral therapy used?

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy can be used as a comprehensive treatment for many mental illnesses for the following purposes:

Elimination or reduction of disease symptoms, i.e. to combat symptoms of the disease,
preventing relapse of mental illness,
improving the effect of drug treatment,
helping the patient adapt to society,
change and correction of maladaptive psychological patterns and “anchors”.

In the process of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, the influence of the client’s own thoughts, judgments and attitudes on his actions and behavior is studied and corrected.

Much work is done with automatic thoughts, that is, with those thoughts that appear quickly enough and are not recorded by the subconscious. They are not reflected in internal dialogue, but greatly influence a person’s reactions and actions. Most often, such automaticity acquires those thoughts that are often repeated by loved ones or the client himself.

Just as strong are attitudes and affirmations that have been ingrained in the human psyche since childhood. In this way, attitudes are identified, analyzed and worked through in the process of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, changed to others or corrected.

Correction of maladaptive attitudes and affirmations within the framework of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy is especially effective if a correct relationship is established between the client and the psychotherapist. The client and the psychotherapist jointly (under the supervision of the psychotherapist) analyze the problem that needs to be solved. One of the most common techniques for finding problems is “Socratic dialogue,” which consists of the therapist asking the client a series of questions in order to identify the problem and help identify the client’s emotions, sensations and reactions.

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy distinguishes two types of behavior patterns: adaptive, that is, those that lead to constructive behavior, and maladaptive, those that lead to maladaptive behavior and lead to cognitive disorders. If the initially created schemes were incorrect, failures in adequate perception of the external stimulus occur. Deviations in the psyche are explained by a violation of the process of self-awareness and an error in processing external data. Finding an incorrectly created pattern or schema is the main task of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy.

Basic scientific theories of cognitive psychology

Basic principles of cognitive psychology.

Prerequisites for the emergence of cognitive psychology.

Lecture 29. COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY.

Lecture questions:

Prerequisites for the emergence of cognitive psychology. Since the late 40s. In Western psychology, primarily in American psychology, there is an increase in interest in the problems of consciousness. This is expressed in a change in the nature of publications, in an increase in the number of research works in this area and the associated growth of concepts; as well as the popularity of this topic among students of psychological faculties.

At the same time, the prerequisites for the emergence of a new direction, focused on the study of cognitive processes, are being formed within psychological science. Within behaviorism, E. Tolman contributed to the rejection of the rigid S–R scheme and introduced into psychology the concept of cognition as an important determinant of behavior. Gestalt psychology also makes significant changes in the methodological and conceptual aspects of psychological science. Modern cognitive theories are closely related to Gestalt theories in both terminological and methodological terms. Finally, the works of J. Piaget contributed to the growth of research interest in problems of intelligence and cognition.

The cognitive direction in psychology does not have a “founding father”, like, for example, psychoanalysis. However, we can name the names of scientists who laid the foundation of cognitive psychology with their work. George Miller and Jerome Bruner founded the Center for Cognitive Research in 1960, where they worked on a wide range of problems: language, memory, perceptual and concept processes, thinking and cognition. Ulrik Neisser published the book “Cognitive Psychology” in 1967, in which he tried to establish a new direction in psychology.

Basic principles of cognitive psychology. Modern cognitivism is difficult to define as a single school. A wide range of concepts related to this orientation are united by a certain commonality of theoretical sources and the unity of the conceptual apparatus, through which a fairly clearly defined range of phenomena is described.

The main purpose of these concepts is to explain behavior by describing primarily cognitive processes characteristic of humans. The main emphasis in research is on cognitive processes, the “internal” characteristics of human behavior. Main areas of research:

a) study of the processes of perception, including social;

b) study of attributive processes;

c) study of memory processes;

d) studying the construction of a cognitive picture of the world;

e) the study of unconscious cognition and perception;

f) study of cognition in animals, etc.

The main method for this scientific direction is laboratory experiment. The main methodological guidelines of the researchers are as follows:

1. source of data – mental formations;

2. cognition determines behavior;

3. behavior as a molar (holistic) phenomenon;

The main premise: an individual’s impressions of the world are organized into some coherent interpretations, resulting in the formation of certain coherent ideas, beliefs, expectations, hypotheses that regulate behavior, including social behavior. Thus, this behavior is entirely within the context of mental formations.

Basic concepts of the direction: cognitive organization - the process of organizing the cognitive structure, carried out under the influence of an external stimulus (or perceived external stimulus); frame of reference - “conceptual frame”, the scale of comparison (examination) of perceived objects; the concept of an image (the whole), the concept of isomorphism (structural similarity between material and mental processes), the idea of the dominance of “good” figures (simple, balanced, symmetrical, etc.), the idea of a field - the interaction of the organism and the environment.

The main idea of the direction: a person’s cognitive structure cannot be in an unbalanced, disharmonious state, and if this does occur, the person immediately has a desire to change this state. A person behaves in a way that maximizes the internal consistency of his cognitive structure. This idea is related to the concepts of “logical man,” “rational man,” or “economic man.”

Basic scientific theories of cognitive psychology. Fritz Heider's theory of structural balance. The basic tenet of this theory is that people tend to develop an orderly and coherent view of the world; in this process, they build a kind of “naive psychology”, trying to understand the motives and attitudes of another person. Naive psychology strives for an internal balance of objects perceived by a person, internal consistency. Imbalance causes tension and forces that lead to restoration of balance. Balance, according to Heider, is not a state that characterizes real relationships between objects, but only a person’s perception of these relationships. The basic scheme of Heider's theory: P - O - X, where P is the perceiving subject, O is the other (perceiving subject), X is the object perceived and P and O. The interaction of these three elements constitutes a certain cognitive field, and the task of the psychologist is to , to identify what type of relationship between these three elements is stable, balanced, and what type of relationship causes a feeling of discomfort in the subject (P) and his desire to change the situation.

Theodore Newcome's theory of communicative acts extends Heider's theoretical positions to the area of interpersonal relationships. Newcomb believed that the tendency toward balance characterizes not only intrapersonal, but also interpersonal systems of relationships. The main point of this theory is as follows: if two people perceive each other positively, and build some kind of relationship towards a third person (person or object), they tend to develop similar orientations towards this third person. The development of these similar orientations can be enhanced through the development of interpersonal relationships. A consonant (balanced, non-contradictory) state of the system arises, as in the previous case, when all three relationships are positive, or one relationship is positive and two are negative; dissonance occurs where two attitudes are positive and one negative.

Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance is perhaps the most widely known cognitive theory. In it, the author develops Heider’s ideas regarding the relationship of balance and imbalance between the elements of the subject’s cognitive map of the world. The basic proposition of this theory is the following: people strive for some internal consistency as a desired internal state. If a contradiction arises between what a person knows, or between what he knows and what he does, the person experiences a state of cognitive dissonance, which is subjectively experienced as discomfort. This state of discomfort causes behavior aimed at changing it - the person strives to again achieve internal consistency.

Dissonance can arise:

1. from logical inconsistency (All people are mortal, but A will live forever.);

2. from the discrepancy between cognitive elements and cultural patterns (The parent yells at the child, knowing that this is not good.);

3. from the inconsistency of this cognitive element with some broader system of ideas (A communist votes for Putin (or Zhirinovsky) in presidential elections);

4. from the inconsistency of this cognitive element with past experience (I always violated traffic rules - and nothing; but now I’ve been fined!).

The way out of the state of cognitive dissonance is possible in the following way:

1. through a change in the behavioral elements of the cognitive structure (A person stops buying a product that, in his opinion, is too expensive (poor quality, unfashionable, etc.);

2. through a change in cognitive elements related to the environment (A person continues to buy a certain product, convincing others that this is what is needed.);

3. through expanding the cognitive structure so that it includes previously excluded elements (Selects facts indicating that B, C and D are buying the same product - and everything is great!).

The theory of congruence by C. Osgood and P. Tannenbaum describes additional possibilities for getting out of a situation of cognitive dissonance. According to this theory, other options for exiting the state of dissonance are possible, for example, through a simultaneous change in the subject’s attitude towards both another subject and the perceived object. An attempt is made to predict changes in relationships (attitudes) that will occur in the subject under the influence of the desire to restore consonance within the cognitive structure.

The main provisions of the theory: a) the imbalance in the cognitive structure of the subject depends not only on the general sign of the relationship, but also on its intensity; b) restoration of consonance can be achieved not only by changing the sign of the subject’s relationship to one of the elements of the triad “P, O, X”, but also by simultaneously changing both the intensity and sign of these relationships, and simultaneously to both members of the triad.

Modern Perspectives

Modern views in cognitive psychology typically view cognition as a dual process theory, outlined by Daniel Kahneman in 2011. Kahneman further differentiated the two processing styles by calling them intuition and reasoning. Intuition (or system 1), like associative reasoning, has been defined as fast and automatic, usually with strong emotional connections included in the reasoning process. Kahneman said that this kind of reasoning is based on formed habits and is very difficult to change or manipulate. Reasoning (or System 2) was slower and more variable because it was subject to conscious judgments and attitudes.

Representatives of the exercise

Scientists of the 20th century showed increased interest in the study of human consciousness. The era was distinguished by the rapid development of technology and computers. Scientific papers were written, research was conducted. The founders of the science include psychologists Fritz Heider (the theory of cognitive balance) and Leon Festinger (the theory of cognitive dissonance). However, the meeting in 1956 contributed to tangible progress.

On September 11, 1956, a special group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering devoted to information theory met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The meeting was a powerful impetus for the development of this branch of psychology. The history of the formation of the current is connected with this moment.

Among the scientists who stood at the origins of cognitive psychology, American psychologist George Miller stands out. Together with his colleague Jerome Bruner, the scientist created a research center at Harvard University.

The center staff dealt with the following issues:

the specifics of human language;
memory features;
processes of perception;
features of the thought process and human development.

The development of the direction is closely associated with the approach of J. Kelly, who in his works describes the key principles of the activities of personal designers. The scientist deduced the main postulate of the theory: absolutely all personal processes are directed in such a way as to provide a person with the ability to predict expected events. J. Kelly's position was that a person is distinguished not only by the number of available constructors, but also by their distribution in the structure of the psyche.

The influence of another psychologist working in the area under consideration is great. It was the Swiss Jean Piaget. Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Neuchâtel became interested in psychoanalysis. He conducted a series of interesting experiments, during which he established the chain of logical operations and the integrity of the general structure of the child’s thinking.

In 1925, J. Piaget came to the discovery of children's egocentrism, arguing that until a certain age, children are focused exclusively on themselves and personal internal experiences. When presenting his story about internal unrest, the child does not need feedback at all.

An important role in the development of cognitive psychology was played by Herbert Simon, who worked on building a theory of management decisions. The American scientist found genuine interest in the study of decision-making processes and the organization of behavior.

Stages of the origin and development of cognitive psychology

The 1930s saw a major change in the approach to human consciousness. Up to this point, psychology consisted of two movements: behaviorism and psychoanalysis. However, in 1948, neo-behaviorist Edward Tolman introduced the concept of a “cognitive map.” It represents a holistic image formed on the basis of previous experience, which can have a significant impact on all human behavior.

The accelerated development of science in this direction was influenced by several factors:

the need to solve the problem of disrupted military concentration during the Second World War;
The AI that is expected to appear in the future must behave in a meaningful way;
the emergence of a need for new linguistic research.

Thanks to this, a symposium was held in 1956, which finally established cognitive psychology as an interdisciplinary science. Many scientists are considered the first representatives of cognitive psychology. The main contribution was made by the Swiss Jean Piaget, who was engaged in research in child psychology. Neuropsychologists, for example Luria Alexander Romanovich, had a significant influence on the development of the new movement. Also among the prominent figures are George Miller and Jerome Bruner, the founders of cognitive psychology. Thanks to them, science was able to move forward in terms of research into human consciousness. And Ulrik Neisser published the first textbook on cognitive psychology in 1967.

Unusual experiment

With the gradual decline of the dominance of behaviorist concepts in 1971, psychologist Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University decided to take a bold step. Purpose of the study: to study the behavioral characteristics of a person in cruel conditions (limited freedom of action and will, pressure on moral principles). The recruitment of volunteers took about a month; not everyone was ready to calmly go to torture and obey any instructions. A total of twenty-four people were selected. In order to maintain the purity of the experiment, the candidates were divided into two groups. The first half included guards, and the other half included so-called prisoners. A laboratory assistant and an assistant psychologist acted as the main guards; Zimbardo himself became the manager of this research prison.

The subjects were "arrested" in their homes under false pretenses and under the direction of the Palo Alto police. The prisoners were transported to a fenced area, processed, assigned a number and placed in compartments. From the first minutes, the scientist began to record the mental reactions of the experiment participants and observe their behavior.

The experiment was originally designed to last two weeks, but ended after just six days due to the fact that things quickly got out of control. The “prisoners” were mocked, humiliated and even used physical violence. The “guards” quickly got used to the role and began to show sadistic tendencies, depriving the prisoners of sleep, forcing them to hold their hands up for a long time, etc. Many “prisoners” already experienced severe emotional distress and a feeling of depression on the third day of the experiment.

A significant result of the experiment can be considered the book by F. Zimbardo entitled “The Lucifer Effect” (2007), in which he described the effect of cognitive dissonance (conflict of emotional reactions in a person’s mind) and human obedience to obvious personal authority

Particular attention was paid to the influence of public opinion and the degree of government support, which can justify or reject the views of an individual

This was the most striking experiment in the field of cognitive psychology. For ethical reasons, no one else made similar attempts to repeat the experiment.

Modern Perspectives

Contemporary views of cognitive psychology typically view cognition as a dual process theory outlined by Daniel Kahneman in 2011. Kahneman distinguished more between the two processing styles, calling them intuition and reasoning. Intuition (or system 1), similar to associative thinking, has been defined as fast and automatic, usually with strong emotional connections included in the thinking process. Kahneman said that this kind of reasoning is based on established habits and is very difficult to change or manipulate. Reasoning (or System 2) was slower and much more variable, being subject to conscious judgments and views.

The essence of cognitive psychology

In the system of psychological knowledge, a special place is occupied by a fairly modern section of cognitive psychology, which has in its arsenal interesting and innovative methods and theories of the development of the human psyche and consciousness.

Definition 1

Cognitive psychology is a branch of psychology that carries out various studies of human cognitive processes occurring in his mind.

Its main essence is the study of man as a kind of computer, the basis of which is thinking and reason, their actions and main manifestations.

According to the theory of cognitive psychology, a person is able to perceive various signals that come from the surrounding world, convert them into information, process this information, analyze and organize it, thus turning it into a person’s internal knowledge.

The main subject of cognitive psychology is the process of researching such structural elements of the cognitive process of human consciousness as imagination, consciousness, attention, memory, sensation, as well as other thought processes

How are consultations carried out?

Among psychologists you can find representatives of different schools, each of them will have its own characteristics. In the cognitive direction, it is customary to build on the client’s thoughts and actions.

The specialist’s task is to develop the maximum degree of awareness

The main point of therapy is to help the client make behavior effective. Therefore, cognitive psychology is in demand among managers, salespeople, etc. During the session, the specialist will explain in detail where this or that problem came from and ways to solve it.

Important! The client himself determines the content of the meetings.

Between sessions, homework is required: these are exercises, the need to keep a diary of observations, and others. The psychologist will not scold you for non-compliance, but without him, therapy will slow down.

The specialist explains in clear words the techniques of relaxation, relaxation and distraction. With their help, the client reduces the level of stress and nervous tension. Psychological techniques allow you to conserve the body's strength.

Cognitive therapy effectively teaches how to cope with phobias and radically changes an individual’s behavior. It is sometimes combined with art therapy or transactional analysis - this allows us to touch on different mechanisms of the psyche.

Cognitive psychology gives a person the ability to present himself correctly. The specialist shows you how to cope with negative situations and what to do if you have a panic attack or anxiety. Additionally, exercises are developed to improve memory and thinking.

Story

On September 11, 1956, a special group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering devoted to information theory met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This meeting is believed to have marked the beginning of the cognitive revolution in psychology. Among those present were George Miller, Herbert Simon, Newell Allen, Noam Chomsky, David Greene and John Sweets.

On August 22, 1966, Jerome Bruner's book “Studies in Cognitive Growth” was published. To write this book, 11 co-authors came together at the Center for Cognitive Research at Harvard University.

What does cognitive psychology study?

Memory

Memory is a general designation for a complex of cognitive abilities and higher mental functions related to the accumulation, preservation and reproduction of knowledge, skills and abilities.

Memory means the reproduction of past experience, the leading component of human cognitive activity. It has wide practical application in real life and activities. This basic property of the nervous system allows the individual to store information about the external world and the body's reactions, as well as use it repeatedly. The psychology of processes is based on recollection, recollection, and reproduction.

Thinking

Thinking is a process of functioning of consciousness that determines a person’s cognitive activity and his ability to identify and connect images, ideas, concepts, and determine the possibilities of their change and application.

Thinking is firmly connected with the cognitive process. It influences the formation of concepts, decision-making, and consolidation of reactions. It develops with the help of inner speech, making the process dependent on language, because language and thought are inseparable.

Science identifies 3 forms of thinking:

visual-effective type - production and organization of activities;
visual-figurative view - summarizes thoughts into images;
form of abstract thinking - associated with abstract reasoning.

Cognitive psychology distinguishes between conscious and unconscious thinking.

Attention

Attention is a selective focus of perception on a particular object, increased interest in the object in order to obtain any data. Of particular interest to psychologists is the process of processing and analysis by the brain of specific stimuli coming from the external environment.

In this regard, a person’s ability to experience sensations, feelings, but at the same time focus on a specific task is studied.

Of particular interest to psychologists is the process of processing and analysis by the brain of specific stimuli coming from the external environment. In this regard, a person’s ability to experience sensations, feelings, but at the same time focus on a specific task is studied.

The properties of attention include:

stability - the ability to fix attention on completing a task;

concentration - the level of concentration on a specific object;

distribution - the ability to distribute attention;

Selectivity is the skill of concentrating on the essence and at the same time the ability to filter out unimportant material.

Emotions

Emotion is a mental process of medium duration, reflecting a subjective evaluative attitude towards existing or possible situations and the objective world.

Charles Darwin believed that emotions allow a person to determine the significance of any conditions for satisfying personal needs. Primary emotions thus support the life process. Cognitive theories of emotions connect their nature with the mechanisms of thinking.

The theory of cognitive dissonance by L. Festinger is known, who pointed out the significant role of psychological factors. Positive emotions in this case are associated with expected results, which are transformed into reality. Activities are consistent with the given plan.

Decision making ability

Decision making is associated with determining ways to achieve a goal. The task at hand is interpreted as a certain difficulty that can be solved through thinking. The decision is based on study, analysis and selection of the optimal response option. The point is to overcome the obstacle and choose the best means to achieve the goal.

The ability to make decisions is associated with a specific algorithm that has stages:

task recognition;
identifying and assessing resources;
finding a successful strategy;
organizing information for a decision;
use of intellectual and physical capabilities;
tracking progress: the ability to abandon the initial decision and choose another;
evaluation of the result.

What does he study?

How a man who truly loves behaves - the psychology of falling in love

The cognitive direction in psychology can be briefly defined: it is the study of cognitive processes. Therefore, the field of interest of scientists includes higher mental functions, emotional intelligence, and artificial intelligence.

Microstructure analysis is the main method in cognitive psychology. It is based on logical, empirical and pragmatic analyses.

The specialist views a person as a computer and tries to understand the work of the psyche from this point of view. It explains the activity of the nervous system as a computing machine that carries out precise operations.

This idea allows us to understand that a stimulus goes through a series of transformations in the process of processing by the psyche. Therefore, it can be assumed that human resources are limited in volume.

The subject of cognitive psychology is the dependence of individual behavior on cognitive processes. The task is to learn all the stages from receiving information to processing it.

Models of attention

There are three models of attention. Early selection by D. Broadbent. Represents a data link limitation. Peculiarities:

The transmission channel is the central nervous system. Has limited bandwidth.
Selection occurs in the early stages of sensory analysis.

Processing stages:

Physical stimuli affect the senses.
With the help of sensory registration, incoming data is stored in iconic memory.
Significant information is filtered out using a filter.
The last stage is the analysis of the selected data.

Late selection by Donald Norman:

Incoming data is simultaneously identified, processed, and undergoes initial analysis.
Important information is filtered out.
The selected data undergoes in-depth analysis. Unnecessary information after processing
forgotten.

Model of A. M. Treisman:

Between the verbal analysis of the message and the input sensory signals there is a perceptual filter. Its task is to amplify various signals and filter out unnecessary information.
When the data passes the filter, the information is divided into separate streams with different activation thresholds.

Data is processed in different ways. There are two methods:

Without concentration, concentration, conscious effort. Automatic processing that occurs in parallel, quickly. Once data is received by the main receptors, it is quickly processed. In this case, the most simple, noticeable signs of objects are highlighted. Focusing attention. Processing takes place sequentially

To do this you need to concentrate your attention and make a conscious effort.

Basic theories of cognitive correspondence in social psychology

The basis for cognitive social psychology research is cognitive matching theories. This is a certain class of theories that were developed in Western psychology. The purpose of these studies was the need to explain the existing relationship between logical and illogical human behavior. The main idea for all existing theories of cognitive correspondence is the idea that a person’s cognitive structure is a priori balanced and harmonious. If a person shows signs of disharmony in development and existence, then they are a stimulus for changing the emerging state and returning to the previous internal correspondence of the cognitive structure of the personality.

This idea is developed by such scientists as:

F. Haider,
T. Newcome,
C. Osgood,
P. Tannenbaum,
L. Festinger.

Among the domestic psychologists involved in the analysis of theories of cognitive psychology was Boris Velichkovsky. It was to him that the first systematic presentation and critical analysis of this direction of psychology belongs. In his book “Modern Cognitive Psychology,” he examined in detail the experimental studies and theoretical models of cognitive processes in the human psyche. In addition, he examined unsolved methodological problems within the framework of cognitive psychology, which served as a source of inhibition of the process of its development.

At the moment, cognitive psychology is one of the most modern areas of research in the field of psychology, the main focus of which is the explanation of human behavior and the study of the process and dynamics of knowledge formation.

The essence of the cognitivist approach comes down to the desire to explain social behavior using a system of cognitive processes and establishing a balance between cognitive structures. It is these structures that act as regulators of human social behavior in reality. Thanks to them, perceived objects are classified and assigned to certain classes and categories.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that cognitive psychology and its founders and representatives play a huge role in understanding the existing patterns of the entire process of cognition and its individual mechanisms. Their research activities in the field of both general and cognitive psychology continue to contribute to the active development of personality psychology, the psychology of human emotions and various sections of developmental psychology. In addition to these areas, thanks to their work, the ecology of perception and the study of social cognition were further developed.

Cognitive psychology at the present stage of development of psychology

Note 1

At the present stage of development of psychology, cognitive psychology is a powerful area that includes cognitive linguistics, neuropsychology, cognitive ethology and many other sections.

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The basis of cognitive psychology is the study of memory, sensation, attention, consciousness and other mental processes of human consciousness. All these processes are divided into two subtypes: cognitive and executive. It should be noted that each of them, in turn, also consists of several structural elements – blocks.

Considering the relevance of cognitive psychology, it should be noted that it is very popular among specialists who study the characteristics and mechanisms of action of both cognitive processes and the processes of forming certain judgments and conclusions, making decisions in accordance with the situation, effectively resolving emerging problems, working human intelligence and characteristics of its development.

Cognitive psychology researchers consider one of the most important discoveries in recent years to be the process of establishing a connection between the thought processes of human consciousness and the corresponding neurophysiological activity. These studies were carried out in the second half of the twentieth century and were developed at the present stage of development of psychological science. These advances were achieved during the second half of the 20th century.

The essence and ideas of science

Cognitivism in psychology studies the cognitive processes occurring in the human psyche. This direction of psychological science should answer the following questions:

How can an individual solve problems?
How are thoughts formulated using language?
How does the brain process incoming information?
How is memory formed?

Direction ideas:

Accounting for chronometric data. Researchers calculate the time a person spends searching for solutions to problems.
Step by step processing. The information received is analyzed step by step, while some of it remains unconscious.
Comparison of cognitive processes that occur in the human brain with the work of a modern computer. Researchers highlight the main similarity - an electronic device can receive, store, and process information, similar to the work of the human brain.
Calculation of the volume of the human psyche. Researchers are confident that there is a limit to everything related to the functioning of the brain.
The foundation of the cognitive psyche is cognitive processes. The main emphasis of the studies is on the development and understanding of artificial intelligence.
Encoding. Scientists put forward the theory that any data has an individual code that allows the information received to be divided into separate cells.

Having studied the ideas of this science, we can conclude that this is not a new express training created to make money, but a serious scientific direction.