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Cognitive Psychology Tips

Read these 8 Cognitive Psychology Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Psychology Degree tips and hundreds of other topics.

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Understanding Cognitive Therapy

Psychiatrist Aaron T. Bect developed a psychotherapy called cognitive therapy. Cognitive Therapy was developed in the 1960s by Beck as a therapeutic approach to treat depression.

By identifying and changing behavior, emotional responses, and dysfunctional thinking, cognitive therapy aims to help the patient overcome numerous difficulties. This comes about by helping a patient develop skills for changing beliefs, recognizing distorted thoughts, changing the way one relates to others, and behavior modification. Treatment is focused on cooperation between the patient, the therapist and testing principles. In the beginning, Beck focused on depression and conceptualized something called “errors” in thinking, that he thought would produce depression. They include selective abstraction, over-generalization, arbitrary inference, and exaggeration of the negative, and a playing down of the positive.

Cognitive Retention Therapy is a cognitive therapy for dementia and is known as the Ashby Memory Method that is derived from research by Dr. Mira Ashby. Dr. Ashby’s programs on brain injury rehabilitation brought about this program. It is specially tailored for those who have suffered damage by Alzheimer’s disease and with other dementia. It also aids in stimulating the five senses.

   

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Tip

A key tip in following the cognitive-behavioral therapy approach is to follow the systematic procedure of it. The procedure centers on the theories of Aaron Beck and also Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Patients will be suffering from dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions. The initial step of this therapy is for the therapist and patient to agree on mutual goals for the outcome of therapy.
Through cognitive-behavioral therapy, the psychologist must identify the negative thinking styles of the client to get a better understanding of the problem. The patterns of negative thoughts and behavior must be corrected. If one believes in drugs as the answer for patients, it will be in the best interest to take up another aspect of psychological study because the cognitive-behavioral therapy approach despises drug treatment.
A good cognitive-behavioral therapist must also know the key concepts of behaviorism. The concepts of behaviorism correlate greatly in the approach. Patients who seek cognitive-behavioral therapy are those dealing with depression and anxiety. The more mentally disturbed patients suffering from illnesses like schizophrenia will not benefit from this therapy.

   

The Mechanism of The Brain and our Behavior

The world of psychology is an interesting aspect of the human mind and how it all works. We have a certain mechanism in our brain that helps us cope with a world in which we live. Sometimes, our mind will only let us tolerate so much, before it starts to protect us from our thoughts and feelings. There are several different types of defense mechanism including repression, regression denial, projection compensation, sublimation and more. The behavioral approach is the way we handle different things that happen to us.

From a psychological standpoint, the mind is a very complex part of our body. The behavioral approach is the way psychologists grasp the concept of how we act. It is most observed for observation, just watching how one behaves and reacts to things happening around them. There are many different approaches to the mechanism of the brain and one cannot figure out our behavior roach just my observation. You also have to consider someone’s upbringing, the morals they were taught, and compassion that they might have for others. Not everyone’s behavioral approach will be the same. Some people have more feelings and care than other people.

   
What is Cognitive Psychology?

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive (and/or Perceptual) Psychology looks at mental processes, such as memory, problem-solving, reflection, decision-making, perception and other aspects of how human beings think. In therapy, a Cognitive Psychologist, or another professional trained in Cognitive Psychology may, as examples, want to help an individual learn better problem-solving skills or challenge distorted perceptions. Cognitive psychology has only been considered a branch of psychology since the late nineteen-sixties. Its theories have become common within other branches of psychology too. Many psychotherapies and education approaches incorporate theories of cognition now.

   
What would I study in a Cognitive Psychology course or program?

The Study of Cognitive Psychology

Students of Cognitive Psychology are likely to study aspects of linguistics, logic, philosophy, behavioral psychology, human factors psychology, biological or neurological psychology, developmental psychology and related topics. Cognitive Psychology includes a complex set of inter-related, and sometimes, opposing theory. There are also several other types of cognitive therapy that are based on Cognitive Psychology, besides cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

   
What is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a vastly popular practical derivative of Cognitive Psychology that has shown success helping people with trauma, depression and personality disorders, to name a few applications. CBT relies on the recognition that our thoughts lead to our emotions and behaviors, and so to decrease distress or problem behaviors, the thoughts that lead to these need to be changed.

   
How is Cognitive Psychology related to computers?

Cognitive Psychology and Computers

Remember the term "user-friendly"? It's important for designers in the computer and software design arenas to understand how people most often think about how to search or otherwise use computers and computer programs. They need to know what makes logical and/or intuitive sense when using computers, particularly to a majority of users. As examples, understanding something about sensory perceptions, memory, problem-solving and decision-making -- all aspects of Cognitive Psychology -- is critical.

   
How can I find a Cognitive Psychology education program?

Cognitve Psychology Education

Cognitive Psychology is often paired with another discipline, or related discipline or terms, within higher education settings. Examples are; Neuropsychology/Cognitive Psychology, Behavioral/Cognitive Psychology, Communication/Cognitive Psychology and Perceptual/Cognitive Psychology. These programs are usually found at the graduate and doctoral levels, although there are often courses offered by the titles of Cognitive Psychology, Behavioral/Cognitive Psychology and others at the undergraduate level. Many undergraduate programs include the foundations, or at least aspects, of Cognitive Psychology as either courses or as part of other courses. Computer program design courses often include aspects of Cognitive Psychology too, as do many education courses.

   
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