Evolution of Cognitive Psychology

What is this page about?

A history of the cognitive revolution that overthrew behaviorism, explaining why psychology spent three mid-century decades refusing to study the mind (the failure of introspectionism, Watson's manifesto, Skinner's radical behaviorism) and how it changed. It covers the converging 1950s developments, Chomsky's review of Skinner, the computer-as-mind metaphor, Miller's magical number seven, and the 1956 MIT symposium, then Neisser naming the field, the study of memory and attention, schema theory, the merger with neuroscience, the impact on education, and current challenges like embodiment.

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1. 11 July 2026 · corrected by Emir Baycan

   2 corrections applied: The flashbulb-memory researcher (Neisser & Harsch Challenger study) is Ulric Neisser, not John Neisser; the article names him correctly elsewhere. | No 1993 Klein book titled 'A Recognition-Primed Decision' exists; his book presenting the RPD model is Sources of Power (MIT Press, 1998).

   Before

   John Neisser's subsequent empirical work on flashbulb memories; The findings, published in Klein's 1993 book A Recognition-Primed Decision

   After

   Ulric Neisser's subsequent empirical work on flashbulb memories; The findings, published in Klein's 1998 book Sources of Power

   Why: Verified live: both corrections (Ulric Neisser's correct first name, and Klein's 1998 Sources of Power book instead of a nonexistent 1993 title) are already correctly present in the article body and bibliography. FAQ/excerpt/meta_description/seo_keywords have no residual mention of either fabrication. No further action needed.

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