I'd also be interested in hearing replies as I have noted that most texts and
brochures that I find describing cognitive work is now actually social or
developmental or is simply termed "neuroscience." I can understand why
psychologists might prefer to be seen as neuroscientists, but don't know if
this is just the cognitive group.
Skinner is smiling ha. Indeed, Annette commented: "I like that good
old-fashioned approach to cognitive "psychology" as relying primarily on
behavior." Skinner would REALLY be smiling! Most of our "cognitive psych"
folks are working in other areas, or as experimentalists, doing the
research/stats line of work. I wonder if those wishing to reference
hypothetical inner processes have simply moved to social and developmental
arenas to do so, while others find neurological speculation more to their
liking? It is interesting--perhaps history happened and we missed it ha. Gary
Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D.
Professor, Psychology
Saginaw Valley State University
University Center, MI 48710
989-964-4491
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 11/2/2008 10:45 am >>>
I posted this message to the other teaching list in psychology in regards to a
request for advice on textbooks for cognitive psychology. It got no takers on
the
philosophical issues, so I post it here for philosophical discussion. I have
greater confidence in my tips friends picking up on the core issues. Sorry to
say
but I find the other list very shallow.
==========================================
Timely question as I have been musing lately over the question "where has
cognitive psychology gone?" It seems to me that judging by the newest texts
and by the job ads that I see advertised in the Monitor and Observer for a
"cognitive psychologist" that the mainstream definition has shifted away from
an examination of behaviors from which we can infer that some kind of thought
process is going on, to include things like sensation, perception, attention,
sensory memory, short term (working, active) memory, long term memory,
concept formation, semantic organization, problem solving, decision making, to
a more biologically-based field. The mainstream definition seems to me to have
shifted to looking at how we can link brain processes to various behaviors that
had previously, partially allowed us to infer certain cognitive processes.
So, with that long-winded preface, I was schooled in information processing
and am sort of behind the times I think, as for undergraduates I like that good
old-fashioned approach to cognitive "psychology" as relying primarily on
behavior. So I like the Reed text. It is not as heavily based in neuroscience
as
some of the newer texts. For me personally, I enjoy the neuroscience slant, but
I'm not sure that's a good point of departure for the students. I sometimes
wonder where the dividing line is between some texts in biological psychology
and some in cognitive psychology as the two approach one another (with a little
bit of mathematical modeling thrown in) in cognitive neuroscience. But I'm not
sure what I want to teach my students these days.
Are we in the midst of a revolution? Or is this just a tweek, a bump in the
paradigm that has dominated for the last 50 years? Clearly there are many
anomalies, but is neuroscience the new normal science? Is it too soon to tell?
I
don't know. About two decades ago I was sure we were going to a neural
network model paradigm dominating cognitive psychology but it has not
happened. Why? I think the model was too "hard" for most people in the field--
the mathematical models went over many clinicians heads, who apply the
cognitive field to therapy models.
So I guess the text you select will need to address your conception of where
you
see the field and what your students will need to know, and how much you want
to rely on the "psychology" and how much on the neuroscience.
Sorry for the digression but it's been on my mind a lot lately.
Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
University of San Diego
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110
619-260-4006
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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