Cognitive Theory – Jean Piaget was an employee at the Binet Institute in the 1920’s where he was responsible for French versions of questions on English intelligence tests. It was there where he became intrigued by reasons children gave for their wrong answers on tests dealing with logical thinking. Piaget came to conclusion that these incorrect answers revealed key differences between the thinking of children and adults. In 1936 Jean Piaget was the first psychologist to make systematic study of cognitive development. His studies include a theory of cognitive child development, detailed observational studies of cognition in all children, and finally a series of simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive abilities. Before Piaget’s work, it was under the
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Processes such as attention, memory, and perception were studied as they have been shown to have an effect on our behavior. Researches by Loftus and Palmer (1974) have shown that memories on eye witness testimony are unreliable.
Another strength of cognitive approach is theories have been applied to many cognitive therapies such as Rational Emotive Therapy. This therapy has been able to turn irrational thoughts into rational thoughts.
Weakness- One major weak spot for cognitive is it is a reductionist. It reduces the human behavior down to individual processes such as memory and attention. This is a weakness because the human is a product of many processes working together and not just a select few.
Another weakness is the cognitive approach is too mechanical; it compares humans too much like computers as if they have similar processes. Humans are WAY more complex as they have emotions that can change the output unlike computers.
How has cognitive theory helped
Processes such as attention, memory, and perception were studied as they have been shown to have an effect on our behavior. Researches by Loftus and Palmer (1974) have shown that memories on eye witness testimony are unreliable.
Another strength of cognitive approach is theories have been applied to many cognitive therapies such as Rational Emotive Therapy. This therapy has been able to turn irrational thoughts into rational thoughts.
Weakness- One major weak spot for cognitive is it is a reductionist. It reduces the human behavior down to individual processes such as memory and attention. This is a weakness because the human is a product of many processes working together and not just a select few.
Another weakness is the cognitive approach is too mechanical; it compares humans too much like computers as if they have similar processes. Humans are WAY more complex as they have emotions that can change the output unlike computers.
How has cognitive theory helped