Compare and Contrast two different approaches to Cognitive Psychology
This essay will be focused on two different approaches to cognitive psychology: Cognitive Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. Cognitive Neuropsychology is concerned with the patterns of cognitive performance and emphasis on the cognitive effects of brain-damaged patients who suffered lesions, injuries or diseases, providing vest information on normal human cognition. (Eysenck and Keane 2015, p.5) Whereas cognitive neuroscience involves in-depth study of our brain and behaviours. As the brain contains numerous neurones and is so complicated, the cognitive neuroscience emphasis on the biological side of the brain and focuses on the lobes that are divided from the cerebral cortex.
The main similarity of cognitive neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience is that they are both interested in brain-damaged patients and believe that different areas of the brain are highly specialised. For example, one of the main theoretical assumptions of cognitive neuropsychology states ‘modularity’, which means the modules in the cognitive system function independently, or separately of each other. (Eysenck and Keane 2015, p.6) In addition, it is also explained that these modules do show ‘domain specificity’, meaning the modules responds only to the specific kinds of stimuli but not the others. Compare to cognitive neuroscience, it is believed that ‘modules’, as well as ‘hubs’ are associated with high-level
Cognitive neuroscience is the study of how the brain is able to process and function through the stimulation of neurons. The broad nature of this field allows much involvement in the scientific community including not only psychologists working to further understand the functions of the human brain, but also physicists, mathematicians, and other science related areas of study by bringing knowledge and simulations from the outside world and relating them to the processes of our own minds. In addition to researching the basis of normal cognitive functions in an average brain, cognitive neuroscience studies development of the brain, as well as damage to the brain including how the damage will affect normal operations of that brain in the future. The study of cognitive neuroscience began as a result of a movement to, rather than focus studies on behavioral actions, study the operational characteristics of the brain and how they related to knowledge, memory, understanding, and other processes.
A Brief Foray Into Philosophy and the Cognitive Sciences Modern physics is divided by two descriptions of the universe: the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Many physicists have faith that at some point a "Grand Unified Theory" will be developed which will provide a unified description of the universe from subatomic particles to the movement of the planets. Like in physics, the cognitive sciences can describe the brain at different levels of abstraction. For example, neurobiologists study brain function at the level of neurons while psychologists look for the laws describing behavior and cognitive mechanisms. Also like in physics, many in these fields believe that it is possible that one day we will be able to understand complicated behaviors in terms of neuronal mechanisms. Others believe that this unification isn't possible even in theory because there is some metaphysical quality to consciousness that transcends neural firing patterns. Even if consciousness can't be described by a "Grand Unified Theory" of the cognitive sciences, it is apparent that many of our cognitive mechanisms and behaviors can. While research on the level of neurons and psychological mechanisms is fairly well developed, the area in between these is rather murky. Some progress has been made however. Cognitive scientists have been able to associate
The memory system is connected to other processing systems, such as making sense of incoming information and processing it and planning the person’s speech and behavior. Cognitive psychologists will use the results of their investigations as a basis for making about mental processes. Cognitive research can include case studies with brain damage. They will compare their performance on mental tasks with that of uninjured people can help psychologists understand which parts of the brain are used to process which sorts of information. Another way of researching this approach is manipulating inputs or the way brains process information and seeing what effect it has on one’s
The cognitive restructuring theory commands that one’s personal impractical philosophies are precisely responsible for producing dysfunctional feelings and their subsequent behaviors, such as anxiety, despair, and social extractions; and humans can be purged of such feelings and their validities by demolishing the theories that give them life. The cognitive restructuring model is a proven model in addressing behavioral issues concerning stroke victims and adolescents. Team A’s focus will be addressing the perceptions into these interventions.
Neurocognition includes both the cognitive psychology- the study of the mind and neuropsychology- the understanding of cognitive dysfunctions in the brain.
The brain is known as one of the most complex organs of the body, giving it the name of the Black Box. The “Black Box” is made up of over 100 billion nerves that give the body its function. The brain is what gives the body the ability to perform correctly, balance, and interpret information that is received from the outside world. To this day, scientists don’t have a complete understanding of the way the brain works. But, there’s people who work to research all of its duties and why it operates the way it does. Neurologists specialize in the function of nerves, but neuropsychologists research and interpret the way the brain works in relation to the behavior of a human being.
For the last three decades, there has been significate improvement, interest, and understating on how the brain decodes and processes daily information. This increase from the field of neuroscience and education, has helped us “expand our understanding of the neural chemistry, physiology, and growth processes that support behavior, cognition, language, emotion, sociality, and their development” (Hruby, Goswami, Frederiksen, & Perfetti, 2011). The recent advances in cognitive neuroscience has caught the attention of educators. “Naturally, people interested in learning and education might want to know how results from relevant cognitive neuroscience research could be applied in the classroom” (Ansari, Coch, & Smedt, 2011).
The methods described in this paper are cognitive rather than cognitive neuropsychological, although they are certainly amenable to enhancement via neuropsychological measurement, especially to the extent that any hypothesized cognitive constructs have theoretical correlates in brain structures, pathways, and systems. The perspective adopted here is that studies should be designed to be sound in a cognitive sense so that they then have the best potential to yield useful insights whether the main focus is strictly cognitive or more speciWcally cognitive
The brain plays an important role in determining cognitive functions. Cognitive functions denote the personal abilities to process information and thoughts. Examples in this case include perception, learning, and memory. According to findings in neuropsychology, certain areas of the brain support specific cognitive functions (Bear, Barry & Michael, 2007, p. 10). Thomas Willis, a contemporary of Descartes is known as the father of neurology, and was the first person to suggest that the brain was not only a locus of the mind, but also a determinant of cognitive functions (Finger, 2001, p. 23). Willis noted that various parts of the brain give rise to different cognitive functions (Finger, 2001, p. 23). From the onset, it should be noted that cognitive functions emanate from the part of the brain known as the cerebral cortex or the cerebrum.
Researchers have studied for many years the role the brain plays in cognitive functions. Cognitive function is when a person becomes aware, perceives, or comprehends something. Cognitive function has everything to do with perception, thinking, reasoning, and remembering. The brain plays a part of each of these things. Researchers could conclude more information about how the brain worked in cognitive function when Phineas P. Gage had an accident causing a head injury. The accident was known as, “the case which more than all others is calculated to excite our wonder, impair the value of
I believe the cognitive view is a bit more accurate than the behavioral view. However, I do contend that external environmental factors influence behaviors. Although, not to the extent that cognitive views do. Your mental processes make a huge difference in your life, whether it be self-efficacy, and self-regulation, or vicarious learning. Ultimately it comes back to you and you alone, not your environment. Yes, your environment can affect how you make certain decisions or act around certain people. But it doesn’t entirely determine your behavior, your processes do. I am very in-between about this question because my belief is that behavioral views do not trump your cognitive view, it assists it. You need one to do the other. To conclude, you
Neuroscience is critical to the future of research. After all, Dr. Penfield did say, “the problem of neurology is man himself”. Since the birth of cognitive neuroscience in 1861, scientists have been searching for the “hows” - how do we process sensory information, how does language form, how do we move? New technological developments such as AI and machine learning are now allowing neuroscientists to focus on the processes behind cognition and accelerating our understanding of the pathways of the brain, which I find fascinating.
The brain is the principal focus of psychologists (The Simpsons, 2014). As the central nervous system’s main organ, the brain monitors and regulates all the information from the body’s external and internal environment. Though complicated, Psychologists understand the brain’s structure and working mechanism (Films for the Humanities & Sciences (Firm), Films Media Group & Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.), 2011). There are various ways through which they study it and these, according to Heather Hall, (2014) include brain lessoning, brain staining, brain electronic recording and brain imaging.
Although it shares cognitive neuroscience’s roots, cognitive neuropsychology has developed into a discrete discipline. While cognitive neuroscience studies neural organisation of the brain, cognitive neuropsychology concerns itself with the brain’s functional architecture; Coltheart (2010) describes this as a distinction between brain and mind. According to, among others, Coltheart (2002, cited Coltheart, 2010) this makes cognitive neuropsychology a branch of cognitive psychology rather than neuroscience.
“Cognitive psychology is a modern approach to the study of [processes by which people come to understand the world- such processes as memory, learning, comprehending language, problem solving, and creativity. Cognitive psychology has been influenced by developments in language, computer science, and of course, earlier work in philosophy and psychology” – Hayes (cited by Lundin)