Cognitivism

Cognitivism is a theoretical framework in psychology, education, and cognitive science that focuses on the internal mental processes involved in learning, memory, perception, and problem solving. It emerged in the 1950s and 1960s as a reaction to behaviorism, arguing that observable behavior alone provides an incomplete picture of the mind and that knowledge is acquired and organized through mental representations.

Information processing models describe the mind as a system that encodes input, stores information, and retrieves it for use. Key constructs include schemas, scripts, and frames that help organize knowledge and guide interpretation. Learning is viewed as a change in these mental structures, involving attention, rehearsal, encoding strategies, and metacognition. Cognitivism also emphasizes the role of memory processes, such as encoding, storage, and retrieval, and the way information is transformed and integrated with prior knowledge.

Historical figures such as Ulric Neisser, George A. Miller, and Noam Chomsky contributed to its development, along with Piaget’s work on cognitive development. In education, cognitivism influenced instructional design through ideas like cognitive load theory and dual coding theory, aiming to optimize how information is presented to fit processing limits and improve retention.

Critics note that cognitivism can overlook social context, motivation, and emotion, and some argue it is overly reductionist. Since the late 20th century, it has evolved to incorporate insights from cognitive neuroscience, embodied and distributed cognition, and sociocultural perspectives, leading to more integrated accounts of learning and cognition.