Psychology

Psychology

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is an area of psychology that emphasizes internal cognitive processes such as language, problem solving, and memory. It first emerged in the 1950s and became formalized during the 1970s. Cognitive psychology includes the emerging field of cognitive neuroscience, which focuses on the molecular and chemical basis of cognition and consciousness and metacognitive approaches to problem solving.

While cognitive psychology developed from and was influenced by a wide variety of theoretical perspectives, the individual primarily responsible for the initial influences of cognitive psychology on education was Donald Hebb. Hebb developed the notion of synaptic firing as the basis for learning and memory (Flavel, 2006).

The work of cognitive psychologist David Ausubel has also had a significant impact on the field of education. Ausubel felt that the most important factor that influenced individuals' learning was what they already knew. In essence, he felt that individuals built links between old knowledge and new knowledge to construct meaningful knowledge. The concept that individuals perceive patterns in objects, information, and events based on previous experience is the foundation of Ausubel's position. For Ausubel, learning was an interactive process in which prior knowledge, personal experience, previous instruction, sensory awareness, and direct observation play a critical role. A major problem in learning and instruction, according to Ausubel, was the presence of misconceptions on the part of the student that resulted in “buggy algorithms” or flawed procedures in relation to thinking and application. Ausubel's work (along with that of Piaget) forms the foundation of constructivist philosophy and practice in our schools.

A final area of cognitive psychology that has been important to the field of education is that of metacognitive research. The leading individuals in this area are Ann Brown, Judith Flavel, Gordon Alley, and Don Deshler. These individuals have focused their work on how we organize information, know when, what, and how to remember, and monitor our cognitive activity. In essence, their research has involved understanding the deliberate conscious control of our individual cognitive actions. Flavel and Brown conducted much of the initial basic research in metacognition, seeking to build a theoretical and philosophical basis for the phenomenon (Flavel, 2006). Alley and Deshler built on the work of Brown and Flavel to develop the learning strategies approach to instruction and provide teachers with the instructional means to help students understand and apply content flexibly in a variety of situations. This area of cognitive psychology is currently impacting the education of students with learning disabilities and students at risk for academic failure in significant ways.

Human Computer Interaction

Researchers in the area of persuasive technology are more interested in the actual interaction between a human user and the computer, and they build and study technologies the fundamental goal of which is to change the attitudes and behavior of users. In the context of customization of new communication technologies, Marko Turpeinen and Timo Saari draw attention to the significance of customization of information based on its emotional and cognitive effects on different users of communication technologies (Nielsen, ...