by C.H. Chavez

Created on: April 13, 2009

Cognitive Psychology is a "branch of psychology devoted to the study of human cognition, particularly as it affects learning and [behavior]. The field grew out of advances in Gestalt, developmental, and comparative psychology and in computer science, particularly information-processing research. Cognitive psychology shares many research interests with cognitive science, and some experts classify it as a branch of the latter." (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia)

"In the West, human cognition studies can be traced to the ancient Greeks, Plato and Aristotle." (Stark and Ellis, 1981). Understanding the complex mind, the learning process, and how humans learn and retain knowledge is significant not only defines who we are as individuals, but why we behave the way we do. This being so, "attempts to understand the mind and its operation go back at least to the Ancient Greeks, when philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle tried to explain the nature of human knowledge. The study of mind remained the province of philosophy until the nineteenth century, when experimental psychology developed." (Thagard, 2007) If it weren't for the Greek philosophers and their desire for knowledge, we would not have cognitive psychology.

"Aristotle describes greatly describes the mind as the part of the soul by which it knows and understands' thus characterizing it in broadly functional terms. It is plain that humans can know and understand things; indeed, Aristotle supposes that it is our very nature to desire knowledge and understanding. In this way, just as the having of sensory faculties is essential to being an animal, so the having of a mind is essential to being a human. (Shields, 2007) Without the mind, thoughts, and memories humans and animals would not be able to function or survive. What would happen if the mind of a lion did not receive the signal for hunger pains? The lion would surely die of starvation for not knowing when and how much to eat in order to satisfy his or her hunger. This not only would negatively affect animals, but humans as well. If there was no brain, survival would be difficult for almost all living things that require all basic necessities and the use of their brain in order to keep living.

Philosophers have always been interested in learning and knowledge. "There are three ways of asking how knowledge is acquired, and these three questions were later asked by cognitive psychologists."(Willingham, 2007) Philosophers set cognitive psychology in motion and

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