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{{Short description|Subdiscipline of psychology}}
{{For|the peer-reviewed journal|Cognitive Psychology (journal){{!}}''Cognitive Psychology'' (journal)}}
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{{Cognitive}}

'''Cognitive psychology''' is the scientific study of human [[cognition|mental process]]es such as [[attention]], language use, [[memory]], [[perception]], problem solving, [[creativity]], and [[reason]]ing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apa.org/research/action/glossary.aspx |title=American Psychological Association (2013). Glossary of psychological terms |publisher=Apa.org |access-date=2014-08-13}}</ref> Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from [[behaviorism]], which held from the 1920s to 1950s that unobservable mental processes were outside the [[realm]] of [[empirical science]]. This break came as researchers in [[linguistics]], [[cybernetics]], and [[applied psychology]] used models of mental processing to explain human behavior. Work derived from cognitive psychology was integrated into other branches of psychology and various other modern disciplines like [[cognitive science]], [[linguistics]], and [[economics]].

==History==
Philosophically, ruminations on the human mind and its processes have been around since the time of the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]]. In 387 BCE, [[Plato]] suggested that the brain was the seat of mental processes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/courses/1010/mangels/neuro/history/history.html |title=Mangels, J. History of neuroscience |publisher=Columbia.edu |access-date=2014-08-13}}</ref> In 1637, [[René Descartes]] posited that humans have [[innate]] ideas and promulgated [[Dualism (philosophy of mind)|mind-body dualism]], which came to be known as substance dualism (essentially the idea that the mind and the body are two separate substances).<ref name="Malone">Malone, J.C. (2009). ''Psychology: Pythagoras to Present''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. (a pp. 143, b pp. 293, c pp. 491)</ref> From that time, major debates ensued through the 19th century about whether human thought is solely experiential ([[empiricism]]) or includes innate knowledge ([[Psychological nativism|nativism]]). Some of those involved in this debate include [[George Berkeley]] and [[John Locke]] on the side of empiricism, and [[Immanuel Kant]] on the side of nativism.<ref name="Anderson">Anderson, J.R. (2010). ''Cognitive Psychology and Its Implications''. New York: Worth Publishers.</ref>

With the philosophical debate continuing, the mid- to late 19th century was a critical time in the development of psychology as a scientific discipline. Two discoveries that later played substantial roles in cognitive psychology were [[Paul Broca]]'s discovery of the area of the brain largely responsible for language production<ref name="Malone" /> and [[Carl Wernicke]]'s discovery of an area thought to be mostly responsible for comprehension of language.<ref>Eysenck, M.W. (1990). ''Cognitive Psychology: An International Review''. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (pp. 111)</ref> Both areas were subsequently formally named for their founders, and disruptions of an individual's language production or comprehension due to trauma or malformation in these areas have come to commonly be known as [[Expressive aphasia|Broca's aphasia]] and [[Receptive aphasia|Wernicke's aphasia]].{{cn|date=July 2024}}

From the 1920s to the 1950s, the main approach to psychology was [[behaviorism]]. Initially, its adherents viewed mental events such as thoughts, ideas, attention, and consciousness as unobservable, hence outside the realm of a science of psychology. A pioneer of cognitive psychology, whose work predated much of behaviorist literature, was [[Carl Jung]]. Jung introduced the hypothesis of cognitive functions in his 1921 book ''[[Psychological Types]]''.<ref name="PsychTypes">{{Cite book |title=Psychological Types |last=Jung |first=C. G. |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1971 |isbn=978-1-4008-5086-0 |series=Collected Works of C. G. Jung |volume=6 |translator-last=Adler |translator-first=Gerhard |jstor=j.ctt5hhqtj |orig-year=1921 |translator-last2=Hull |translator-first2=R. F. C. }}</ref> Another pioneer of cognitive psychology, who worked outside the boundaries (both intellectual and geographical) of behaviorism, was [[Jean Piaget]]. From 1926 to the 1950s and into the 1980s, he studied the thoughts, language, and intelligence of children and adults.<ref name="AboutPiaget">Smith, L. (2000). About Piaget. Retrieved from http://piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824192513/http://piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html |date=2019-08-24 }}</ref>

In the mid-20th century, four main influences arose that inspired and shaped cognitive psychology as a formal school of thought:
* With the development of new warfare technology during [[World War II]] came a need for greater understanding of human performance. Problems such as how to best train soldiers to use new technology and how to deal with matters of attention while under duress became important to military personnel. [[Behaviorism]] provided little if any insight into these matters, and the work of [[Donald Broadbent]], integrating concepts from human performance research and the recently developed [[information theory]], forged the way in this area.<ref name="Anderson" />
* Developments in computer science led to parallels being drawn between human thought and the computational functionality of computers, opening entirely new areas of [[Computationalism|psychological thought]]. [[Allen Newell]] and [[Herbert A. Simon|Herbert Simon]] spent years developing the concept of [[artificial intelligence]] (AI) and later worked with cognitive psychologists on its implications. This encouraged a concept of mental functions patterned on the way that computers handle such things as memory storage and retrieval,<ref name="Anderson" /> and it opened an important doorway for [[Cognitivism (psychology)|cognitivism]].
* [[Noam Chomsky]]'s 1959 critique<ref name="Chomsky 1959">Chomsky, N. A. (1959), ''A Review of Skinner's Verbal Behavior''</ref> of behaviorism, and empiricism more generally, initiated what came to be known as the "[[cognitive revolution]]". Inside psychology, in criticism of behaviorism, J. S. Bruner, J. J. Goodnow & G. A. Austin wrote "a study of thinking" in 1956. In 1960, [[George Armitage Miller|G. A. Miller]], [[Eugene Galanter|E. Galanter]], and [[Karl H. Pribram|K. Pribram]] wrote "Plans and the Structure of Behavior". The same year, Bruner and Miller founded the Harvard Center for Cognitive Studies, which institutionalized the revolution and launched the field of cognitive science.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}
* Formal recognition of the field involved the establishment of research institutions such as [[George Mandler]]'s Center for Human Information Processing in 1964. Mandler described the origins of cognitive psychology in a 2002 article in the Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences.<ref name=Mandler>Mandler, G. (2002). Origins of the cognitive (r)evolution. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 38, 339–353.</ref>

{{anchor|Neisser}}[[Ulric Neisser]] put the term "cognitive psychology" into common use through his 1967 book ''Cognitive Psychology''.<ref name=Neisser>Neisser, U. (1967). ''Cognitive Psychology''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Neisser's definition on page 4.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2012-04-27|title=Remembering the Father of Cognitive Psychology|url=https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/remembering-the-father-of-cognitive-psychology|journal=APS Observer|language=en-US|volume=25|issue=5}}</ref> Neisser's definition of "cognition" illustrates the then-progressive concept of cognitive processes:

<blockquote>The term "cognition" refers to all processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used. It is concerned with these processes even when they operate in the absence of relevant stimulation, as in images and [[hallucinations]]. ... Given such a sweeping definition, it is apparent that cognition is involved in everything a human being might possibly do; that every psychological phenomenon is a cognitive phenomenon. But although cognitive psychology is concerned with all human activity rather than some fraction of it, the concern is from a particular point of view. Other viewpoints are equally legitimate and necessary. [[Psychodynamics|Dynamic psychology]], which begins with motives rather than with sensory input, is a case in point. Instead of asking how a man's actions and experiences result from what he saw, remembered, or believed, the dynamic psychologist asks how they follow from the subject's goals, needs, or instincts.<ref name=Neisser/></blockquote>

==Cognitive processes==
{{see also|Cognitive control}}
The main focus of cognitive psychologists is the [[mental processes]] that affect behavior. Those processes include, but are not limited to, the following three stages of memory:{{cn|date=July 2024}}{{or|date=June 2025}}

# Sensory memory storage: holds sensory information
# Short-term memory storage: holds information temporarily for analysis and retrieves information from the long-term memory.
# Long-term memory: holds information over an extended period of time which receives information from the short-term memory.

===Attention===
{{main|Attention}}
The psychological definition of [[attention]] is "a state of focused awareness on a subset of the available sensation perception information".<ref name=APA>{{cite web|title=How does the APA define "psychology"? |url=http://www.apa.org/support/about/apa/psychology.aspx#answer |access-date=15 November 2011}}</ref> A key function of attention is to identify irrelevant data and filter it out, enabling significant data to be distributed to the other [[mental processes]].<ref name="Anderson" /> For example, the human brain may simultaneously receive [[Auditory system|auditory]], [[visual]], [[olfactory]], [[taste]], and [[Touch|tactile]] information. The brain is able to consciously handle only a small subset of this information, and this is accomplished through the attentional processes.<ref name=Anderson />

Attention can be divided into two major attentional systems: exogenous control and endogenous control.<ref name="Chicaetal2013">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.bbr.2012.09.027|pmid=23000534|title=Two cognitive and neural systems for endogenous and exogenous spatial attention|journal=Behavioural Brain Research|volume=237|pages=107–123|year=2013|last1=Chica|first1=Ana B.|last2=Bartolomeo|first2=Paolo|last3=Lupiáñez|first3=Juan|s2cid=22314128}}</ref> Exogenous control works in a bottom-up manner and is responsible for [[orienting reflex]], and pop-out effects.<ref name="Chicaetal2013" /> Endogenous control works top-down and is the more deliberate attentional system, responsible for [[Attention#Multitasking and divided attention|divided attention]] and conscious processing.<ref name="Chicaetal2013" />

One major focal point relating to [[attention]] within the field of cognitive psychology is the concept of divided attention. A number of early studies dealt with the ability of a person wearing headphones to discern meaningful conversation when presented with different messages into each ear; this is known as the dichotic listening task.<ref name=Anderson /> Key findings involved an increased understanding of the mind's ability to both focus on one message, while still being somewhat aware of information being taken in from the ear not being consciously attended to. For example, participants (wearing earphones) may be told that they will be hearing separate messages in each ear and that they are expected to attend only to information related to basketball. When the experiment starts, the message about basketball will be presented to the left ear and non-relevant information will be presented to the right ear. At some point the message related to basketball will switch to the right ear and the non-relevant information to the left ear. When this happens, the listener is usually able to repeat the entire message at the end, having attended to the left or right ear only when it was appropriate.<ref name="Anderson" /> The ability to attend to one conversation in the face of many is known as the [[cocktail party effect]].

Other major findings include that participants cannot comprehend both passages when shadowing one passage, they cannot report the content of the unattended message, while they can shadow a message better if the pitches in each ear are different.<ref name="Cherry">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1121/1.1907229|title=Some Experiments on the Recognition of Speech, with One and with Two Ears|journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America|volume=25|issue=5|pages=975–979|year=1953|last1=Cherry|first1=E. Colin|bibcode=1953ASAJ...25..975C|hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002A-F750-3|hdl-access=free}}</ref> However, while deep processing does not occur, early sensory processing does. Subjects did notice if the pitch of the unattended message changed or if it ceased altogether, and some even oriented to the unattended message if their name was mentioned.<ref name="Cherry" />

===Memory===
The two main types of memory are short-term memory and long-term memory; however, short-term memory has become better understood to be working memory. Cognitive psychologists often study memory in terms of [[working memory]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cowan |first=Nelson |date=2013-12-03 |title=Working Memory Underpins Cognitive Development, Learning, and Education |journal=Educational Psychology Review |language=en |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=197–223 |doi=10.1007/s10648-013-9246-y |pmid=25346585 |pmc=4207727 }}</ref>

====Working memory====
{{main|Working memory}}
Though working memory is often thought of as just short-term memory, it is more clearly defined as the ability to process and maintain temporary information in a wide range of everyday activities in the face of distraction. The famously known capacity of memory of [[The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two|7 plus or minus 2]] is a combination of both memories in working memory and long-term memory.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cowan |first=Nelson |date=July 2015 |title=George Miller's magical number of immediate memory in retrospect: Observations on the faltering progression of science. |journal=Psychological Review |language=en |volume=122 |issue=3 |pages=536–541 |doi=10.1037/a0039035 |pmid=25751370 |issn=1939-1471 |pmc=4486516 }}</ref>

One of the classic experiments is by [[Hermann Ebbinghaus|Ebbinghaus]], who found the [[serial position effect]] where information from the beginning and end of the list of random words were better recalled than those in the center.<ref name="Eb">Ebbinghaus, Hermann (1913). On memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Teachers College.</ref> This primacy and recency effect varies in intensity based on list length.<ref name="Eb" /> Its typical U-shaped curve can be disrupted by an attention-grabbing word; this is known as the [[Von Restorff effect]].
[[File:The Working Memory Model.svg|thumb|The Working Memory Model (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974, updated-2000)]]
Many models of working memory have been made. One of the most regarded is the [[Baddeley's model of working memory|Baddeley and Hitch model of working memory]]. It takes into account both visual and auditory stimuli, long-term memory to use as a reference, and a central processor to combine and understand it all.

A large part of memory is forgetting, and there is a large debate among psychologists of [[decay theory]] versus [[interference theory]].

====Long-term memory====
{{main|Long-term memory}}
Modern conceptions of [[memory]] are usually about long-term memory and break it down into three main sub-classes. These three classes are somewhat [[Hierarchy|hierarchical]] in nature, in terms of the level of [[conscious]] thought related to their use.<ref name="Balota">Balota, D.A. & Marsh, E.J. (2004). ''Cognitive Psychology: Key Readings''. New York: Psychology Press. (pp. 364–365)</ref>
* [[Procedural memory]] is memory for the performance of particular types of action. It is often activated on a [[subconscious]] level, or at most requires a minimal amount of [[conscious]] effort.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.livescience.com/43595-procedural-memory.html|title=Procedural Memory: Definition and Examples|work=Live Science|access-date=2018-09-06}}</ref> Procedural memory includes [[Stimulus-response model|stimulus-response]]-type information, which is activated through association with particular tasks, routines, etc. A person is using [[procedural knowledge]] when they seemingly "automatically" respond in a particular manner to a particular situation or process.<ref name=Balota /> An example is driving a car.
* [[Semantic memory]] is the encyclopedic knowledge that a person possesses. Knowledge like what the [[Eiffel Tower]] looks like, or the name of a friend from sixth grade, represent semantic memory. Access of semantic memory ranges from slightly to extremely effortful, depending on a number of variables including but not limited to recency of encoding of the information, number of associations it has to other information, frequency of access, and levels of meaning (how deeply it was processed when it was encoded).<ref name=Balota />
* [[Episodic memory]] is the memory of autobiographical events that can be explicitly stated. It contains all memories that are temporal in nature, such as when one last brushed one's teeth or where one was when one heard about a major news event. Episodic memory typically requires the deepest level of [[consciousness|conscious]] thought, as it often pulls together [[semantic memory]] and temporal information to formulate the entire [[memory]].<ref name=Balota />

===Perception===
[[Perception]] involves both the physical senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch, and [[proprioception]]) as well as the [[Cognition|cognitive processes]] involved in interpreting those senses. Essentially, it is how people come to understand the world around them through the interpretation of stimuli.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/perceptproc.htm |title=Cherry, K. (2013). Perception and the perceptual process |access-date=2013-04-23 |archive-date=2016-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112230952/http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/perceptproc.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Early psychologists like [[Edward Titchener|Edward B. Titchener]] began to work with perception in their structuralist approach to psychology. [[Structuralism (psychology)|Structuralism]] dealt heavily with trying to reduce human thought (or "consciousness", as Titchener would have called it) into its most basic elements by gaining an understanding of how an individual perceives particular stimuli.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/titchener.shtml |title=Plucker, J. (2012). Edward Bradford Titchener |publisher=Indiana.edu |date=2013-11-14 |access-date=2014-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717212235/http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eintell/titchener.shtml |archive-date=2014-07-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Current perspectives on perception within cognitive psychology tend to focus on particular ways in which the human mind interprets stimuli from the senses and how these interpretations affect behavior. An example of the way in which modern psychologists approach the study of perception is the research being done at the Center for Ecological Study of Perception and Action at the University of Connecticut (CESPA). One study at CESPA concerns ways in which individuals perceive their physical environment and how that influences their navigation through that environment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ione.psy.uconn.edu/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970412101520/http://ione.psy.uconn.edu/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=1997-04-12 |title=University of Connecticut (N.D.). Center for the ecological study of perception |publisher=Ione.psy.uconn.edu |date=2012-11-30 |access-date=2014-08-13 }}</ref>

===Language===
Psychologists have had an interest in the cognitive processes involved with [[language]] that dates back to the 1870s, when [[Carl Wernicke]] proposed a model for the mental processing of language.<ref>Temple, Christine M. (1990). "Developments and applications of cognitive neuropsychology." In M. W. Eysenck (Ed.)''Cognitive Psychology: An International Review''. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. p. 110</ref> Current work on language within the field of cognitive psychology varies widely. Cognitive psychologists may study [[language acquisition]],<ref name="Ramsden">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11065-012-9208-z|pmid=22707315|title=Language Development and Assessment in the Preschool Period|journal=Neuropsychology Review|volume=22|issue=4|pages=384–401|year=2012|last1=Conti-Ramsden|first1=Gina|last2=Durkin|first2=Kevin|s2cid=18407367}}</ref> individual components of language formation (like [[phoneme]]s),<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.4000/cognitextes.211|title=The phoneme in cognitive phonology: Episodic memories of both meaningful and meaningless units?|journal=Cognitextes|issue=2|year=2009|last1=Välimaa-Blum|first1=Riitta|volume=2 |doi-access=free}}</ref> how language use is involved in [[Mood (psychology)|mood]], or numerous other related areas.
[[File:Brain - Broca's and Wernicke's area Diagram.svg|thumbnail|Broca's and Wernicke's areas of the brain, which are critical in language]]

Significant work has focused on understanding the timing of language acquisition and how it can be used to determine if a child has, or is at risk of, developing a [[learning disability]]. A study from 2012 showed that, while this can be an effective strategy, it is important that those making evaluations include all relevant information when making their assessments. Factors such as individual variability, [[socioeconomic status]], [[Short-term memory|short-term]] and [[long-term memory]] capacity, and others must be included in order to make valid assessments.<ref name="Ramsden" />

===Metacognition===
[[Metacognition]], in a broad sense, is the thoughts that a person has about their own thoughts. More specifically, metacognition includes things like:
* How effective a person is at monitoring their own performance on a given task (self-regulation).
* A person's understanding of their capabilities on particular mental tasks.
* The ability to apply [[Cognitive style|cognitive strategies]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Martinez |first=M. E. |year=2006 |title=What is metacognition |journal=The Phi Delta Kappan |volume=87 |issue=9 |pages=696–699 |jstor=20442131|doi=10.1177/003172170608700916 |s2cid=143518064 }}</ref>
Much of the current study regarding metacognition within the field of cognitive psychology deals with its application within the area of education. Being able to increase a student's metacognitive abilities has been shown to have a significant impact on their learning and study habits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.brainscape.com/2010/04/learning-study-less/ |title=Cohen, A. (2010). The secret to learning more while studying |publisher=Blog.brainscape.com |access-date=2014-08-13}}</ref> One key aspect of this concept is the improvement of students' ability to set goals and self-regulate effectively to meet those goals. As a part of this process, it is also important to ensure that students are realistically evaluating their personal degree of knowledge and setting realistic goals (another metacognitive task).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/metacognition/teaching_metacognition.html |title=Lovett, M. (2008). Teaching metacognition |publisher=Serc.carleton.edu |access-date=2014-08-13}}</ref>

Common phenomena related to metacognition include:
* '''[[Déjà Vu]]:''' feeling of a repeated experience.
* '''[[Cryptomnesia]]:''' generating thought believing it is unique but it is actually a memory of a past experience; also known as unconscious plagiarism.
* '''False Fame Effect:''' non-famous names can be made to be famous.
* '''[[illusory truth effect|Validity effect]]:''' statements seem more valid upon repeated exposure.
* '''[[Imagination inflation]]:''' imagining an event that did not occur and having increased confidence that it did occur.

==Modern perspectives==
Modern perspectives on cognitive psychology generally address cognition as a [[dual process theory]], expounded upon by [[Daniel Kahneman]] in 2011.<ref name=Kahneman>Kahneman D. (2003) "A perspective on judgement and choice." ''American Psychologist''. ''58'', 697–720.</ref> Kahneman differentiated the two styles of processing more, calling them intuition and reasoning. Intuition (or system 1), similar to associative reasoning, was determined to be fast and automatic, usually with strong emotional bonds included in the reasoning process. Kahneman said that this kind of reasoning was based on formed habits and very difficult to change or manipulate. Reasoning (or system 2) was slower and much more volatile, being subject to conscious judgments and attitudes.<ref name=Kahneman />

==Applications==

===Abnormal psychology===
Following the cognitive revolution, and as a result of many of the principal discoveries to come out of the field of cognitive psychology, the discipline of [[cognitive behavior therapy]] (CBT) evolved. [[Aaron T. Beck]] is generally regarded as the father of [[cognitive therapy]], a particular type of CBT treatment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.med.upenn.edu/suicide/beck/index.html |title=University of Pennsylvania (N.D). Aaron T. Beck, M.D |publisher=Med.upenn.edu |date=2013-10-23 |access-date=2014-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914094322/http://www.med.upenn.edu/suicide/beck/index.html |archive-date=2017-09-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His work in the areas of recognition and treatment of depression has gained worldwide recognition. In his 1987 book titled ''Cognitive Therapy of Depression'', Beck puts forth three salient points with regard to his reasoning for the treatment of depression by means of therapy or therapy and antidepressants versus using a pharmacological-only approach:
<blockquote>1. Despite the prevalent use of antidepressants, the fact remains that not all patients respond to them. Beck cites (in 1987) that only 60 to 65% of patients respond to antidepressants, and recent [[Meta-analysis|meta-analyses]] (a statistical breakdown of multiple studies) show very similar numbers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Grohol |first=John M. |url=http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/02/03/efficacy-of-antidepressants/ |title=Grohol, J. (2009). Efficacy of Antidepressants |work=World of Psychology |publisher=Psychcentral.com |date=2009-02-03 |access-date=2014-08-13}}</ref><br />2. Many of those who do respond to antidepressants end up not taking their medications, for various reasons. They may develop side-effects or have some form of personal objection to taking the drugs.<br />3. Beck posits that the use of [[Psychotropic|psychotropic drugs]] may lead to an eventual breakdown in the individual's [[Coping (psychology)|coping mechanisms]]. His theory is that the person essentially becomes reliant on the medication as a means of improving mood and fails to practice those coping techniques typically practiced by healthy individuals to alleviate the effects of depressive symptoms. By failing to do so, once the patient is weaned off of the antidepressants, they often are unable to cope with normal levels of depressed mood and feel driven to reinstate use of the antidepressants.<ref>Beck, A.T. (1987). ''Cognitive Therapy of Depression''. New York: Guilford Press</ref></blockquote>

===Social psychology===
Many facets of modern social psychology have roots in research done within the field of cognitive psychology.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Amabile|first1=Teresa M.|last2=Pillemer|first2=Julianna|date=2012|title=Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Creativity|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jocb.001|journal=The Journal of Creative Behavior|language=en|volume=46|issue=1|pages=3–15|doi=10.1002/jocb.001|s2cid=144765230 |issn=2162-6057|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cartwright|first=Dorwin|date=March 1979|title=Contemporary Social Psychology in Historical Perspective|journal=Social Psychology Quarterly|volume=42|issue=1|pages=82–93|doi=10.2307/3033880|jstor=3033880|issn=0190-2725}}</ref> [[Social cognition]] is a specific sub-set of social psychology that concentrates on processes that have been of particular focus within cognitive psychology, specifically applied to human interactions. [[Gordon Moskowitz|Gordon B. Moskowitz]] defines social cognition as "... the study of the mental processes involved in perceiving, attending to, remembering, thinking about, and making sense of the people in our social world".<ref>Moskowitz, G.B. (2004). ''Social Cognition: Understanding Self and Others''. New York: The Guilford Press. (pp. 3)</ref>

The development of multiple [[social information processing (theory)|social information processing]] (SIP) models has been influential in studies involving aggressive and anti-social behavior. Kenneth Dodge's SIP model is one of, if not the most, empirically supported models relating to aggression. Among his research, Dodge posits that children who possess a greater ability to process social information more often display higher levels of socially acceptable behavior; that the type of social interaction that children have affects their relationships.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dodge|first=Kenneth A.|date=1980|title=Social Cognition and Children's Aggressive Behavior|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1129603|journal=Child Development|volume=51|issue=1|pages=169|doi=10.2307/1129603|jstor=1129603|pmid=7363732 |issn=0009-3920|url-access=subscription}}</ref> His model asserts that there are five steps that an individual proceeds through when evaluating interactions with other individuals and that how the person interprets cues is key to their reactionary process.<ref>Fontaine, R.G. (2012). ''The Mind of the Criminal: The Role of Developmental Social Cognition in Criminal Defense Law''. New York: Cambridge University Press. (p. 41)</ref>

===Developmental psychology===
Many of the prominent names in the field of developmental psychology base their understanding of development on cognitive models. One of the major paradigms of developmental psychology, the [[Theory of Mind]] (ToM), deals specifically with the ability of an individual to effectively understand and attribute cognition to those around them. This concept typically becomes fully apparent in children between the ages of 4 and 6. Essentially, before the child develops ToM, they are unable to understand that those around them can have different thoughts, ideas, or feelings than themselves. The development of ToM is a matter of [[metacognition]], or thinking about one's thoughts. The child must be able to recognize that they have their own thoughts and in turn, that others possess thoughts of their own.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/Astington-EdwardANGxp.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119180000/http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/Astington-EdwardANGxp.pdf |archive-date=2012-11-19 |url-status=live |title=Astington, J.W. & Edward, M.J. (2010). The development of theory of mind in early childhood. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development, 2010:1–6 |date=August 2010 |access-date=2014-08-13}}</ref>

One of the foremost minds with regard to developmental psychology, Jean Piaget, focused much of his attention on cognitive development from birth through adulthood. Though there have been considerable challenges to parts of his [[Piaget's theory of cognitive development|stages of cognitive development]], they remain a staple in the realm of education. Piaget's concepts and ideas predated the cognitive revolution but inspired a wealth of research in the field of cognitive psychology and many of his principles have been blended with modern theory to synthesize the predominant views of today.<ref>Brainerd, C.J. (1996). "Piaget: A centennial celebration." ''Psychological Science'', 7(4), 191–194.</ref>

===Educational psychology===
Modern theories of education have applied many concepts that are focal points of cognitive psychology. Some of the most prominent concepts include:
* [[Metacognition]]: Metacognition is a broad concept encompassing all manners of one's thoughts and knowledge about their own thinking. A key area of educational focus in this realm is related to self-monitoring, which relates highly to how well students are able to evaluate their personal knowledge and apply strategies to improve knowledge in areas in which they are lacking.<ref name="Reif">Reif, F. (2008). ''Applying Cognitive Science to Education: Thinking and Learning in Scientific and Other Complex Domains''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. (a pp. 283–84, b pp. 38)</ref>
* [[Declarative knowledge]] and [[procedural knowledge]]: Declarative knowledge is a person's 'encyclopedic' knowledge base, whereas procedural knowledge is specific knowledge relating to performing particular tasks. The application of these cognitive paradigms to education attempts to augment a student's ability to integrate declarative knowledge into newly learned procedures in an effort to facilitate accelerated learning.<ref name="Reif" />
* [[Knowledge organization]]: Applications of cognitive psychology's understanding of how knowledge is organized in the brain has been a major focus within the field of education in recent years. The hierarchical method of organizing information and how that maps well onto the brain's memory are concepts that have proven extremely beneficial in classrooms.<ref name="Reif" />

===Personality psychology===
Cognitive therapeutic approaches have received considerable attention in the treatment of personality disorders in recent years. The approach focuses on the formation of what it believes to be faulty schemata, centralized on judgmental biases and general cognitive errors.<ref>Beck, A.T., Freeman, A., & Davis, D.D. (2004). ''Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders'' (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press. (pp. 300).</ref>

==Relationship to cognitive science==
Cognitive psychology is considered a core aspect of [[cognitive science]], the interdisciplinary study of mind and mental function, including how such functions implemented in brains and machines. Cognitive science, as a unitary field, integrates knowledge, theory and methodology from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and anthropology.<ref name=":0">Núñez, R., Allen, M., Gao, R., Miller Rigoli, C., Relaford-Doyle, J., & Semenuks, A. (2019). What happened to cognitive science?. ''Nature human behaviour'', ''3''(8), 782-791.</ref>

It has been argued that cognitive science has been largely consumed by cognitive psychology, with some scholars even using the terms interchangeably<ref name=":0" /> (see LeMoult & Gotlib<ref>LeMoult, J., & Gotlib, I. H. (2019). Depression: A cognitive perspective. ''Clinical psychology review'', ''69'', 51-66.</ref> for an example). This largely results from early difficulties integrating the different fields of cognitive science (e.g. psychology and artificial intelligence), with the resulting divergence of terminology, methodology and theoretical approach over time rendering efforts at cohering the disciplines challenging.<ref name=":0" />

==Criticisms==
===Lack of cohesion===

Some observers have suggested that as cognitive psychology became a movement during the 1970s, the intricacies of the phenomena and processes it examined meant it also began to lose cohesion as a field of study. In ''Psychology: Pythagoras to Present'', for example, John Malone writes: "Examinations of late twentieth-century textbooks dealing with "cognitive psychology", "human cognition", "cognitive science" and the like quickly reveal that there are many, many varieties of cognitive psychology and very little agreement about exactly what may be its domain."<ref name="Malone"/> This misfortune produced competing models that questioned information-processing approaches to cognitive functioning such as [[Naturalistic decision-making|Decision Making]] and [[Behavioral Sciences]].

=== Exclusive focus on the mind ===
Recently, cognitive psychology has been criticised for being overly focused on the internal mind, not allowing for influences external to it. [[4E cognition]] is one such new approach that aims to show that cognition is [[Embodied cognition|embodied]], [[Embodied embedded cognition|embedded]], [[Extended mind thesis|extended]] and [[Enactivism|enacted]].

==Controversies==

In the early years of cognitive psychology, [[Behaviorism|behaviorist]] critics held that the empiricism it pursued was incompatible with the concept of internal mental states. However, [[cognitive neuroscience]] continues to gather evidence of direct correlations between physiological brain activity and mental states, endorsing the basis for cognitive psychology.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Howard |title=Changing Minds |year=2006 |publisher=Harvard Business School Publishing |location=Boston, Massachusetts |isbn=978-1-4221-0329-6}}</ref>

There is however disagreement between [[Neuropsychology|neuropsychologists]] and cognitive psychologists. Cognitive psychology has produced models of cognition which are not supported by modern [[brain science]]. It is often the case that the advocates of different cognitive models form a [[dialectic]] relationship with one another thus affecting empirical research, with researchers siding with their favorite theory. For example, advocates of ''mental model theory'' have attempted to find evidence that [[deductive reasoning]] is based on [[Visual thinking|image thinking]], while the advocates of ''mental logic theory'' have tried to prove that it is based on [[Verbal reasoning|verbal thinking]], leading to a disorderly picture of the findings from [[brain imaging]] and [[brain lesion]] studies. When theoretical claims are put aside, the evidence shows that interaction depends on the type of task tested, whether of visuospatial or linguistical orientation; but that there is also an aspect of reasoning which is not covered by either theory.<ref name="Goel_2007">{{cite journal |last=Goel |first=Vinod |date=2007 |title=Anatomy of deductive reasoning |journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences |volume=11 |issue=10 |pages=435–441 |doi= 10.1016/j.tics.2007.09.003 |pmid=17913567 |s2cid=6927091 }}</ref>

Similarly, [[neurolinguistics]] has found that it is easier to make sense of brain imaging studies when the theories are left aside.<ref name="Kluender_1993">{{cite journal |last1= Kluender|first1=R.|last2=Kutas |first2=M. |date=1993|title=Subjacency as a processing phenomenon |url= http://kutaslab.ucsd.edu/people/kutas/pdfs/1993.LCP.573.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401090017/http://kutaslab.ucsd.edu/people/kutas/pdfs/1993.LCP.573.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-01 |url-status=live|journal=Language and Cognitive Processes |volume=8|issue=4|pages= 573–633 |doi=10.1080/01690969308407588 |access-date=2020-02-28 }}</ref><ref name="Barkley_2015">{{cite journal |last1=Barkley|first1=C.|last2= Kluender|first2=R.|last3=Kutas |first3=M. |date=2015|title=Referential processing in the human brain: An Event-Related Potential (ERP) study |url=http://kutaslab.ucsd.edu/people/kutas/pdfs/2015.BR.143.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307023742/http://kutaslab.ucsd.edu/people/kutas/pdfs/2015.BR.143.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-07 |url-status=live |journal=Brain Research |volume=1629 |pages= 143–159 |doi=10.1016/j.brainres.2015.09.017 |pmid=26456801|s2cid=17053154|access-date=2020-02-28 }}</ref> In the field of language cognition research, [[generative grammar]] has taken the position that language resides within its private [[cognitive module]], while [[Cognitive linguistics#Cognitive Linguistics (linguistics framework)|'Cognitive Linguistics']] goes to the opposite extreme by claiming that language is not an independent function, but operates on general [[cognitive capacities]] such as [[visual processing]] and [[motor skills]]. Consensus in neuropsychology however takes the middle position that, while language is a specialized function, it overlaps or interacts with visual processing.<ref name="Goel_2007" /><ref name="Schwarz-Friesel_2012">{{cite journal |last=Schwarz-Friesel |first=Monika |date=2012 |title=On the status of external evidence in the theories of cognitive linguistics |journal=Language Sciences |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=656–664 |doi=10.1016/j.langsci.2012.04.007}}</ref> Nonetheless, much of the research in language cognition continues to be divided along the lines of generative grammar and Cognitive Linguistics; and this, again, affects adjacent research fields including [[language development]] and [[language acquisition]].<ref name="Shatz_2007">{{cite book |last=Shatz |first=Marilyn|editor-last= Hoff and Schatz |title=Blackwell Handbook of Language Development |publisher=Wiley |date=2007 |pages=1–15 |chapter= On the development of the field of language development |isbn= 9780470757833 }}</ref>

==Major research areas==
<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
<div style="display:inline-block">
<!-- C -->'''[[Categorization]]'''
* [[Concept learning|Induction and acquisition]]
* Judgement and classification
* Representation and structure
* [[Similarity (psychology)|Similarity]]

<!-- K -->'''[[Knowledge representation]]'''
* [[Dual-coding theories]]
* [[Media psychology]]
* [[Mental image]]ry
* [[Numerical cognition]]
* [[Propositional encoding]]

<!-- L -->'''[[Language]]'''
* [[Language acquisition]]
* [[Language processing]]
* {{hlist|[[Linguistics]]|[[Grammar]]}}
* {{hlist|[[Phonetics]]|[[Phonology]]}}
</div>

<div style="display:inline-block">
<!-- M -->'''[[Memory]]'''
* [[Aging and memory]]
* [[Autobiographical memory]]
* [[Childhood memory]]
* [[Constructive memory]]
* [[Emotion and memory]]
* [[Episodic memory]]
* [[Eyewitness memory]]
* [[False memories]]
* [[Flashbulb memory]]
* [[List of memory biases]]
* [[Long-term memory]]
* [[Semantic memory]]
* [[Short-term memory]]
* [[Source-monitoring error]]
* [[Spaced repetition]]
* [[Working memory]]
</div>

<div style="display:inline-block">
<!-- P -->'''[[Perception]]'''
* [[Attention]]
* [[Pattern recognition]]
* [[Visual perception]]
** [[Form perception]]
** [[Visual object recognition (animal test)|Object recognition]]
* [[Psychophysics]]
* [[Sense of time|Time sensation]]

<!-- T -->'''[[Thinking]]'''
* [[Choice]]&nbsp;([[Glasser's choice theory|Glasser's theory]])
* [[Concept formation]]
* [[Decision-making]]
* [[Logic]]
* [[Psychology of reasoning]]
* [[Problem solving]]
* [[Executive functions]]
</div>
{{Div col end}}

==Influential cognitive psychologists==

{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[John Robert Anderson (psychologist)|John R. Anderson]]
* [[Alan Baddeley]]
* [[David Ausubel]]
* [[Albert Bandura]]
* [[Frederic Bartlett]]
* [[Elizabeth Bates]]
* [[Aaron T. Beck]]
* [[Robert Bjork]]
* [[Paul Bloom (psychologist)|Paul Bloom]]
* [[Gordon H. Bower]]
* [[Donald Broadbent]]
* [[Jerome Bruner]]
* [[Susan Carey]]
* [[Noam Chomsky]]
* [[Fergus Craik]]
* [[Antonio Damasio]]
* [[Hermann Ebbinghaus]]
* [[Albert Ellis]]
* [[K. Anders Ericsson]]
* [[William Kaye Estes|William Estes]]
* [[Eugene Galanter]]
* [[Vittorio Gallese]]
* [[Michael Gazzaniga]]
* [[Dedre Gentner]]
* [[Vittorio Guidano]]
* [[Philip Johnson-Laird]]
* [[Daniel Kahneman]]
* [[Nancy Kanwisher]]
* [[Eric Lenneberg]]
* [[Alan Leslie]]
* [[Willem Levelt]]
* [[Elizabeth Loftus]]
* [[Alexander Luria]]
* [[Brian MacWhinney]]
* [[George Mandler]]
* [[Jean Matter Mandler]]
* [[Ellen Markman]]
* [[James McClelland (psychologist)|James McClelland]]
* [[George Armitage Miller]]
* [[Ulrich Neisser]]
* [[Allen Newell]]
* [[Allan Paivio]]
* [[Seymour Papert]]
* [[Jean Piaget]]
* [[Steven Pinker]]
* [[Michael Posner (psychologist)|Michael Posner]]
* [[Karl H. Pribram]]
* [[Giacomo Rizzolatti]]
* [[Henry L. Roediger III]]
* [[Eleanor Rosch]]
* [[David Rumelhart]]
* [[Eleanor Saffran]]
* [[Daniel Schacter]]
* [[Otto Selz]]
* [[Roger Shepard]]
* [[Richard Shiffrin]]
* [[Herbert A. Simon]]
* [[George Sperling]]
* [[Robert Sternberg]]
* [[Larry Squire]]
* [[Saul Sternberg]]
* [[Anne Treisman]]
* [[Endel Tulving]]
* [[Amos Tversky]]
* [[Lev Vygotsky]]
{{Div col end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Psychology|Philosophy}}
{|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|style="width:20em"|
* [[Cognition]]
* {{hlist
   | [[Cognitive bias]]
   | [[Cognitive biology|biology]]
   | [[Cognitive description|description]]
   | [[Cognitive development|development]]
   | [[Cognitive interventions|interventions]]
   | [[Cognitive module|module]]
   | [[Cognitive neuropsychology|neuropsychology]]
   | [[Cognitive poetics|poetics]]
   | [[Cognitive robotics|robotics]]
  }}
* [[Connectionism]]
* [[Discursive psychology]]
* [[Ecological psychology]]
* [[Evolutionary psychology]]
* [[Fuzzy-trace theory]]
* [[Genetic epistemology]]
* [[Information processing (psychology)]]
|
* [[Artificial intelligence|Intelligent system]]
* [[Intertrial priming]]
* [[Models of abnormality]]
* [[Neurocognitive]]
* [[Perceptual control theory]]
* [[Personal information management]]
* [[Psychological adaptation]]
* [[Rubicon model (psychology)]]
* [[Situated cognition]]
* [[Social cognition]]
* [[Water-level task]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal | last1=[[Roger J. Kreuz|Kreuz]] | first1= Roger J. | last2=Glucksberg | first2=Sam | title=How to be sarcastic: The echoic reminder theory of verbal irony | journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: General | volume=118 | issue=4 | pages=374–386 | year=1989 | doi=10.1037/0096-3445.118.4.374 }}
 
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1016/S1369-8478(03)00006-8|title=Trafficking in cognition: Applying cognitive psychology to driving|journal=Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour|volume=5|issue=4|pages=235–248|year=2002|last1=Groeger|first1=John A.|bibcode=2002TRPF....5..235G }}
* {{cite book|doi=10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/01556-4|chapter=Literacy, Cognitive Psychology of|title=International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences|pages=8971–8975|year=2001|last1=Jacobs|first1=A.M.|isbn=9780080430768}}
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1383/psyt.3.4.6.32905|title=Cognitive psychology and anxiety|journal=Psychiatry|volume=3|issue=4|pages=6–10|year=2004|last1=Mansell|first1=Warren|s2cid=27321969}}
* Philip T. Quinlan, Ben Dyson. 2008. ''Cognitive Psychology''. Publisher-Pearson/Prentice Hall. {{ISBN|0131298100}}, 9780131298101
* Robert J. Sternberg, Jeffery Scott Mio. 2009. ''Cognitive Psychology''. Publisher-Cengage Learning. {{ISBN|049550629X}}, 9780495506294
* Nick Braisby, Angus Gellatly. 2012. ''Cognitive Psychology''. Publisher-Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0199236992}}, 9780199236992

==External links==
{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=no|about=yes|wikititle=cognitive psychology}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* [http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Cognitive_psychology Cognitive psychology] article in [[Scholarpedia]]
* [https://www.human.cornell.edu/hd/research/labs/lrdm/home Laboratory for Rational Decision Making]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cognitive Psychology}}
[[Category:Cognitive psychology| ]]
[[Category:1967 introductions]]
[[Category:Behavioural sciences]]
[[Category:Cognition]]