Introduction
The exploration of the cognitive processes is crucial for the existence of the humanity. Evidently, cognition is a specific process of the mind’s interaction with reality. This process implies the examination of the external environment with the help of the senses, the usage of memory and experience in the formation of the behavioral strategy, and processing of the incoming information. Needless to say, that cognition is central to the existence of each individual. The entire civilization is based with the help of the accumulation of information and experience and its further usage to create qualitatively new technical devices or invent new social ideas. Therefore, cognitive psychology has a long history of development, which describes the attempts of the humanity to clarify the nature of the cognition and to improve the cognitive abilities of the individual. The current paper aims to discuss the four basic milestones in the historical development of the cognitive psychology as a unique branch of science.
Body Analysis
The cognitive psychology could be defined as a scientific study of the specific functions of the mind, such as attention, perception, learning, language, reasoning, and ability to take decisions. The latest cognitive studies examine the brain of the human being as the complicated system, which is responsible for all cognitive processes. The research areas of the cognitive psychologists include neuropsychology, social psychology, artificial intelligence, linguistics, and developmental psychology. Needless to say, that it is very hard to explain all the modern theories in the sphere of the analysis of cognition. However, these achievements could be impossible without the earlier explorations and dedication of the scientists.
The first milestone in the development of the cognitive psychology is connected with the primary philosophical theories that appeared more than two thousand years ago. The Ancient Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato, provided different theories regarding the nature of memories and thoughts. Thus, Aristotle discussed the phenomenon of the human memory in his “Concerning Memory” book. Socrates argued that the development of language was very important for the development of the memory and thinking. He was afraid that some changes in the structure of language could probably cause the negative impact on the ability of the human beings to remember the stories. The followers of Aristotle in the Middle Ages tried to understand the way how the human beings learn about God. It was essential for scholastic thinkers to explore the nature of thinking in order to demonstrate that the human beings are made in accordance with God’s will. At the Renaissance epoch, on the basis of the earlier philosophical works, Rene Descartes proposed the idea of mind-body dualism. It was an essential step for the formation of the independent science of cognitive psychology because the mind became the independent object of analysis.
The second milestone in the development of the cognitive psychology is connected with the fact of separation of the psychology from philosophy. In the 19th century, psychology became the independent discipline with its own methodology and objects of primary research. Needless to say, that many psychologists paid attention to the phenomena of the usage of memory and accumulating the knowledge. Wilhelm Wundt is considered to be the founder of the primary methods of psychology. His works examined language and child psychology, especially in the sphere of educative practices. At this time period, the studies of Edward Titchener, Herman von Ebbinghaus, and William James became also popular (Goldstein, 2014). All these psychologists were the pioneers of the psychological studies. There were many contradictions in their works. However, the primary ideas about the nature of memory and the interpretations of the role of experience in the formation of the individuality by the scientists played a huge role in the creation of the primary view on the cognitive processes in the human mind.
The third examined milestone is the formation of the scientific trend to study cognitive processes in the second part of the 20th century. Evidently, many people consider that cognitive psychology was officially started as an independent discipline in 1960. The formation of the independent discipline happened due to the inner opposition of the scientists in the sphere of linguistics, artificial intellect, and developmental processes against the concepts of behaviorism, which was a predominant theory in psychology for fifty years. The appearance of the new scientific field happened with the help of ideas of George Miller, Noam Chomsky, James McClelland, and Allen Newell. The basic reason for the “cognitive revolution” was the development of the computer sciences and the intention to optimize the performance of soldiers (Goldstein, 2014). Furthermore, the psychology did not find answers to many problems, such as the difference between the abilities to memorize, in behavioral psychology.
Finally, the fourth milestone is the development of cognitive sciences in the 1980s. The growth of importance of neuroscience, anthropology, and ethology could be explained by the necessity of the humanity to explain the global problems. Thus, globalization had an impact on the understanding that human psychology does not only react to external stimuli, but also has an active role in the reorganization of the reality in accordance with the cognitive principles. At the same time, cognitive psychology adopted the method of behavioral observation, which helped to control memory, learning, and attention skills. Obviously, the behavioral patterns of the individual could reflect the cognitive scheme of his mind. Thus, the modern psychology is functioning as the dialectical synthesis of both behaviorism and cognitive psychology.
Conclusion
It is possible to conclude that cognitive psychology has passed through a long period of development. The primary ideas about the nature of memory vaguely resemble the modern schemes of the brain provided by the neuroscience researchers. There seems to be no doubt that the cognitive psychology is at the peak of its development now. Therefore, it is important to monitor news in order to find more information about the structure of our psyche.
References
Goldstein, B. (2014). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience. Wadsworth Publishing. 496.
