Who is credited with formally coining cognitive psychology?

Who is credited with formally coining cognitive psychology?

• A. Noam Chomsky
• B. Jean Piaget
• C. Ulric Neisser
• D. Donald Broadbent

Answer: (C)

Cognitive psychology emerged as a distinct discipline in the mid-20th century, focusing on mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning, and decision-making. Ulric Neisser is credited with formally coining the term "cognitive psychology" in his 1967 book titled "Cognitive Psychology." His work helped establish the field as a legitimate area of study, distinguishing it from behaviorism, which had dominated psychology prior to that time. Neisser's emphasis on internal mental processes shifted the focus of psychological research from observable behavior to the study of how people think and process information, laying the groundwork for future research and development in cognitive science.

While Noam Chomsky made significant contributions to cognitive science, particularly in linguistics and the understanding of language acquisition, his work did not focus explicitly on coining the term cognitive psychology. Jean Piaget is renowned for his studies on cognitive development in children, contributing to our understanding of how individuals acquire knowledge over time, but he did not coin the term itself. Donald Broadbent is known for his work in attention and memory but also did not define the field of cognitive psychology as Neisser did. Thus, Ulric Neisser remains the key figure who officially named and shaped cognitive psychology as a distinct