Cognitive Psychology: Annotated Bibliography

In focus of the modern world today, cognitive behavior theory is one of the most widely practiced of the theories. The technological level and ability that could diagnostically reveal a portion of the inner workings and functionary process of the mind has undoubtedly contributed to the cognitive research. For the psychological community to experience a large gain in the professional practice of assessing and correcting inappropriate behavior is to assume that they know what the correct behavior is. Still it becomes a subjective belief that one might think to be appropriate, while there remains to possibility of uncertainty exposed by any new discovery that could have a revelation of evidence in fact.

In this chapter, various psychological skills are addressed, but they are presented in a straightforward and approachable manner that is beneficial for athletes that are new to the content. Chapter 5 focuses on areas outside of more traditional sport, including the military and individuals training for triathlons or ultramarathons. Primarily, this chapter discusses goal setting and other methods of preparation, such as imagery and mindfulness. Michael Jordan is the topic of Chapter 6, “Air Comeback”. In this chapter, Afremow breaks down Jordan’s hall of fame induction speech, pointing out each of the seven L’s each time they are

Behaviorism on learning and memory occupies an important position in the history of psychology. John B. Watson is the father of behaviorism while B.F. Skinner is the most famous behaviorist of the twentieth century. Watson’s methodological behaviorism means that it is only the behaviors of an individual that can be objectively observed. Skinner’s radical behaviorism emphasized that behaviors of human and animals are blindly influenced by environment. In this case, Watson and Skinner share similar views of behaviorism. For instance, they believe that the proper objectives of behavioral research include prediction and control (Staddon and Bueno, 1991). However, there are remarkable discrepancies in their views of human equality and freedom. Watson promoted the progressive process of human equality by maintaining concept of “tabula rasa”, whereas Skinner insisted that freedom is an illusion, so that he provided the adverse effect to the dictatorial institution. The fact is that the potential ambiguity produces a strong influence on people’s thinking and has a practical significance on society.

PSY 360 Week 1 Individual Assignment Cognitive Psychology Definition Paper Cognitive Psychology Definition Paper (12 points): This paper should be posted as a Word attachment in the Assignment Section and should be consistent with APA guidelines. Prepare a 700-1050-word paper in which you define cognitive psychology. Be sure to address the following topics in your paper. Identify at least four key milestones in the development of cognitive psychology as a discipline. Discuss the importance of behavioral observation in cognitive psychology. PSY 360 Week 2 Individual Assignment Phineas Gage Paper Phineas Gage Paper (12 points): This paper should be posted as a Word attachment in the Assignment Section and should be consistent with APA guidelines. Prepare a 700-1050-word paper in which you explain the role of the brain in cognitive functions. As part of your explanation,

Sports psychology deals with the mental and emotional aspects of physical performance. It involves describing, explaining and predicting attitudes, feelings and behaviours in an attempt to improve performance. In the film 'Coach Carter,' directed by Thomas Carter, sport psychology is used effectively to enhance the performance of a high school basketball team. However, this improved performance is not limited to the basketball court, it extends into the classroom where the students use goal setting, motivation, concentration and confidence control, ultimately to become accepted into college, avoiding a life of drugs, gangs and prison.

Meyers (1991) has shown that an increase to fitness levels in athletes is important to enhance their self-esteem and interpersonal behaviours. Physical practice is important not only for mere practice, but having a clear functioning mind toward the sport, adhering to exercise programs in an endeavour to improve athletic performance, both physically and mentally (Meyers, 1991). Researchers are finding it necessary to modify their approach towards athlete behaviour to enhance performance in the field of sport (Mendoza & Wichman, 1978). Studies also found that mental rehearsal was as effective as physical practice in improving performance, however physical practice gave athletes the benefits of enjoyment and motivation towards sport (Mendoza & Wichman, 1978).

The present review will analyze and critique five empirical sport psychology-related research articles. Moreover, the discussion of each article will include which statistical method was used, why it was used, and whether or not it was appropriate for the data. In addition, the article discussion will include a description and possible critique of the author’s interpretations of the results.

Cognitive psychology began emerging in the 1950’s. As highlighted by Kraiger and Salas (1993), this was partially as a response to behaviorism. Critics noted that behaviorism failed to explain how some internal development processes impacted behavior. Cognitive psychology focuses on how individuals acquire process and in the long run store information. Currently, cognitive psychology concentrates on few key human characteristics which include:

In this essay I am going to explore two of the major approaches to Psychology, Cognitive theories and Behaviourist theories. I will discuss in some detail the two approaches, state how they compare and illustrate the similarities and the differences between them. John Watson, one of the founders of Behaviourism, based his theories on the principles of learning outlined by Pavlov who suggested the theory known as Classical Conditioning; he trained dogs to salivate whenever he rang a bell. Dogs have a natural reflex response to salivate when they see food, Pavlov rang a bell when the dogs were given food and after several repetitions of this action, the dogs began to salivate whenever they heard the bell, even when there was not

Today in sports athletes endure many mental and physical obstacles from there competitive environment. Many of today's best athletes work with sports psychologists to help them handle the pressures found in this competitive atmosphere. One question that athletes ask is, why cant they play in big games as well as they anticipate themselves doing? Sports psychologists feel that spending all their time on body conditioning and athletic skills will not ensure that athletes reach their peak performance.

It has been identified that through sports psychology one can improve their physical ability and performance. Sports psychology is the study of how the mind, mental states and behaviour effect sporting performance. There are several sport psychology techniques, which have helped me become a better volleyball player. These techniques include planning for performance, controlling arousal levels, mental rehearsal and concentration.

The changes in how different psychological processes were identified and understood in the 1950s and 1960s is what many refer to as the “cognitive revolution.” The introduction of research in problems that have already been met - for instance, studying problems of memory and decision making - led to the new approach of theorizing. The cognitive revolution focused on just a couple of key concepts. One idea that stemmed during the cognitive revolution is that the science of psychology cannot direct study the mental world. Another idea that grew during the cognitive revolution was that in order to understand behavior, the science of psychology has to study the mental world (Cognition, pg. 8).

Many ideas were shared between Watson, Tolman, and Skinner who all played a role in the forming of behaviorism. They did, however, differ on some of their beliefs as well as their methods of study. At this time, methods of studying psychology as well as psychology in general were in the developing stages. Watson was largely credited with the foundation of behaviorism, however, he was by no means the only one to make contributions. There has been some debate as to whether Watson’s contributions were enough to make him the “founder of behaviorism.” It is important to examine contributions from several of the early

Cognitive psychology is a pure science based mainly on laboratory experiments and began to revolutionize psychology in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s and became the dominant approach in psychology by the late 1970’s [ (McLeod, 2007) ] according to Saul McLeod. An example of the cognitive perspective would be when one learns to take blood pressure. First you must learn how to manipulate the blood pressure manometer, learn how to hear blood pressure sounds and understand the meaning of the sounds. As each time you practice these activity, you will gain more confidence and competence in performing the task. The strong point of this perspective is that it mostly uses rigorous scientific methods and the approach has had many practical applications. The weakness of this perspective is that it is to simplistic. It ignores the complexity of the human function, biological influences of the human function and it ignores the emotions, conscious experience and free will.

“Cognitive psychology is a modern approach to the study of [processes by which people come to understand the world- such processes as memory, learning, comprehending language, problem solving, and creativity. Cognitive psychology has been influenced by developments in language, computer science, and of course, earlier work in philosophy and psychology” – Hayes (cited by Lundin)