I was looking through _History of Modern Psychology_ (Schultz and Schultz,
1996) and came across a comment which seems to suggest that the method of
modern cognitive psychology is introspection. To quote:
"The emergence of cognitive psychology with its renewed
focus on conscious experiences brought about the return
of...introspection." (p. 454)
It seems to me that I have also run across the same assertion in the final
writings of Skinner. It always strikes me as odd since I am aware of little
or no research in mainstream cognitive psychology that relies upon classic
introspection. Indeed, when I checked recent issues of _Cognitive Psychology_
I couldn't find a single article that had relied upon introspection for its
method. I (suspect the same would be true for other cognitive journals such
as _Memory and Cognition_, but I didn't check). Even recent work on the
"cognitive unconscious" seems not to rely on introspection. It makes me
wonder where the statement is coming from. Could someone enlighten me?
Thanks,
Buddy Grah
Dep't of Psychology
Austin Peay St. Univ.
Clarksville, TN 37044
