Relationship between Cognitive Psychology and Applied Psychology

Since its introduction in Psychology, by the North American psycholinguist Noam Chomsky (1), the term competitions has probably been one of the most used in recent years in the area of Psychology. This is because in all areas where psychologists are inserted, human development is promoted. As a consequence, all kinds of theories have been derived in this regard and different applications and uses can be found for this concept. If you are interested in knowing more about the Relationship between Cognitive Psychology and Applied Psychology, We invite you to read this PsicologíaOnline article.

Index

1. Introduction: contextual framework
2. Developing
3. Emergence of new theories
4. The role of technology in psychology
5. Alternatives to research in cognitive psychology
6. Conclusions

Since its introduction in Psychology, by the American psycholinguist Noam Chomsky (1), The term competences has probably been one of the most used in recent years in the area of ​​Psychology

These apps have been used to study both phenomena of language and thought, such as to predict success in a job in a company, or, generally, in life.

However, even though this notion is clear about its origin and follows a line of advance within Cognitive Psychology, has taken another path in the field of Business and Management Psychology, starting with McClelland's work (2) and his studies on labor competencies.

For a long time there has been in psychology a kind of divorce between the theories that arise from starting from scientific research and theories that emerge as a result of a professional. This division has occurred due to the fact that research in Cognitive Psychology was carried out taking the form of construction of scientific knowledge typical of the positivist paradigm. This form of investigation was based on isolating an element in such a way that it remained pure, stable and repeatable, causing that practically these research did not have a use of practical value, except for exceptions, that could use fields of applied psychology such as psychology Organizational.

That is why the Organizational psychology, was led to develop parallel to research in Cognitive Psychology the same concepts that had been introduced by this last, since research in the field of General Psychology, by isolating both the components, prevented an approach to the subject from a point of view. holistic view, and did not allow a real vision of all the factors that intervene when a worker performs a certain task (García Azcanio, 2003).

According to García Azcanio (2005, 2006a), in recent years cognitive psychologists they have turned the course of their investigations, and, instead of experimentally reproducing phenomena, they study cognitive processes in natural situations. This makes it possible for there to be a rapprochement between the theorists of General Psychology and those of Business Psychology, a fact that a few years ago It was unlikely due to the level of research in General Psychology that reduced the possibility of its application to different fields.

Currently, and due to the complexity that field investigations are taking, it is of vital importance that the findings that have been obtained are integrated, recently, within the framework of General Psychology with the conceptions that may arise derived from studies in professional action. This for various reasons. First, it allows enriching the theoretical framework with which professional action is assumed. Second, it gives this professional action methodological instruments with which to face daily practice. Third, it allows research in General Psychology to have a practical outlet through the which feedback can be obtained that makes it possible to enrich and refine said research. And finally, it allows General Psychology a more natural approach in the study of human beings (García Azcanio, 2006b).

This work aims to expose the situation of the research paradigm of human cognition in the current scientific-social context. For this, the approaches made by some specialists are reviewed and some points of view are outlined in this regard, focusing on the causes that they have forced the passage from "laboratory study" to "study in natural conditions" taking as a reference the studies about human capacities.

The greed for unravel and understand the human minda is not new. She is associated with the history of mankind. Philosophers like Aristotle, Hume, Locke, Descartes, Kant, etc., have made their contributions to the subject, and their notions still survive in our culture.

This study has reached our present time and cognitive process scientists face a task as difficult as it is interesting, since these phenomena are inaccessible to public observationThey are very fast and interact with each other in such a way that it is difficult to study an isolated phenomenon as there is a functional dependence of all the components of the system (De Vega, 1994).

This is one of the reasons why Behaviorism (3) named the brain as "the black box" and limited itself to studying the external manifestations of the human psyche: behavior.

Despite the roots of this paradigm, there were numerous researchers who were not satisfied with the results obtained and tried to delve into the "prohibited" studies until that moment. Thus, the development of computer science drew, once and for all, the veil that existed over the misnamed “Black box”, and since then what is known today as the Information Processing Approach emerged (EPI).

Numerous theories flowed with the intention of explaining phenomena ranging from word recall to problem solving process. All of them with a common characteristic: it was tried to isolate each one of the processes to study with in order to obtain results that were accepted according to the way of doing science proper to the Positivism. Thus the computer was used for programming that would allow modeling the human mind. This is known as the mind-computer analogy, in which it was stated that the human mind simulated the information processing carried out by a computer when solving problems.

In this context arises the theory of Generative and Transformational Grammar (Chomsky (4), 1971,1981), in which he introduces the term competition-performance. In this way, Chomsky (1971) defines linguistic competence as an intrinsic tacit knowledge, that is obtained incidentally and not by formal learning, which the speaker-listener possesses about the language. This can ideally be expressed by a system of rules that relates phonetic representations to their semantic interpretations, that is, by a grammar. For its part, acting (or performance) refers to the use that the speaker-listener makes of language in specific situations. The performance provides the data for competitor research.

This concept has been applied, within cognitive psychology in multiple ways, and there are what Miller (1975) calls different versions (5) of the distinction between competence and performance. They are:

1. language version,
2. cognitive version,
3. rationalist version,
4. development or developer version,
5. situational version,
6. critical version,
7. methodological version,
8. standalone version.

Although these versions differ in the way in which they operationalize the term, they coincide in the ways of investigating the phenomenon they study. Thus, the search for knowledge in scientific research was characterized by the assembly of experiments where the individual in an environment "suitable" for study, but which is far from the reality in which it is inserted in their life everyday.

An answer to why the study of cognitive processes was "denatured" in the decades from 70 to 80 it can be found in the proposals of Miller (1974), according to which there are two periods of development of a science. A first period, in which the scientific activity that is beginning to form, uses elements and ideas that are part of the common experience of all human beings. During this period, science is widely intelligible, that is, it is accessible even to lay people.

In a second period, this science will get more preciseYou will reach a deeper understanding or soar to greater heights of intellectual virtuosity. At this stage, science will lose its impact on the average man's view of himself and of the world. world around him, will have ceased to be a living reality, except for a small group of specialists. (Miller, 1974).

Cognitive psychology did not escape those two moments pointed out by Miller. During its birth as a paradigm it was accessible to many people. In fact, researchers from different fields were incorporated, who were given the task of trying to explain the processes that underlie human behavior and its consequences.

But it happens that these investigations were directed by a conception of science that made use of the method of positivist experimentation, systems were divided into smaller and smaller elements and studied with a specialism esoteric. In this paradigm, it was a question of minimizing uncertainty and risks, and the location in time and place and the process are irrelevant for the explanations. An example of this is that cognition was studied separate from the individual's personality.

A) Yes, His goal was to take an isolated element of nature that was kept artificially pure, stable and reproducible, to carry out experiments with it. Thus, in a supercontrolled laboratory environment, the properties of this element could be determined.

So, cognitive psychology came to the second stage, where the investigations and their results were seen, at the same time as refined, restricted to an elite of researchers who specialized in the subject.
It is because of that, the notion of competition-performance, although he is clear about his origin and follows a line of advance within cognitive psychology, he took another path in the field of business and management psychology. This is due to the importance of the study of human capabilities today, in a world where technology no longer seems to mark much. difference in the market, this difference being a result of the level of performance and training of the individuals who work in said organization.

It's funny that it was done an extrapolation of concepts from the area of ​​general psychology to applied psychology, in this case business, without following the development that these terms have had in their field of origin. That is, approaches and concepts related to competence have been developed, as well as study methods that have been implemented, which do not take from reference to the multiple investigations that have been developed at present in the field of cognitive psychology about this theme.

Psychology applied to organizations, is a technological resource that must be used by many individuals whose professions may or may not be related with psychology, such as managers, entrepreneurs, directors, consultants, economists, accountants, engineers, etc. These individuals need knowledge of psychology that they can apply easily and incidentally that can be given to know the average worker for its use, in order to increase the productivity and competitive capacity of the company.

From this point of view, the level reached by cognitive psychology had very little to offer, since its research they were so divorced from reality that they offered few methodological resources to psychology professionals business. In fact, it is unlikely that any cognitive psychology book will become a best-seller, for these very reasons. issues of not being able to “land” the content for an average reader, restricting its reading only to specialists in the theme.

This also includes the participation of people and technically trained researchers on a topic. All of these stakeholders form an expanded peer community for an effective global environmental risk problem solving strategy. This community of peers, or people involved in the process, is also expanding as the problem approaches post-normal science.

According to these authors, post-normal science it occurs when the uncertainties are epistemological or ethical, or when the risks reflect contradictory objectives between peers. In this sense, it is called postnormal, to indicate that the exercises of solving puzzles and isolating the elements of nature in a laboratory for study, they are no longer appropriate for solving environmental and risk policy problems. (Funtowicz and Ravetz, S / A).

Is new way of doing science is present above all in the social sciences (including psychology), and in the studies of Science, Technology and Society (CTS), where it is necessary to have a more humanistic look, more focused on man, as he unfolds in his daily environment. (Núñez Jover, 2001; López Cerezo, 2001).

A) Yes, technology depends more and more on scientific development and the boundaries between these become less and less clear. It is thus stated that the "new science" is, by its essence, technological. This must have a historical-social focus, differentiated from the positivist tradition, and have a expression in the practical sphere, for example: in industry, in services, etc. (Núñez Jover, 1994, 1999a).

Miller (1974), states that scientific achievements usually affect on two levels. On the one hand, serve as the basis for the development of technology and practical problems faced by people in their daily lives can be solved with relative ease. On the other hand, shape the vision of reality, by altering the way in which the world in which we live is understood. In this way, technology must be based on scientific development, and, at the same time, science be at the service of technology, thus allowing the development of humanity.

For Pimentel Ramos (1994) science and technology have a position of relative dependence on social conditions, which determine its current position and evolution. The “new science” is inserted in that context where new practical and cultural demands are expressed (Núñez Jover, 1999b).

In Cuba today there is a key example when the entire process of universalization of education is analyzed, where a good part of scientific knowledge, its transmission, the prioritized studies and the technologies that are developed, are based on her. All this, the product of a state policy from which the historical-social conditions are created for it.

Currently, studies in psychology have evolved as a result of the dominant paradigm shift in science, and they undertake to study the individual in his natural environment. Within this new conception of scientific research, new cognitivist currents have emerged and existing ones have been reformulated and renewed. In this way, researchers such as Gardner (1997, 1999), Sternberg (1997, 1999, 2001) and Goleman (1996, 1999), carry out their research on the competences human beings with a less arbitrary, artificial, and more natural conception, achieving considerable results and their concepts are developed in the light of new technological discoveries within the framework of neuropsychology and by new cross-cultural studies that they themselves call essential to understand the phenomenon studied.

Today, in cognitive psychology, it is not denied the importance of culture in the formation of the individual and in enhancing their capabilities. There are, therefore, cross-cultural studies, among others, in which the human being is located in his natural environment, and a highly effective predictive capacity of behavior is achieved. It is a fact that researchers in the field of general psychology are no longer interested only in the pure knowledge, but seek to give this knowledge a practical outlet for solving problems in the daily life.

These advances in the framework of cognitive psychology have not been sufficiently explored by psychologists or, more generally, managers who are dedicated to the improvement of the performance capacity of individuals in organizations. Today, the competition-performance duo is used, as developed by McClelland (1973) within the framework of business psychology, and the progress that has been made is left out. took place on this issue within cognitivist researchers, with the exception of Goleman's (1996, 1999) statements about emotional intelligence in organizations.

Furthermore, following Miller (1974), technology and applied psychology should make use of the advances that are produced in general psychology research. In the same way, general psychology must also provide findings that can be used by technology for its development. That is why the idea is shared that there must be a close relationship between science, technology and applied sciences to mutually enhance each other. That is, not only does science provide elements that allow the development of technology and applied science, even the same Science benefits from the data provided by applied science, not only to check, but also to polish its postulates.

In addition, as this is a time where knowledge about the potentialities of the human being is vital importance for development, all the conceptions that study it must be taken into account (García Azcanio, 2006b). This would allow enriching the theoretical framework that works with the individual and their development, and provides a solid base that allows to improve the methodological principles to study it in a future not very far.
When studying the work of authors such as Vygotsky (1979) and Bruner (7), it necessarily follows from it that the criteria of success are cultural elements, so it is impossible to draw up lists of success criteria that are useful and applicable in different cultures. Following this idea, conceiving man as a social being has important implications, since it implies that, studying man cannot be separated from the characteristics of the culture where he is inserted.

The holistic study of the human being in the insertion of him in different areas in which he interacts in his daily life, in a historical-social context determined, allows a true approach to understanding human cognition. This "humanizes" practices in processes such as personnel selection and training in the business world, since the greater the knowledge about the human component in a company, the more appropriate will be the demands imposed on it and the better results will be obtained in the enhancement of its growth.

In Cuba, for example, the selection of personnel that excludes people is not foreseen, Although it can be implemented, and in fact it is done, but as a formalism, since there is a whole system of social values ​​and a whole conception human beings and their priority, which allows the emphasis to fall more on developing human beings than on using them solely as a source of Profits. This last type of system, despite being efficient in a capitalist society, would not be successful in ours.

Another example of how linked scientific thought is to the historical-socio-political conditions of a country, We have in Cuban society where the integral development of man is prioritized and research is directed at this sense. Thus, when R&D is put into practice in an organization, or training is promoted, it will depend on the individuals who are involved and their potential to be stimulated.

In the case of a capitalist society All these investigations are put into practice according to the organization, thus, when it comes to managing the man in the company, the important thing is not the man himself, but the product derived from man and the profits that this it implies.

In this sense, it must be attentive to the transfer of such models of business management from one company to another. You definitely have to be careful with the concepts you work on, since the Cuban culture and social system have peculiarities that They differ notably from the systems where this type of management is studied and implemented, which come from companies capitalists. This is one of the reasons why some Cuban companies do not have the success that is expected of them, since they copy models without carrying out the pertinent studies.

Therefore, the scientific study, in Cuba, in natural conditions where it allows to see the subject without independence of the society in which it is inserted, enables, first, that the results obtained are adapted to the reality that the individual; second, that the technology that emerges from the research is used more effectively. Finally, it favors obtaining a greater development of both the individual and the society in which it is inserted, based on the dialectical relationship that exists between the individual and society.

In short, with this approach between different fields, not only is the area of ​​applied psychology promoted with the studies of general psychology, but it can also be found in business psychology, material that allows a better development of the theoretical conceptions raised by cognitive psychology. It is precisely the scientific approach in areas such as that of an organization, which provides that most natural vision of the human being.

In addition, research in cognitive psychology faced a second problem. How the investigations were carried out taking the form of construction of scientific knowledge typical of the paradigm positivist, the form of investigation was to isolate an element in such a way that it remained pure, stable and repeatable, practically these investigations had no practical value use, except in exceptions, that could use applied psychology fields such as organizational psychology.

Sternberg (1986) recognizes that, despite the differences in approaching the study of human capacities within psychology cognitively, these differences themselves are reduced to a negligible value when the different types of tasks that are proposed in a investigation with the daily tasks that the common man must perform, since there is a very big difference between these two types of activities.

According to Norman (1989) (6), a component of pure cognition can be described, But the human being is more than that, he is an organism with a biological base and an evolutionary and cultural history, he is a social being that interacts with others, with the environment and with himself. Central discussions of cognitive science have ignored these aspects of behavior. The results indicate that there has been considerable progress in some respects but great sterility in others.

This way of conceiving scientific knowledge manages to make nature predictable and controllable, but this is up to certain limit, once the object is placed back in its natural environment the chances of prediction decrease drastically. Namely, the richness of real life cannot be captured by the studies proposed by cognitive psychology.

Thus, organizational psychology developed, in parallel with research in cognitive psychology, concepts that had been introduced by the latter, to achieve an approach to the subject from a holistic point of view, and allow a real vision of all the factors that intervene when a worker perform a certain task, since research in the field of general psychology, by isolating both the components prevented.

In this sense, business psychology, As a result of the abstract level at which research moved within the framework of general psychology and due to the little practical utility of said applications, he dedicated himself to carrying out more specific studies that located the individual in his natural environment, and the purpose of these investigations is, fundamentally, to solve problems in the practice of companies and provide methodologies for this, based on a conceptualization, which although it provided a theoretical character to these investigations, does not attempt to constitute a theory that goes beyond its usefulness practices.

In this sense, while scientific investigations of human cognition were dedicated to atomizing the phenomena of everyday life, in the field business psychologists studied the human being, in his interaction with other humans, in an inserted organizational environment, in a socio-cultural context determined.

Now, at present, as a result of the problems of divorce from reality and of little practical use that have been presented by studies of human cognition, Cognitivist theories have changed the way they study cognitive processes.

An explanation to the question can be found in the framework of epistemology and in the past and current way of conceiving of the science and scientific research, taking into account that there has been a dominant paradigm shift in the approach to Sciences.

To address this, reference should be made to the work Kuhn (1962) and his notions of crisis, paradigm, normal period, scientific revolutions and discontinuous conception of the progress of science.

For this author, a paradigm is a disciplinary matrix that includes from beliefs and preconceptions, to prescriptions accepted by the scientific community (types of problems that arise, how they should be implemented, the theoretical models that are used, and their Applications. (De Vega, 1994).

According to the ideas of Kuhn (1962), lScience does not progress continuously and cumulatively. On the contrary, it is a discontinuous evolution punctuated by crises and revolutions. There is a period of normal science, in which a dominant paradigm is present, to which the different communities of scientists, specialists in different branches of science, and according to which all the investigations are guided and accumulated scientific.
During these periods, findings that are difficult to explain are also accumulating, which are incorporating the original paradigm, until its accumulation undermines the very essence of the paradigm in question. Then a period of crisis ensues, which is followed by a period of revolutionary science, where a new paradigm, which is gaining strength and adherents, until it is completely installed and a period of science occurs again normal. (Kuhn, 1962; De Vega, 1994).

Is way of conceiving the development of science, Although it is not the only one, it has been one of the most used, and in our case it allows us to illustrate the movement that has taken place in recent years within the framework of the conception of scientific research, and in the relationship between science and technology, with the dominant paradigm shift from positivism to science postnormal.

Thus, Funtowicz and Ravetz (S / A), following the ideas previously raised by Kuhn (1962), argue that a period has emerged which they call the post-normal science, What has happened has to replace positivism as the dominant paradigm in the way of doing science. In this new conception of scientific research, it is not about isolating the elements for study in a laboratory. On the contrary, an attempt is made to study the elements as they occur in real life.

According to this new conception of science, the interplay of system uncertainties and decision-making risks should be used. The uncertainty of the systems entails the principle that the problem is interested in the understanding or managing an inherently complex reality, and not in discovering a fact in particular. The risk in the decisions includes the different costs, profits and values ​​included in the subject through the different stakeholders. (Funtowicz and Ravetz, S / A).

In this way, Funtowicz and Ravetz (S / A), propose a diagram (figure 1) of problem solving strategies, in whose axes they place risk in decisions and the uncertainty of the systems, thus, it shows the interaction of epistemic (intensity of uncertainty) and axiological (intensity of risk in decisions) aspects. This diagram also represents the basic and applied sciences, professional consultation and post-normal science, which are part of a continuum and depending on the degree of intensity of uncertainty and / or risks of a given problem, it will fall in each of the 4 areas above raised.

Through this work, it has been possible to appreciate the influence of the new conception of science and its relationship with technology, in the evolution of investigations of human cognition from the passage of a paradigm that promoted the "laboratory study" to another paradigm that makes possible the "study under conditions natural ”.

For this, reference is made to the two main problems that have prevented the connection between the sciences applied and scientific investigations in general psychology: namely, the problems of divorce from reality and of little practical utility of research in cognitive psychology.

Thus, the product of a change in the conception of science, called "post-normal science" by authors such as Funtowicz and Ravetz (S / A) or "the new science" by authors such as Núñez Jover (1994) and Pimentel Ramos (1994), currently advocates a more humanistic view, more focused on man, as he unfolds in his environment daily.

From this it follows, firstly, that technology should be based on scientific development, and at the same time, science be at the service of technology, to thus allow the development of humanity. Second, that science and technology have a position of relative dependence with respect to social conditions, which determine their current position and evolution.

As a result of the above, research in cognitive psychology has taken a turn and, today, study human beings in their natural environment in order to achieve a greater approach to the understanding of the phenomena of human cognition.

Finally, as this is a time where knowledge about the potentialities of the human being is vital importance for Cuban society, and all the conceptions that study at the same time must be taken into account. same. This allows enrich the theoretical framework that works the individual and the development of it, and provides a solid foundation that makes it possible to improve the methodological principles for its study.

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1. Chomsky's notion of Competition-Performance can be reviewed in Chomsky, Noam (1981): “Current problems in linguistic theory and Theoretical issues of generative grammar”; Ed. XXI Century; Mexico; and in Chomsky, Noam (1971): "Aspects de la theorie syntaxique"; Éditions du Seuil; Paris.
2. McClelland's notion about organizational competencies can be reviewed in McClelland, David C. (1973): "Testing for Competence rather than for Intelligence"; American Psychologist; January.
3. Psychological paradigm that guided studies in psychology in the first half of the 20th century.
4. American linguist author of the theory of Generative and Transformational Grammar, with which he assisted a hard blow to behaviorism by explaining the process of language acquisition from the cognitive processes.
5. For further information, see: Miller, George A. (1975): "Some comments on competence and performance"; in Aaronson, Doris and Rieber, Robert W. (1975): "Developmental psycholinguistics and communication disorders"; Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, volume 263; New York.
6. Norman's criteria in this regard can be found in Norman, D. (1989): "Twelve problems for cognitive science"; in Poggioli, L. And Navarro, A. (1989): “Cognitive psychology. Development and prospects; McGraw-Hill; Mexico.
7. Cited by García Azcanio, Andrés (2003): “Human Potential. The notion of Competences ”; Diploma work to opt for the degree of Bachelor of Psychology; Faculty of Psychology, University of Havana.

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