Cognitive Psychology Essay

Several studies have been conducted on cognitive psychology and how it effects human behavior. A variety of processes, including hormones, eating schedules, and neural systems, can be ascribed to the likelihood of changes in behavior that are neither innate nor taught. Because behavioral differences can be linked to the interactions and effects of a variety of factors, the inquiry should be "what causes the difference in behavior?" rather than "Is this behavior innate or learned?" Jensen (1961).

People naturally copy the incidental and expressive behaviors of other humans while interacting, which often leads to loving them (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999). Cognitive learning theory explains how the different learning processes can be explained by analyzing the mental processes. It asserts with effective cognitive processes, the learning is easier and the newly acquired information can be stored in the memory for a good period. Whereas ineffective cognitive processes can result in difficulties in learning that can be discovered anytime an individual’s lifetime. There are 3 variables in the social cognitive theory; personal factors, behavioral factors and environmental factors, the cognitive behavioral theory entails the knowing, predicting and determining behavioral patterns of individuals (Beck, 1979).

Knowledge is represented by the perceptual simulators which are the mechanisms in mind that simulate several variations in the perceptual experience which is associated with a cognitive object. For example, the information stored about a realized experience of appearances in movements hence producing the aspects of such instances in mind to process categorization, planning, and imagination. Embodied conceptual knowledge combined with the effective states can produce emotional experience (Sorrentino & Yamaguchi, 2008). Motor processes are integral to realizing, research suggests that a concept’s subtle activation such as “polite” via reading words which are related to such concepts actually influences human’s behavior changing them to act more polite (Guenther, 2015)

Cognitive psychology has gone through chronicles to the beginning of the 21st Century, the beginnings of the1920s to 1950s, American psychology was all dominated by behaviorism, the processing approach that claims about attention, memory and related processes. The computer modeling approach was developed after questions emerged human intelligence and comparability of computers (Turing, 1950), Alan Newell, J. C. Shaw, and Herb Simon designed a computer program that could simplify difficult logic problems.

The General Linguistics Approach which engaged in the development of generative grammar in linguistics (Chomsky, 1957). The book focused on the needed mental structures that could represent the kind of linguistic knowledge which any competent speaker could possess. The organization of words into phrases and then sentences. The development of memory models such as long-term memory and short-term memory progressively welcomed the rise of cognitive science which was upgraded to memory and language, the combination of information processing model within recent linguistics and artificial intelligent developments, changed further to cognitive science. This rose after psychologists and researchers in the higher latter became aware of the developments.

Sometimes cognition is situated, which is taken as almost infinitely flexible and more responsive to the psychological and physical context. The flexibility therefore at times makes it difficult to predict the exact of how the infinitely variable context is going to change our thinking and behavior. It is clear that today’s written works regarding this context gives several hints of how the future may look like. Improvements in practical applications will probably be driven by the hindrances one may face today. Technology being at our finger tips in this current world, which has progressively improved this aspect has to properly incorporate other theories to suit the emerging challenges which have to be addressed.

Psychologists came into agreement that, for their theories and ideas about the human behavior to be taken into consideration their evidence had to be backed by data, hence the research designs used include correlational, descriptive and experimental to understand more the behaviors. Their works differ in designs and goals, as different approaches apply to different goals. Correlational research is designed to discover the relation among variables and to provide the prediction of the future from the present. Descriptive research is designed to give a summary of the current state. Experimental research bases on the initial equivalence research participants, it allows the researcher to test the hypothesis by arriving at a valid conclusion about relationships between dependent variables and independent. Through such designs it is well directed how they addressed those issues in an ethical manner that served the interested the parties involved correctly. Since they had to deal with a number of people, ethical concerns had to be in mind, including the Randomization to treatment, enrolling the vulnerable ones, reimbursement for the people who participated, methods of recruitment, the use of wait-list and the exclusion rules which had to be considered before engagement, not forgetting the general principle which respects people’s dignity and rights.

Research Design

The identified research gap is applications of cognitive science to learning and teaching. Modules for teachers on the topics such behavioral, cognitive and effective dimensions in the teaching and learning processes. The mentioned topics will provide a broad knowledge to the teachers during their practice as they support the idea rating it as important to their profession. Teachers will have to adopt this principles in their daily practice when making assessment, instructional engagements and classroom management. Basing on the research designs discussed in the literature part, I will deploy descriptive, correlational and experimental plots to engage in the study. The sources will be based on the gap I have identified, and thus the outlines of the study will be derived from them. The outlines will include the knowledge about primary cognitive topics, behavioral, and primary affective topic. Each outline incorporating why the topic is of significant, recommendations for teachers, evidence and explanations, frequently asked questions, improving relationships between teachers and students, and where teachers can acquire their knowledge. The research practice can include some demands on the therapists conducting the activity to the extent of applying extra constraint in order to gain knowledge. The ethical issues would be of much help in my practice, since I will dealing with a number of people which will require the use of the general principle regarding the aspect where people have to be respected as their dignity and rights are well observed.

References

Johnson, M. H., Munakata, Y., & Gilmore, R. O. (2007). Brain Development and Cognition: A Reader. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.

Sorrentino, R. M., & Yamaguchi, S. (2008). Handbook of motivation and cognition across cultures. San Diego, CA: Academic.

Guenther, F. H. (2015). Neural control of speech

Copeland, B. J., Bowen, J. P., Sprevak, M., & Wilson, R. J. (2017). The Turing guide.

Chomsky, N., & Lightfoot, D. W. (2002). Syntactic structures. Berlin [u.a.: De Gruyter.