Compare and contrast the methods used for research in cognitive psychology, in the areas of language processes and memory and learning

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Compare and contrast the methods used for research in cognitive psychology, in the areas of language processes and memory and learning

Cognitive psychology can be defined as the study of the way in which the brain processes information. Interest in this area can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, although cognitive psychology as we know it today emerged around the 1950s. Throughout the years this area of psychology has evolved substantially, aided by technological and scientific advances. There are numerous areas in the scope of cognitive psychology, including sensation and perception, attention and selection, language processes, memory and learning and reasoning and problem solving. Each of these areas implements various different research methods to investigate mental processes. This essay aims to first outline these research methods, then focus on the similarities and differences between the methods used in two different areas of cognitive psychology – namely language processes and memory and learning. Research studies will be presented as evidence.

Different psychologists name and categorise research methods differently. Best (1995) identifies three main methods in cognitive psychology. These include making inferences from the analysis of error patterns; making inferences from the analysis of reaction times (these are both used in experimental studies) and the use of computer simulations. Best also highlights the issue of ecological validity – as the laboratory is employed in many research studies, the findings may not have much connection with how cognitive systems function in the real world. This is important as it influences the areas of interest cognitive psychologists study in their experiments.

Groome (1999) identifies three main approaches – experimental psychology, computer modelling and cognitive neuroscience. Experimental psychology involves the use of human subjects in controlled environments (i.e. laboratories) to test hypotheses. Computer modelling makes use of computer programs in order to test out models of brain function, and cognitive neuroscience looks at the differences in brain activity during specific cognitive tasks.

Sekuler and Blake (1994) also identify three main approaches – psychological, biological and theoretical approaches. The psychological approach consists of phenomenal/naturalistic methods which involve verbal responses to naturally occurring stimuli, and the experimental method employing the control and manipulation of variables. The biological approach includes lesion techniques (relating damage of the brain to changes in perceptual functioning), the relation of electrical brain activity to responses and the relation of local brain activity to perceptual acts. The theoretical approach involves the use of computers to investigate cognitive functions.

Finally, Sternberg (1996) identifies experimental methods, psychobiological research (effects of brain damage), self-reports, case studies, naturalistic observations, computer simulations and artificial intelligence. Similarities between the categorisations used by the aforementioned psychologists can be seen.

We can now go on to discuss how some of these methods are used in the two chosen areas of interest in this essay. The field of language processes investigates how we process language and its meaning. Within this field there are several domains of interest, including language acquisition (e.g. language development, innate mechanisms for learning language); language comprehension (e.g. sentence processing, story processing, reading); and language production (e.g. speech production, writing).

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The field of memory and learning questions how we represent, store and retrieve information. It encompasses the domains of working memory (e.g. interference and decay of memories); long-term memory (e.g. retention and activation of memories); and skills acquisition (e.g. practice, procedural knowledge).

Both of these fields of cognitive psychology make considerable use of the experimental method in their research. Controlled laboratory experiments obtain samples of performance at a particular time and place. The techniques of these experiments, however, differs somewhat between the two areas and so allows us to compare and contrast them.

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