Cognitive Psychology provides student readers with essential help with all aspects of their first course in cognitive psychology, including advice on revising for exams, preparing and writing course assessment materials, and enhancing and progressing their knowledge and skills in line with course requirements in cognitive psychology.

History of Cognitive Psychology

History of Cognitive Psychology

History of cognitive psychology

In any examination or essay you will be expected to know something about where cognitive psychology comes from. This may simply be a matter of demonstrating a general understanding or not getting your origins muddled, but you may well be asked to write directly on the history of the discipline.

Understanding something of the history of cognitive psychology will be crucial in helping you think like a cognitive psychologist.

Key Developments

The years 1956 and 1957 were key dates in the development of cognitive psychology as several important papers/theories emerged including:

  • Chomsky's theory of language
  • Miller's concept of seven, plus or minus two chunks in short-term memory
  • Newell & Simon's general problem-solving model
  • Bruner et al.'s ideas on concept formation
  • artificial intelligence (Al).

The 1970s saw a ...

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