Foundations & Introduction to
Cognitive Psychology
1. What is Psychology?
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of mental processes,
experiences, and behaviour in context. It is not just about observing behaviour,
but about understanding the processes behind it. Psychology is therefore both
a natural science and a social science, drawing upon methods from biology,
philosophy, and statistics.
Mental Processes: These include thinking, remembering, problem-solving,
perceiving, and learning. For example, when a student solves a mathematical
equation, they use memory to recall formulas, reasoning to select the right
method, and problem-solving skills to apply steps. Such processes are not
directly visible but are inferred from performance and experiments.
Experiences: Experiences refer to subjective states of awareness. For
instance, happiness, anger, fear, or dream states all fall under this category.
They can be altered by drugs, meditation, or trauma. Altered states of
consciousness—such as hypnosis or daydreaming— are also studied by
psychologists.
Behaviour: Behaviour is the observable response of an organism to a
stimulus. Examples include overt behaviour like speaking or writing, and
covert behaviour such as silently rehearsing information in one’s mind. The
classical model of psychology is stimulus → response, but modern psychology
also looks at the role of cognition in this chain.
Importantly, psychology must be separated from common sense. While
common sense is guided by intuition, cultural beliefs, and biases such
as stereotypes or confirmation bias, psychology seeks objective
evidence. It follows the hypothetico-deductive method, where
hypotheses are proposed, tested with experiments, and revised
according to results.
, 2. What is Cognitive Psychology?
Cognitive Psychology is a scientific field that studies the mind and how
it processes information. It is concerned with how people acquire, store,
and retrieve knowledge. Unlike behaviourism, which focused only on
observable actions, cognitive psychology focuses on what happens
inside the mind.
Cognitive functions include perception (how we interpret sensory
input), attention (how we focus on relevant stimuli), memory (how we
encode and recall information), language (understanding and
producing speech), reasoning, decision-making, and problem-
solving. Each of these functions plays a crucial role in human survival
and adaptation.
The role of the mind in cognitive psychology is to create mental
representations. For instance, when navigating a new city, people
develop a mental map that guides them to their destination. This ability to
form cognitive maps, store them in memory, and retrieve them later
shows how cognitive psychology explains everyday life.
Cognitive psychology also has practical applications in fields such
as education, artificial intelligence, mental health treatment, and
ergonomics, making it one of the most influential branches of
psychology today.
Cognitive Psychology
1. What is Psychology?
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of mental processes,
experiences, and behaviour in context. It is not just about observing behaviour,
but about understanding the processes behind it. Psychology is therefore both
a natural science and a social science, drawing upon methods from biology,
philosophy, and statistics.
Mental Processes: These include thinking, remembering, problem-solving,
perceiving, and learning. For example, when a student solves a mathematical
equation, they use memory to recall formulas, reasoning to select the right
method, and problem-solving skills to apply steps. Such processes are not
directly visible but are inferred from performance and experiments.
Experiences: Experiences refer to subjective states of awareness. For
instance, happiness, anger, fear, or dream states all fall under this category.
They can be altered by drugs, meditation, or trauma. Altered states of
consciousness—such as hypnosis or daydreaming— are also studied by
psychologists.
Behaviour: Behaviour is the observable response of an organism to a
stimulus. Examples include overt behaviour like speaking or writing, and
covert behaviour such as silently rehearsing information in one’s mind. The
classical model of psychology is stimulus → response, but modern psychology
also looks at the role of cognition in this chain.
Importantly, psychology must be separated from common sense. While
common sense is guided by intuition, cultural beliefs, and biases such
as stereotypes or confirmation bias, psychology seeks objective
evidence. It follows the hypothetico-deductive method, where
hypotheses are proposed, tested with experiments, and revised
according to results.
, 2. What is Cognitive Psychology?
Cognitive Psychology is a scientific field that studies the mind and how
it processes information. It is concerned with how people acquire, store,
and retrieve knowledge. Unlike behaviourism, which focused only on
observable actions, cognitive psychology focuses on what happens
inside the mind.
Cognitive functions include perception (how we interpret sensory
input), attention (how we focus on relevant stimuli), memory (how we
encode and recall information), language (understanding and
producing speech), reasoning, decision-making, and problem-
solving. Each of these functions plays a crucial role in human survival
and adaptation.
The role of the mind in cognitive psychology is to create mental
representations. For instance, when navigating a new city, people
develop a mental map that guides them to their destination. This ability to
form cognitive maps, store them in memory, and retrieve them later
shows how cognitive psychology explains everyday life.
Cognitive psychology also has practical applications in fields such
as education, artificial intelligence, mental health treatment, and
ergonomics, making it one of the most influential branches of
psychology today.
