5. Cognitive perspectives in psychology

William Winn
Daniel Snyder

University of Washington

5.1 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of the developments in cognitive psychology that have been influential in educational technology research. Since cognitive psychology is a broad, eclectic, and sometimes elusive discipline, this chapter is of necessity selective. Nonetheless, it provides discussion of the most important research in cognitive psychology that has a bearing on the theory and practice of educational technology.

Educational technology came of age as a discipline at a time when relevant psychological theory was based almost entirely on behavioral principles (see 2.2). This meant that the procedures and practice of educational technology evolved to accommodate behavioral accounts of learning and instruction (Winn, 1989). History teaches us that theories change more readily than practice. Therefore, when researchers started to develop cognitive theories that compensated for the inadequacy of behaviorism to explain many aspects of human activity, the technologies and practices by means of which psychological theory is applied changed much more slowly, and in some cases not at all. The practices recommended by some schools of thought in instructional design are still exclusively behavioral. This chapter is colored by the tension that exists between some aspects of traditional practice in educational technology and cognitive theory, a tension that arises from the difficulty of trying to reconcile one kind of theory with procedures for application developed for another kind.

The different rates of change in the theory and practice of educational technology mean that the true importance of research in cognitive psychology to our field must be examined in its historical context. For this reason, the chapter begins with a brief review of the antecedents of cognitive theory and of behaviorism against which it reacted. The historical development of cognitive psychology and cognitive science is addressed in a little more detail. The next two sections deal with two of the cornerstones of cognitive theory, mental representation, and mental processes. It will become clear that these topics are not entirely dissociable one from the other. Nonetheless, we feel that this somewhat artificial distinction is a better compromise for the sake of clarity than the muddle that would surely ensue from trying to treat both at once. The final section speaks specifically to the relevance of cognitive psychology to the practice of educational technology, namely, instructional design. It examines ways in which cognitive theory has been brought to both the theory of instruction and the design procedures by means of which that theory is applied to practical tasks.