The Contribution of Patient Case Studies on our...

Although it shares cognitive neuroscience’s roots, cognitive neuropsychology has developed into a discrete discipline. While cognitive neuroscience studies neural organisation of the brain, cognitive neuropsychology concerns itself with the brain’s functional architecture; Coltheart (2010) describes this as a distinction between brain and mind. According to, among others, Coltheart (2002, cited Coltheart, 2010) this makes cognitive neuropsychology a branch of cognitive psychology rather than neuroscience. Patient case studies have played a critical role in developing cognitive neuropsychology into a separate discipline, although data from case studies can support and even progress cognitive neuroscientific findings about neural†¦show more content†¦Initially patients with brain damage were studied with the aim of understanding and treating their disorder. This was the case for Phineas Gage, who developed behavioural changes after a tamping iron passed through his brain in 1848 (Harlow, 1868, cited Jansari, 2010). However, progress in the field of cognitive psychology has enabled the development of complex theoretical models of cognitive function and improved research techniques. Advances in technology have given researchers the tools to view damaged brains before death and compare them to normally functioning, intact brains. As a result, a more challenging aim of cognitive neuropsychology has emerged: understanding and explaining normal cognitive processes. This is achieved b y studying a deficit in cognitive function in a brain-damaged patient and making inferences about intact cognition. For example, Shallice and Warrington’s (1970, cited Hitch, 2010) investigation of patient KF with acquired brain damage showed that he had an impaired auditory digit span but normal intelligence and performance in long-term learning and memory and understanding spoken language. This supported a dissociation between short-term memory and long-term memory initially proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1971, cited Hitch, 2010). Thus a model of the intact memory system is developed or supported, which in turn explains memory deficits in patients with brain damage. Coltheart (2010) lists nine areas of cognitive processing, identifiedShow MoreRelatedCognitive Psychology And Our Understanding Of Human Mind1219 Words   |  5 Pages Pollyanna Patriota de Almeida Evaluate the contribution of cognitive Psychology to our understanding of human mind. Home Essay 2 Introduction The Cognitive psychology is an area of knowledge that study how people are able to understand, learn, remember and think about certain situations in life, that is, to study the mental processes of individuals. The cognitive psychologist s task is to discover laws that establish connections between the behavior and the varietyRead MoreThe Theoretical Approaches Of Psychology1651 Words   |  7 PagesPsychology is the scientific â€Å"study of the mind† (Gross, 2015) and behaviour, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective which is someone’s view about human behaviour, there can be many different theories within an approach, however they all piece together the same assumptions. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behaviour. Theories are not facts but can be verified byRead More An Evaluation of Case Studies and Their Contribution to Cognitive Neuropsychology as a Discipline2085 Words   |  9 PagesCognitive psychology is the study of the brains internal processes that guide behaviour; to study cognition, psychologists examine case studies of patients with damaged brains that can infer areas, and functions involved in particular processes. Patient studies have provided insights into the processes that take place within our minds, and have enabled psychologists to create models, which can be tested and fractionated. Cognitive neuropsychology has developed from cognitive psychology to becomeRead MoreSocial Anxiety Disorder : Symptoms And Treatments Essay1533 Words   |  7 PagesSocial Anxiety Disorder: Symptoms and Treatments The feeling of anxiety is familiar to all of us and we all experienced some anxiety and fear at least once in our life. Whether that was the first day in a new workplace, the first day in college, or before an important meeting, we felt that we were really anxious and nervous. From the evolutionary perspective, the conservation of fear and anxiety among some species is a good indication that those emotions are highly important for survival. Some peopleRead MoreI Am Looking At Where Psychology As A Discipline1361 Words   |  6 PagesHistory of Psychology In this essay I am looking at where Psychology as a discipline has come from and what affects these early ideas have had on psychology today, Psychology as a whole has stemmed from a number of different areas of study from Physics to Biology, But the first Psychological foundations are rooted in philosophy, which to this day propels psychological inquiry in areas such as language acquisition, consciousness, and even vision among many others. While the great philosophicalRead MoreEssay about History of Psychology1417 Words   |  6 Pagesturning points and breakthroughs. In this essay I am looking at where Psychology as a discipline has come from and what affects these early ideas have had on psychology today, Psychology as a whole has stemmed from a number of different areas of study from Physics to Biology, But the first Psychological foundations are rooted in philosophy, which to this day propels psychological inquiry in areas such as language acquisition, consciousness, and even vision among many others. While the great philosophicalRead MoreJean Piaget s Theory On Cognitive Development1045 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout history, many brilliant minds have made impactful contributions in Psychology which have shaped our understandings of the human mind and our behaviors. Jean Piaget was by no means an exception. Piaget was a clinical psychologist known for his pioneering work in child development. He was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. Over the course of his later career in child psychology, he identified four stages of mental development that took into accountRead MoreThe Applications of Psychology1367 Words   |  6 Pagescontinuity between the sciences that study the animal and to study man, aiming at studying their behavior (Barsalou, 2008). Influenced by Pavlov, who believed that acts of life were only reflexes, and Betcherev, interested especially in muscle reflexes, showed that the conditioning plays a vital role in behavioral theory. The principle of conditioning that arises in describing the body is unconditioned responses to certain situations. Studying conditioning processes could be detected very specific unitsRead MoreSocial Anxiety Disorder : Causes, Symptoms And Treatments Essay1789 Words   |  8 PagesSocial Anxiety Disorder: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments The feeling of anxiety is familiar to all of us and we all experienced some anxiety and fear at least once in our life. Whether that was the first day in a new workplace, the first day in college, or before an important meeting, we felt that we were really anxious and nervous. From the evolutionary perspective, the conservation of fear and anxiety among some species is a good indication that those emotions are highly important for survivalRead MoreThe Basics of Cognitive Theory in Relation to the Development of Abnormal Behavior1773 Words   |  8 PagesApproved†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Explain the basics of cognitive theory in relation to the development of abnormal behavior. Use Aaron T. Beck and Albert Ellis as theorists for reference. If you believe the saying Perception is everything, then you may well be a cognitivist.   According to the cognitive perspective, people engage in abnormal behavior because of particular thoughts and behaviors that are often based upon their false assumptions. Cognitives believe that without these thought processes, we could have no emotions