Overview
Cognitive Psychology is the study of how people think. It treats the brain like a computer: input (senses) -> processing (cognition) -> output (behavior).
Core Idea
The core idea is information processing. We don’t just react to stimuli (like behaviorists thought); we interpret, store, and manipulate information.
Formal Definition
The study of internal mental processes. It investigates how people perceive, learn, remember, and think.
Intuition
- Attention: The spotlight of the mind. You can’t process everything, so you filter. (Cocktail Party Effect).
- Memory: Not a video recording, but a reconstruction. (Short-term vs. Long-term memory).
- Heuristics: Mental shortcuts we use to make decisions quickly (but sometimes irrationally).
Examples
- Stroop Effect: It’s hard to say the color of the word “RED” if it’s printed in blue ink. Shows interference in processing.
- False Memories: You can be convinced you remember things that never happened (Loftus).
- Change Blindness: You fail to notice big changes in a scene if your attention is elsewhere.
Common Misconceptions
- Misconception: We use 10% of our brains.
- Correction: We use all of it. Just not all at once for every task.
- Misconception: Memory is perfect.
- Correction: Every time you recall a memory, you rewrite it. It is highly fallible.
Related Concepts
- Neuroscience: The hardware (brain) running the software (cognition).
- Artificial Intelligence: Modeling cognition in machines.
- Behavioral Economics: Applying cognitive biases to money.
Applications
- Education: Designing better teaching methods (Spaced Repetition).
- UX Design: Making apps intuitive to use.
- Therapy: CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) fixes “bugs” in your thinking patterns.
Criticism and Limitations
- Ecological Validity: Lab experiments (memorizing word lists) might not reflect how we think in the real world.
Further Reading
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Cognitive Psychology by Ulric Neisser