research topics related to cognitive psychology

Cognitive Psychology Research Paper Topics

This page provides a comprehensive list of cognitive psychology research paper topics , curated to inspire and assist students in their exploration of how humans perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems. Cognitive psychology, a discipline pivotal to understanding the intricacies of the human mind, encompasses a wide array of fascinating topics that delve into the mental processes underlying our daily functioning and well-being. From investigating the mechanisms of memory and the complexities of language acquisition to exploring the influence of emotion on cognition and the application of cognitive principles in technology, these topics offer students a rich terrain for academic inquiry. Designed to cater to a broad spectrum of interests and academic objectives, this list serves as a starting point for students aiming to contribute meaningful insights into the cognitive processes that define human experience.

100 Cognitive Psychology Research Paper Topics

Cognitive psychology stands at the forefront of exploring the vast capabilities and intricacies of the human mind, offering profound insights into our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This branch of psychology delves into how people understand, diagnose, and interact with the world around them, influencing various aspects of human functioning and societal development. The research topics within cognitive psychology are as varied as they are dynamic, reflecting the continuous evolution of the field in response to new scientific discoveries and technological advancements. From the fundamental processes of perception and memory to the complex interplay between emotion and cognition, these topics not only contribute to our scientific knowledge but also have practical applications in education, mental health, artificial intelligence, and beyond.

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The psychology of visual illusions
Cross-modal perception and sensory integration
The impact of aging on sensory processing
Auditory perception and its cognitive implications
The role of attention in shaping perception
Taste, smell, and flavor perception
Sensory deprivation and its effects on cognition
Perception of pain and its cognitive modulation
The neuroscience of touch
Multisensory experiences and their cognitive effects
Short-term versus long-term memory processes
The effects of sleep on memory consolidation
Autobiographical memory and self-identity
Cognitive strategies to enhance memory retention
The role of emotion in memory formation and recall
False memories and their implications
The cognitive neuroscience of working memory
Memory disorders and cognitive rehabilitation
The impact of technology on memory skills
Eyewitness memory and cognitive psychology
Models of attention and cognitive processing
The impact of multitasking on cognitive performance
Attentional biases and their psychological implications
Cognitive load theory and information processing
The role of attention in learning and memory
Neural mechanisms underlying attention
Distraction and cognitive control mechanisms
The psychology of vigilance and sustained attention
Attention deficits and hyperactivity disorders
Selective attention and perceptual filtering
The cognitive basis of language development
Bilingualism and cognitive flexibility
Language disorders and cognitive psychology
The relationship between thought and language
Cognitive neuroscience of reading and literacy
Language processing in the brain
Pragmatics and cognitive implications of language use
The role of language in categorization and concept formation
Sign language and cognitive processing
Cognitive aspects of language evolution
Cognitive strategies in problem-solving
Decision-making processes and biases
The psychology of judgment and choice
Heuristics and cognitive shortcuts
The role of intuition in decision-making
Problem-solving in groups versus individually
Cognitive biases and their impact on decision quality
Risk assessment and decision-making under uncertainty
The neuroscience of decision-making
Creativity and cognitive processes in problem-solving
Stages of cognitive development in children
Cognitive theories of learning and instruction
The role of play in cognitive development
Adolescent cognitive development and risk-taking behavior
Adult learning and cognitive change
The impact of cognitive styles on learning outcomes
Cognitive development in aging populations
The role of technology in cognitive learning processes
Cognitive enhancers and their impact on learning
Metacognition and self-regulated learning
Cognitive aspects of Alzheimer’s disease
The neuropsychology of Parkinson’s disease
Cognitive impairments in traumatic brain injury
Neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults
Autism spectrum disorders and cognitive functioning
The impact of stroke on cognitive functions
Dementia and cognitive interventions
Mild cognitive impairment and its progression
Cognitive rehabilitation techniques for neurocognitive disorders
The influence of emotion on cognitive processes
Cognitive appraisal theories of emotion
The role of cognition in emotional regulation
Emotional intelligence and cognitive abilities
The neuroscience of emotions and feelings
Mood disorders and cognitive functioning
The impact of stress on cognitive performance
Emotion-cognition interactions in decision-making
The cognitive psychology of happiness and well-being
Emotional memory and its persistence
Cognitive biases in social judgment and perception
Theory of mind and perspective-taking
Social cognition in interpersonal relationships
The role of stereotypes in cognitive processing
Cognitive underpinnings of prejudice and discrimination
Social identity and cognition
Moral reasoning and cognitive psychology
The cognitive basis of empathy and altruism
Social cognition and group dynamics
Cognitive approaches to understanding social influence
Cognitive psychology in human-computer interaction
Virtual reality and its cognitive implications
The impact of social media on cognition and social behavior
Cognitive psychology principles in user experience design
Artificial intelligence and cognitive modeling
Gaming and cognitive skill development
Cognitive training apps and their effectiveness
Neurotechnology and cognitive enhancement
The role of cognitive psychology in digital education
Wearable technology and cognitive monitoring

The exploration of cognitive psychology research paper topics presents an unparalleled opportunity to delve into the mechanisms that underpin human cognition and behavior. Each category and topic not only contributes to the rich tapestry of cognitive psychology but also holds the potential for groundbreaking research that can influence educational practices, therapeutic approaches, and policy development. Students are encouraged to engage deeply with these topics, leveraging their curiosity and analytical skills to advance the field and contribute valuable insights into the complex world of human cognition.

What is Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology as a Discipline

Cognitive Psychology Research Paper Topics

The development of cognitive psychology marked a significant shift from the behaviorist perspective that dominated psychology for much of the early 20th century, which largely ignored mental processes. Instead, cognitive psychology focuses on understanding internal mental states and processes, utilizing this understanding to explain behavioral patterns. This focus on the internal workings of the mind has not only expanded the scope of psychological research but has also had practical applications in various fields such as education, mental health, artificial intelligence, and more, demonstrating the discipline’s broad impact.

The Importance of Research in Expanding Our Understanding of Cognitive Processes

Research in cognitive psychology plays a crucial role in expanding our understanding of the human mind and behavior. Through empirical studies, experiments, and longitudinal research, cognitive psychologists seek to build a body of knowledge about how cognitive processes work, how they change over time, and how they can be improved or altered. This research is fundamental to developing new theories of cognition that can explain complex human behaviors and cognitive anomalies.

One of the key contributions of cognitive psychology research is the development of models that describe various cognitive processes. For example, research on memory has led to the formulation of the multi-store model, which outlines how information flows from sensory memory to short-term memory and finally to long-term memory. Similarly, studies on decision-making and problem-solving have introduced several cognitive biases that influence human judgment, such as confirmation bias and availability heuristic. These models and theories are crucial for understanding the limitations and capabilities of human cognition, informing approaches in education, cognitive therapy, and even interface design in technology.

Moreover, cognitive psychology research has a significant impact on diagnosing and treating cognitive disorders. Studies on neurocognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), provide insights into their cognitive underpinnings, leading to better diagnostic criteria and treatment options. Research in this field also supports the development of cognitive rehabilitation techniques and cognitive-behavioral therapies, demonstrating its vital role in improving mental health and cognitive function.

The Variety of Research Topics within Cognitive Psychology and Their Relevance to Real-World Applications

Cognitive psychology encompasses a wide array of research topics, each with direct implications for real-world applications. For instance, research in perception and sensation enhances our understanding of how sensory information is interpreted by the brain, influencing fields such as marketing, design, and even virtual reality development. Studies on attention and information processing have led to improvements in educational strategies, helping to develop teaching methods that align with cognitive load theory and the attentional needs of students.

Language and cognition research has profound implications for language teaching methodologies, speech therapy, and understanding language disorders. Insights from this research help in designing interventions for individuals with dyslexia or aphasia, facilitating better communication and learning outcomes. Additionally, the study of problem-solving and decision-making is pivotal for the development of artificial intelligence, providing algorithms with models of human cognition that can be simulated in computational systems.

The exploration of memory and recall has applications in legal settings, especially in eyewitness testimony and the reliability of memory. Cognitive psychology’s findings on the malleability of human memory and the conditions under which memories are accurately or inaccurately recalled are crucial for informing judicial processes and policies. Furthermore, the study of social cognition, which examines how individuals perceive, think about, and interact with others, is essential for understanding social behavior, improving interpersonal relationships, and addressing societal issues such as prejudice and discrimination.

Recent Advancements in Cognitive Psychology Research

Recent advancements in cognitive psychology research have been facilitated by technological innovations, allowing for more sophisticated exploration of cognitive processes. Neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI and PET scans have provided insights into the neural substrates of various cognitive functions, bridging the gap between cognitive psychology and neuroscience. These advancements have led to a deeper understanding of how different brain regions are involved in specific cognitive tasks, such as memory recall or language processing.

Additionally, the integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence in cognitive research has opened new avenues for analyzing large datasets, leading to more nuanced understandings of cognitive patterns and anomalies. This intersection of cognitive psychology and computational modeling has also advanced the development of intelligent systems capable of mimicking human cognitive functions, from language understanding to pattern recognition.

Another significant advancement is in the realm of cognitive enhancement, where research is exploring ways to improve cognitive functions through pharmacological means, cognitive training exercises, and even non-invasive brain stimulation techniques. These studies hold the potential for significant impacts on education, mental health treatment, and the general enhancement of cognitive abilities in healthy individuals.

Ethical Issues Inherent in Cognitive Psychology Research

Cognitive psychology research, while offering vast potential for understanding and enhancing human cognition, also presents several ethical considerations. Issues such as informed consent, privacy, and the potential for misuse of cognitive data are paramount concerns. The use of neuroimaging and other biometric data, for instance, raises questions about the privacy of mental states and the potential for such information to be used in ways that could infringe on individual rights or autonomy.

Additionally, the ethical implications of cognitive enhancement and the potential societal impacts of creating disparities between those who have access to cognitive enhancement technologies and those who do not are areas of ongoing debate. Cognitive psychology researchers must navigate these ethical waters carefully, ensuring that their work promotes the welfare and dignity of all individuals while advancing scientific knowledge.

Future Directions for Research in Cognitive Psychology

The future of cognitive psychology research promises further integration with neuroscience, the application of advanced computational models, and the exploration of how cognitive processes evolve in a rapidly changing digital world. An exciting direction for future research is the investigation of how digital technologies, such as smartphones and social media, are affecting cognitive development, attention spans, and social cognition. Understanding these impacts is crucial for developing strategies to mitigate potential negative effects while harnessing technology’s power to enhance cognitive function.

Another area of future research is the exploration of individual differences in cognition, understanding how genetic, environmental, and cultural factors contribute to the diversity of cognitive processes among individuals. This line of research holds the promise of personalizing educational and therapeutic approaches to cater to individual cognitive profiles.

The Transformative Potential of Research in Cognitive Psychology

Research in cognitive psychology holds transformative potential for numerous aspects of human life, from education and mental health to technology and social interaction. By continuing to explore the intricacies of cognitive processes and their neural underpinnings, cognitive psychology can contribute to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human. The ongoing exploration of cognitive phenomena not only enriches our knowledge of the mind but also translates into practical applications that can improve individual well-being and societal health. As cognitive psychology advances, its research continues to shape our world, demonstrating the enduring power of understanding the human mind.

iResearchNet’s Writing Services

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research topics related to cognitive psychology

101 Best Cognitive Psychology Research Topics

Are you looking for the best cognitive psychology research topics? At HelpForHomework, we have the best recommendations for you. We have the expert research helpers who can handle research for all levels of education. Our team of skilled writers deliver top-quality topic suggestions and complete professional research papers on time. If you want someone to help you through your project, we are the best website for you.

Psychology is an exciting course. However, challenges arise when looking for the best psychology research topics and writing top-notch papers.

Sometimes, you have short deadlines to deliver, and you may need to rush. Working on last-minute research can make you miss crucial research requirements. If you feel you need some help, contact us.

Need help doing your assignment?

We will help you through the topic selection process, proposal writing, and project writing. Further, our writers will communicate through your project and offer you expert guidance.

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How Do We Select The Best Cognitive Psychology Research Topics?

Originality: A topic should be unique or shallowly researched by other researchers in research writing. We often generate research topics from scratch and select shallowly researched topics that you can easily expound.

Appeal: A good research topic has to be appealing to the writer and the audience during the presentation.

Feasibility: A good research idea should be feasible. For that reason, we test the feasibility of cognitive psychology research topics before recommending them to you. To test feasibility, we always ask ourselves:

Is the research topic relevant?
Are these ideas sustainable?
Is the political psychology research question possible to answer?
Is the question manageable?

Expert Tip: After you have selected the best cognitive psychology research topic, consult HelpForHomework or your supervisor to help you through proposal and research writing.

Best Cognitive Psychology Research Topics

Are you looking for the best cognitive psychology research topics? We have some best recommendations for you.

Cognitive ecology: Information processing and decision making systems
How does age determine information processing and decision-making?
Group decision making: Process of accountability on information processing in decision making
Information processing as a pattern for decision making
Modes of decision making and their impacts on information processing
How do information processing and decision-making affect the cognitive aspects of your country’s economic behavior?
Information processing as a pattern for decision making in committing a crime
How do racial stereotypes affect information processing as a pattern for a decision-making jury trial
How can information processing as a pattern for decision-making be used to solve crimes?
Effects of emotions in informational processing
The implications of cognitive psychology on Artificial Intelligence-bases learning tools
The cognitive psychology of entrepreneurship
Cognitive psychology in mass communication
The cognitive psychology of online gaming
Social cognitive psychology: History, current status, and future
What are the fundamentals of cognitive psychology?
Approaches to understanding bilingual memory
The role of similarity in natural categorization
Explain the differences between social cognitive theory and self-efficacy theory
Correlation between behaviorism and cognitive psychology
Comparative psychology: Mentalism and behaviorism
History, current status, and future of cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology in sports: Progress and future of cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology: Understanding sports behavior
Cognitive psychology strategies in sport and exercise

Excellent Cognitive Psychology Research Topics

Getting excellent cognitive psychology research topics can be mind-boggling. However, our writers have gone the extra mile to produce the most exciting ideas.

Behavior analysis in sports and exercise psychology
Behavioral psychology in sports performance enhancement
Implications of sport-athlete relationship for training
Correlation between music and cognitive psychology
Music cognition and cognitive psychology in filming
Cognitive advances in the neuroscience of music
How different music genres impact cognitive performance
The cognitive and academic benefits of music in the mental development of children
Impacts of listening to music on human auditory cognition
Cognition aspects of traditional African music
Beneficial aspects of music
How music influences memory and emotions
Challenges in music cognition research
Music memory and therapy in Alzheimer’s disease
Cognition in early childhood
Dual language learners: Effective learning methods in early childhood education
The cognitive psychology of driving
A cognitive psychology of driving impairs: phone use while driving
A cognitive psychology of driving impairs: Talking while driving
Cognitive psychology and neuropsychological perspective on multitasking
Impacts of laptop multitasking in classroom learning
Theory of cognitive dissonance: Historical and current perspective
Applying cognitive psychology in providing learning instructions
A cognitive approach in the visualization of learning and instructions provision
Cognitive load in computer program learning

Expert Cognitive Psychology Research Topics

Getting expert cognitive psychology research topics can be a hassle. But it would be best if you worried no more as we have some top suggestions for you.

Cognitive processes in strategic decision making
Structuralism, functionalism and cognitive theory in psychology
Comparative psychology: Reasoning between children and adults
Cognitive psychology perspective on attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder in children
Cognition impact of sleep hygiene and sleep habits in children with attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorder
How does cognition change over time? From childhood to adulthood?
Cognition impact of video games on children with personality disorders
Are reading and spelling difficulties associated with mental health problems? What are the prevention methods of reading difficulties?
Cognitive psychology perspective of mathematical skills of children with reading and spelling difficulties
Gender ratios for reading difficulties in your country
Process of normal cognitive aging
The cognitive neuroscience of aging
Implications of cognitive aging
Neuroimaging of healthy cognitive aging
Cognition and motivation in emotions
A cognitive perspective on emotion and motivation: Do motivation and emotions control cognition?
Motivation: History, current status, and future
Delivering emotions in teaching: Classroom motivation
Human perception of emotions, motivations, and attitudes
Cognitive psychology perspective on feelings, selective attention, and habits
Psychotherapy and memories of childhood trauma: A cognitive perspective
Memory recovery and verification of childhood sexual abuse
Effects of developing a sensory loss on depression on young adults
Why are behavioral laws important?
Cognitive perspective self-esteem for sight loss on adults

Interesting Cognitive Psychology Research Topics

There are many cognitive psychology research topics on the internet. But it would help if you always go for the best.

Relationship between sensory abilities and cognitive function in old age
Psychological adjustment to hearing loss
Health literacy and cancer communication with adults
Mindful-based cognitive therapy and cancer management
Montreal cognitive assessment for telemedicine assessment during COVID-19 pandemic
How does early childhood development affect adulthood cognition?
Technical and social skills for adults suffering head trauma
Explain the barriers to mental health support in your country
Describe the demographic factors that influence cognition
Does culture influence cognition?
Effects of the internet on children’s cognition
How does poverty affect cognition?
Juvenile victimization and abuse: Impacts on cognition
What is the future of cognitive psychology?
Cognitive foundations of religious beliefs
Understanding early childhood development: Does parenting behavior influence cognition?
Use of technology and games to improve literacy in schools
Cognitive perspective of the home environment: How does war affect cognition in children?
Genetic influence on a child’s cognition
How does childhood creativity affect adulthood?
Trends in cognitive psychology research
Impact of poor diet on cognitive development
Cognitive implications of graphic violence on children
How do sports impact cognitive development on autistic adults
How does bullying affect cognitive development?
Cognitive implications of divorce on children

Final Verdict

Now that you have found the expert cognitive psychology research topics let us help you with the rest. We have a team of writers with vast experience handling psychology research and assignments. Chat with our support staff now if you have not found a topic from our site or you have other pressing questions. Remember, our priority is to offer you help whenever you need it. Also check child psychology research topics.

61 intriguing psychology research topics to explore

Last updated

11 January 2024

Reviewed by

Brittany Ferri, PhD, OTR/L

Psychology is an incredibly diverse, critical, and ever-changing area of study in the medical and health industries. Because of this, it’s a common area of study for students and healthcare professionals.

We’re walking you through picking the perfect topic for your upcoming paper or study. Keep reading for plenty of example topics to pique your interest and curiosity.

How to choose a psychology research topic

Exploring a psychology-based topic for your research project? You need to pick a specific area of interest to collect compelling data.

Use these tips to help you narrow down which psychology topics to research:

Focus on a particular area of psychology

The most effective psychological research focuses on a smaller, niche concept or disorder within the scope of a study.

Psychology is a broad and fascinating area of science, including everything from diagnosed mental health disorders to sports performance mindset assessments.

This gives you plenty of different avenues to explore. Having a hard time choosing? Check out our list of 61 ideas further down in this article to get started.

Read the latest clinical studies

Once you’ve picked a more niche topic to explore, you need to do your due diligence and explore other research projects on the same topic.

This practice will help you learn more about your chosen topic, ask more specific questions, and avoid covering existing projects.

For the best results, we recommend creating a research folder of associated published papers to reference throughout your project. This makes it much easier to cite direct references and find inspiration down the line.

Find a topic you enjoy and ask questions

Once you’ve spent time researching and collecting references for your study, you finally get to explore.

Whether this research project is for work, school, or just for fun, having a passion for your research will make the project much more enjoyable. (Trust us, there will be times when that is the only thing that keeps you going.)

Now you’ve decided on the topic, ask more nuanced questions you might want to explore.

If you can, pick the direction that interests you the most to make the research process much more enjoyable.

61 psychology topics to research in 2024

Need some extra help starting your psychology research project on the right foot? Explore our list of 61 cutting-edge, in-demand psychology research topics to use as a starting point for your research journey.

Psychology research topics for university students

As a university student, it can be hard to pick a research topic that fits the scope of your classes and is still compelling and unique.

Here are a few exciting topics we recommend exploring for your next assigned research project:

Mental health in post-secondary students

Seeking post-secondary education is a stressful and overwhelming experience for most students, making this topic a great choice to explore for your in-class research paper.

Examples of post-secondary mental health research topics include:

Student mental health status during exam season

Mental health disorder prevalence based on study major

The impact of chronic school stress on overall quality of life

The impacts of cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can occur at all ages, starting as early as elementary school and carrying through into professional workplaces.

Examples of cyberbullying-based research topics you can study include:

The impact of cyberbullying on self-esteem

Common reasons people engage in cyberbullying

Cyberbullying themes and commonly used terms

Cyberbullying habits in children vs. adults

The long-term effects of cyberbullying

Clinical psychology research topics

If you’re looking to take a more clinical approach to your next project, here are a few topics that involve direct patient assessment for you to consider:

Chronic pain and mental health

Living with chronic pain dramatically impacts every aspect of a person’s life, including their mental and emotional health.

Here are a few examples of in-demand pain-related psychology research topics:

The connection between diabetic neuropathy and depression

Neurological pain and its connection to mental health disorders

Efficacy of meditation and mindfulness for pain management

The long-term effects of insomnia

Insomnia is where you have difficulty falling or staying asleep. It’s a common health concern that impacts millions of people worldwide.

This is an excellent topic because insomnia can have a variety of causes, offering many research possibilities.

Here are a few compelling psychology research topics about insomnia you could investigate:

The prevalence of insomnia based on age, gender, and ethnicity

Insomnia and its impact on workplace productivity

The connection between insomnia and mental health disorders

Efficacy and use of melatonin supplements for insomnia

The risks and benefits of prescription insomnia medications

Lifestyle options for managing insomnia symptoms

The efficacy of mental health treatment options

Management and treatment of mental health conditions is an ever-changing area of study. If you can witness or participate in mental health therapies, this can make a great research project.

Examples of mental health treatment-related psychology research topics include:

The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for patients with severe anxiety

The benefits and drawbacks of group vs. individual therapy sessions

Music therapy for mental health disorders

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for patients with depression

Controversial psychology research paper topics

If you are looking to explore a more cutting-edge or modern psychology topic, you can delve into a variety of controversial and topical options:

The impact of social media and digital platforms

Ever since access to internet forums and video games became more commonplace, there’s been growing concern about the impact these digital platforms have on mental health.

Examples of social media and video game-related psychology research topics include:

The effect of edited images on self-confidence

How social media platforms impact social behavior

Video games and their impact on teenage anger and violence

Digital communication and the rapid spread of misinformation

The development of digital friendships

Psychotropic medications for mental health

In recent years, the interest in using psychoactive medications to treat and manage health conditions has increased despite their inherently controversial nature.

Examples of psychotropic medication-related research topics include:

The risks and benefits of using psilocybin mushrooms for managing anxiety

The impact of marijuana on early-onset psychosis

Childhood marijuana use and related prevalence of mental health conditions

Ketamine and its use for complex PTSD (C-PTSD) symptom management

The effect of long-term psychedelic use and mental health conditions

Mental health disorder research topics

As one of the most popular subsections of psychology, studying mental health disorders and how they impact quality of life is an essential and impactful area of research.

While studies in these areas are common, there’s always room for additional exploration, including the following hot-button topics:

Anxiety and depression disorders

Anxiety and depression are well-known and heavily researched mental health disorders.

Despite this, we still don’t know many things about these conditions, making them great candidates for psychology research projects:

Social anxiety and its connection to chronic loneliness

C-PTSD symptoms and causes

The development of phobias

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) behaviors and symptoms

Depression triggers and causes

Self-care tools and resources for depression

The prevalence of anxiety and depression in particular age groups or geographic areas

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a complex and multi-faceted area of psychology research.

Use your research skills to learn more about this condition and its impact by choosing any of the following topics:

Early signs of bipolar disorder

The incidence of bipolar disorder in young adults

The efficacy of existing bipolar treatment options

Bipolar medication side effects

Cognitive behavioral therapy for people with bipolar

Schizoaffective disorder

Schizoaffective disorder is often stigmatized, and less common mental health disorders are a hotbed for new and exciting research.

Here are a few examples of interesting research topics related to this mental health disorder:

The prevalence of schizoaffective disorder by certain age groups or geographic locations

Risk factors for developing schizoaffective disorder

The prevalence and content of auditory and visual hallucinations

Alternative therapies for schizoaffective disorder

Societal and systematic psychology research topics

Modern society’s impact is deeply enmeshed in our mental and emotional health on a personal and community level.

Here are a few examples of societal and systemic psychology research topics to explore in more detail:

Access to mental health services

While mental health awareness has risen over the past few decades, access to quality mental health treatment and resources is still not equitable.

This can significantly impact the severity of a person’s mental health symptoms, which can result in worse health outcomes if left untreated.

Explore this crucial issue and provide information about the need for improved mental health resource access by studying any of the following topics:

Rural vs. urban access to mental health resources

Access to crisis lines by location

Wait times for emergency mental health services

Inequities in mental health access based on income and location

Insurance coverage for mental health services

Systemic racism and mental health

Societal systems and the prevalence of systemic racism heavily impact every aspect of a person’s overall health.

Researching these topics draws attention to existing problems and contributes valuable insights into ways to improve access to care moving forward.

Examples of systemic racism-related psychology research topics include:

Access to mental health resources based on race

The prevalence of BIPOC mental health therapists in a chosen area

The impact of systemic racism on mental health and self-worth

Racism training for mental health workers

The prevalence of mental health disorders in discriminated groups

LGBTQIA+ mental health concerns

Research about LGBTQIA+ people and their mental health needs is a unique area of study to explore for your next research project. It’s a commonly overlooked and underserved community.

Examples of LGBTQIA+ psychology research topics to consider include:

Mental health supports for queer teens and children

The impact of queer safe spaces on mental health

The prevalence of mental health disorders in the LGBTQIA+ community

The benefits of queer mentorship and found family

Substance misuse in LQBTQIA+ youth and adults

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32 Cognitive Psychology Dissertation Topics

Published by Owen Ingram at January 3rd, 2023 , Revised On August 11, 2023

The study of cognitive psychology focuses on how the brain processes and stores information. The underlying mechanisms are investigated using experimental methods, computer modelling, and neuropsychology.

The goal of brain theories is to understand how information is encoded at the macro and micro levels. Since this is a vast subject, there are numerous possible research areas you can choose from. You may further explore our selection if you wish to focus on cognitive psychology for your dissertation.

Related Academic Links: Neuro Psychology Dissertation Topics , Clinical Psychology Topics , Counselling Psychology Dissertation Topics , Forensic Psychology Dissertation Topics

Below Are Some Selected Cognitive Psychology Dissertation Topics

Describe the consequences of autism.
Using fMRI measures, can misleading information be accurately identified and separated from guilty knowledge?
How does colour psychology work in research on cognitive development?
How is attention span measured, and what does it mean?
How do memories impact how people behave?
According to the Network Neuroscience Theory, is general human intelligence a result of individual variances in brain network architecture and structure?
What elements can help kids’ problem-solving skills develop?
How does the development of cognition impact speech disorders?
Effective cognition involves choosing the proper information at the proper time and in the proper order.
Does subliminal perception exist, or does it only apply to certain circumstances?
Information flow and parallel distributed processing hierarchy explained.
The applicability of cognitive psychology research findings to actual behaviour and cognition, as well as their reliability, validity, and utility.
Factors that may cause a child’s mental development to be delayed.
What is the single parenting style best for a child’s mental development? The impact of romantic movies on children?
The gradual activation of forwarding brain regions is necessary for attention.
View-dependent theories of vision outperform view-independent theories in explaining natural perception.
Computer simulations of vision can cause people to misunderstand how the mechanisms of perception truly work.
How visual illusions to aid in the understanding of perception.
Evidence for the hippocampus’s function in memory encoding and consolidation: applicability to dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Working memory and attention bias: working memory and attention in the visual domain.
Describe the extent to which plasticity plays a role in the development of visual cognitive abilities.
Examine automated priming effects’ consequences on complex behaviour in real life
Discuss the importance of facial stimuli in assessing how the ventral pathway of the human body develops from childhood to adulthood.
Analyze the growth of out-group and in-group associations in implicit intergroup cognition.
What Are the Hierarchical Explanations of Information Flow and Parallel Processing Distribution?
Are the abilities of children with dyscalculia not impacted by the disorder, or are they comparatively independent?
Does the evidence support the idea that neural network theories can explain some lower-order brain operations but cannot explain the representations in higher areas?
Investigating Human Cognitive Development as A Stand-In for Understanding Human Brain Evolution.
Describe how the executive functions of the frontal brain distinguish humans.
An analysis of Fodor’s modular theory of the brain in the context of contemporary neuroscientific evidence.
Do You Know What a Cheater Detection Module Is, And Is It Real Or Just a Phrase?
Evaluating the accuracy of Gibson’s direct perception theory in light of constructivist explanations and other modern cognitive theories.

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It is essential for your cognitive psychology dissertation that you take advantage of the opportunity to make your presence felt in psychology. To help you with your study, also look for intriguing dissertation topics that contain a wealth of information. Consult your supervisor about improving your dissertation. Research is always more powerful when based on a good and comprehensive topic.

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To find cognitive psychology dissertation topics:

Study recent research trends.
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Investigate memory, perception, learning.
Analyze brain-imaging techniques.
Consider AI’s impact on cognition.
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What Is Cognitive Psychology?

The Science of How We Think

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Topics in Cognitive Psychology

Current Research
Cognitive Approach in Practice

Careers in Cognitive Psychology

How cognitive psychology differs from other branches of psychology, frequently asked questions.

Cognitive psychology involves the study of internal mental processes—all of the workings inside your brain, including perception, thinking, memory, attention, language, problem-solving, and learning.

Cognitive psychology--the study of how people think and process information--helps researchers understand the human brain. It also allows psychologists to help people deal with psychological difficulties.

This article discusses what cognitive psychology is, the history of this field, and current directions for research. It also covers some of the practical applications for cognitive psychology research and related career options you might consider.

Findings from cognitive psychology help us understand how people think, including how they acquire and store memories. By knowing more about how these processes work, psychologists can develop new ways of helping people with cognitive problems.

Cognitive psychologists explore a wide variety of topics related to thinking processes. Some of these include:

Attention --our ability to process information in the environment while tuning out irrelevant details
Choice-based behavior --actions driven by a choice among other possibilities
Decision-making
Information processing
Language acquisition --how we learn to read, write, and express ourselves
Problem-solving
Speech perception -how we process what others are saying
Visual perception --how we see the physical world around us

History of Cognitive Psychology

Although it is a relatively young branch of psychology , it has quickly grown to become one of the most popular subfields. Cognitive psychology grew into prominence between the 1950s and 1970s.

Prior to this time, behaviorism was the dominant perspective in psychology. This theory holds that we learn all our behaviors from interacting with our environment. It focuses strictly on observable behavior, not thought and emotion. Then, researchers became more interested in the internal processes that affect behavior instead of just the behavior itself.

This shift is often referred to as the cognitive revolution in psychology. During this time, a great deal of research on topics including memory, attention, and language acquisition began to emerge.

In 1967, the psychologist Ulric Neisser introduced the term cognitive psychology, which he defined as the study of the processes behind the perception, transformation, storage, and recovery of information.

Cognitive psychology became more prominent after the 1950s as a result of the cognitive revolution.

Current Research in Cognitive Psychology

The field of cognitive psychology is both broad and diverse. It touches on many aspects of daily life. There are numerous practical applications for this research, such as providing help coping with memory disorders, making better decisions , recovering from brain injury, treating learning disorders, and structuring educational curricula to enhance learning.

Current research on cognitive psychology helps play a role in how professionals approach the treatment of mental illness, traumatic brain injury, and degenerative brain diseases.

Thanks to the work of cognitive psychologists, we can better pinpoint ways to measure human intellectual abilities, develop new strategies to combat memory problems, and decode the workings of the human brain—all of which ultimately have a powerful impact on how we treat cognitive disorders.

The field of cognitive psychology is a rapidly growing area that continues to add to our understanding of the many influences that mental processes have on our health and daily lives.

From understanding how cognitive processes change as a child develops to looking at how the brain transforms sensory inputs into perceptions, cognitive psychology has helped us gain a deeper and richer understanding of the many mental events that contribute to our daily existence and overall well-being.

The Cognitive Approach in Practice

In addition to adding to our understanding of how the human mind works, the field of cognitive psychology has also had an impact on approaches to mental health. Before the 1970s, many mental health treatments were focused more on psychoanalytic , behavioral , and humanistic approaches.

The so-called "cognitive revolution" put a greater emphasis on understanding the way people process information and how thinking patterns might contribute to psychological distress. Thanks to research in this area, new approaches to treatment were developed to help treat depression, anxiety, phobias, and other psychological disorders .

Cognitive behavioral therapy and rational emotive behavior therapy are two methods in which clients and therapists focus on the underlying cognitions, or thoughts, that contribute to psychological distress.

What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an approach that helps clients identify irrational beliefs and other cognitive distortions that are in conflict with reality and then aid them in replacing such thoughts with more realistic, healthy beliefs.

If you are experiencing symptoms of a psychological disorder that would benefit from the use of cognitive approaches, you might see a psychologist who has specific training in these cognitive treatment methods.

These professionals frequently go by titles other than cognitive psychologists, such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists , or counseling psychologists , but many of the strategies they use are rooted in the cognitive tradition.

Many cognitive psychologists specialize in research with universities or government agencies. Others take a clinical focus and work directly with people who are experiencing challenges related to mental processes. They work in hospitals, mental health clinics, and private practices.

Research psychologists in this area often concentrate on a particular topic, such as memory. Others work directly on health concerns related to cognition, such as degenerative brain disorders and brain injuries.

Treatments rooted in cognitive research focus on helping people replace negative thought patterns with more positive, realistic ones. With the help of cognitive psychologists, people are often able to find ways to cope and even overcome such difficulties.

Reasons to Consult a Cognitive Psychologist

Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or memory loss
Brain trauma treatment
Cognitive therapy for a mental health condition
Interventions for learning disabilities
Perceptual or sensory issues
Therapy for a speech or language disorder

Whereas behavioral and some other realms of psychology focus on actions--which are external and observable--cognitive psychology is instead concerned with the thought processes behind the behavior. Cognitive psychologists see the mind as if it were a computer, taking in and processing information, and seek to understand the various factors involved.

A Word From Verywell

Cognitive psychology plays an important role in understanding the processes of memory, attention, and learning. It can also provide insights into cognitive conditions that may affect how people function.

Being diagnosed with a brain or cognitive health problem can be daunting, but it is important to remember that you are not alone. Together with a healthcare provider, you can come up with an effective treatment plan to help address brain health and cognitive problems.

Your treatment may involve consulting with a cognitive psychologist who has a background in the specific area of concern that you are facing, or you may be referred to another mental health professional that has training and experience with your particular condition.

Ulric Neisser is considered the founder of cognitive psychology. He was the first to introduce the term and to define the field of cognitive psychology. His primary interests were in the areas of perception and memory, but he suggested that all aspects of human thought and behavior were relevant to the study of cognition.

A cognitive map refers to a mental representation of an environment. Such maps can be formed through observation as well as through trial and error. These cognitive maps allow people to orient themselves in their environment.

While they share some similarities, there are some important differences between cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology. While cognitive psychology focuses on thinking processes, cognitive neuroscience is focused on finding connections between thinking and specific brain activity. Cognitive neuroscience also looks at the underlying biology that influences how information is processed.

Cognitive psychology is a form of experimental psychology. Cognitive psychologists use experimental methods to study the internal mental processes that play a role in behavior.

Sternberg RJ, Sternberg K. Cognitive Psychology . Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Krapfl JE. Behaviorism and society . Behav Anal. 2016;39(1):123-9. doi:10.1007/s40614-016-0063-8

Cutting JE. Ulric Neisser (1928-2012) . Am Psychol . 2012;67(6):492. doi:10.1037/a0029351

Ruggiero GM, Spada MM, Caselli G, Sassaroli S. A historical and theoretical review of cognitive behavioral therapies: from structural self-knowledge to functional processes . J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther . 2018;36(4):378-403. doi:10.1007/s10942-018-0292-8

Parvin P. Ulric Neisser, cognitive psychology pioneer, dies . Emory News Center.

APA Dictionary of Psychology. Cognitive map . American Psychological Association.

Forstmann BU, Wagenmakers EJ, Eichele T, Brown S, Serences JT. Reciprocal relations between cognitive neuroscience and formal cognitive models: opposites attract? . Trends Cogn Sci . 2011;15(6):272-279. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2011.04.002

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Articles on Cognitive psychology

Displaying 1 - 20 of 26 articles.

Daniel Kahneman changed how we think about human nature – the psychologist remembered by a former student

Daniel Read , Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

Dobble: what is the psychology behind the game?

Nick Perham , Cardiff Metropolitan University and Helen Hodgetts , Cardiff Metropolitan University

Just Stop Oil: do radical protests turn the public away from a cause? Here’s the evidence

Colin Davis , University of Bristol

Cognitive biases and brain biology help explain why facts don’t change minds

Keith M. Bellizzi , University of Connecticut

Eye movements could be the missing link in our understanding of memory

Roger Johansson , Lund University and Mikael Johansson , Lund University

Why does experiencing ‘flow’ feel so good? A communication scientist explains

Richard Huskey , University of California, Davis

Are you a more holistic or analytic thinker? Take this quiz to find out

Andrei Lux , Edith Cowan University

As trust between Israeli Jews and Arabs reaches new lows, Netanyahu rises again

Eli Gottlieb , George Washington University

How the brain builds a sense of self from the people around us – new research

Sam Ereira , UCL

Seeing is believing: how media mythbusting can actually make false beliefs stronger

Eryn Newman , Australian National University ; Amy Dawel , Australian National University ; Madeline Jalbert , University of Southern California , and Norbert Schwarz , USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Humanizing the coronavirus as an invisible enemy is human nature

Michaela Porubanova , Farmingdale State College and Stewart Guthrie , Fordham University

No wonder isolation’s so tiring. All those extra, tiny decisions are taxing our brains

Ben Newell , UNSW Sydney

The partisan brain: cognitive study suggests people on the left and right are more similar than they think

Leor Zmigrod , University of Cambridge

Are brain games mostly BS?

Walter Boot , Florida State University

What if consciousness is just a product of our non-conscious brain?

Peter W Halligan , Cardiff University and David A Oakley , UCL

Why are people religious? A cognitive perspective

Nick Perham , Cardiff Metropolitan University

Why your brain never runs out of problems to find

David Levari , Harvard University

Good science doesn’t guarantee public acceptance – diverse evidence may help

Arthur Kary , UNSW Sydney ; Ben Newell , UNSW Sydney , and Brett Hayes , UNSW Sydney

Brexit: how cognitive psychology helps us make sense of the vote

Why you stink at fact-checking

Lisa Fazio , Vanderbilt University

Top contributors

Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk and Response, UNSW Sydney

Research Fellow in the Psychology of Ideologies, University of Cambridge

Reader in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Professor of Information Technology, Monash University

Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Grinnell College

Associate Professor in Values in Care, Staffordshire University

Researcher in Virtual Reality, Auckland University of Technology

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Vanderbilt University

Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut

Assistant professor, Texas A&M University-Commerce

Assistant Professor of Cognitive Psychology, University of Mannheim

Chair in Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol

Ph.D. Candidate in Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego

Emeritus Professor of Psychology, UCL

Provost Professor of Psychology and Marketing and co-director of the Dornsife Mind & Society Center, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

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Review Article
Open access
Published: 08 June 2021

Metacognition: ideas and insights from neuro- and educational sciences

Damien S. Fleur ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4836-5255 1 , 2 ,
Bert Bredeweg ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5281-2786 1 , 3 &
Wouter van den Bos 2 , 4

npj Science of Learning volume 6 , Article number: 13 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Human behaviour
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Metacognition comprises both the ability to be aware of one’s cognitive processes (metacognitive knowledge) and to regulate them (metacognitive control). Research in educational sciences has amassed a large body of evidence on the importance of metacognition in learning and academic achievement. More recently, metacognition has been studied from experimental and cognitive neuroscience perspectives. This research has started to identify brain regions that encode metacognitive processes. However, the educational and neuroscience disciplines have largely developed separately with little exchange and communication. In this article, we review the literature on metacognition in educational and cognitive neuroscience and identify entry points for synthesis. We argue that to improve our understanding of metacognition, future research needs to (i) investigate the degree to which different protocols relate to the similar or different metacognitive constructs and processes, (ii) implement experiments to identify neural substrates necessary for metacognition based on protocols used in educational sciences, (iii) study the effects of training metacognitive knowledge in the brain, and (iv) perform developmental research in the metacognitive brain and compare it with the existing developmental literature from educational sciences regarding the domain-generality of metacognition.

A methodological perspective on learning in the developing brain

Anna C. K. van Duijvenvoorde, Lucy B. Whitmore, … Kathryn L. Mills

An fMRI study of error monitoring in Montessori and traditionally-schooled children

Solange Denervaud, Eleonora Fornari, … David Sander

Neural alignment predicts learning outcomes in students taking an introduction to computer science course

Meir Meshulam, Liat Hasenfratz, … Uri Hasson

Introduction

Metacognition is defined as “thinking about thinking” or the ability to monitor and control one’s cognitive processes 1 and plays an important role in learning and education 2 , 3 , 4 . For instance, high performers tend to present better metacognitive abilities (especially control) than low performers in diverse educational activities 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 . Recently, there has been a lot of progress in studying the neural mechanisms of metacognition 10 , 11 , yet it is unclear at this point how these results may inform educational sciences or interventions. Given the potential benefits of metacognition, it is important to get a better understanding of how metacognition works and of how training can be useful.

The interest in bridging cognitive neuroscience and educational practices has increased in the past two decades, spanning a large number of studies grouped under the umbrella term of educational neuroscience 12 , 13 , 14 . With it, researchers have brought forward issues that are viewed as critical for the discipline to improve education. Recurring issues that may impede the relevance of neural insights for educational practices concern external validity 15 , 16 , theoretical discrepancies 17 and differences in terms of the domains of (meta)cognition operationalised (specific or general) 15 . This is important because, in recent years, brain research is starting to orient itself towards training metacognitive abilities that would translate into real-life benefits. However, direct links between metacognition in the brain and metacognition in domains such as education have still to be made. As for educational sciences, a large body of literature on metacognitive training is available, yet we still need clear insights about what works and why. While studies suggest that training metacognitive abilities results in higher academic achievement 18 , other interventions show mixed results 19 , 20 . Moreover, little is known about the long-term effects of, or transfer effects, of these interventions. A better understanding of the cognitive processes involved in metacognition and how they are expressed in the brain may provide insights in these regards.

Within cognitive neuroscience, there has been a long tradition of studying executive functions (EF), which are closely related to metacognitive processes 21 . Similar to metacognition, EF shows a positive relationship with learning at school. For instance, performance in laboratory tasks involving error monitoring, inhibition and working memory (i.e. processes that monitor and regulate cognition) are associated with academic achievement in pre-school children 22 . More recently, researchers have studied metacognition in terms of introspective judgements about performance in a task 10 . Although the neural correlates of such behaviour are being revealed 10 , 11 , little is known about how behaviour during such tasks relates to academic achievement.

Educational and cognitive neuroscientists study metacognition in different contexts using different methods. Indeed, while the latter investigate metacognition via behavioural task, the former mainly rely on introspective questionnaires. The extent to which these different operationalisations of metacognition match and reflect the same processes is unclear. As a result, the external validity of methodologies used in cognitive neuroscience is also unclear 16 . We argue that neurocognitive research on metacognition has a lot of potential to provide insights in mechanisms relevant in educational contexts, and that theoretical and methodological exchange between the two disciplines can benefit neuroscientific research in terms of ecological validity.

For these reasons, we investigate the literature through the lenses of external validity, theoretical discrepancies, domain generality and metacognitive training. Research on metacognition in cognitive neuroscience and educational sciences are reviewed separately. First, we investigate how metacognition is operationalised with respect to the common framework introduced by Nelson and Narens 23 (see Fig. 1 ). We then discuss the existing body of evidence regarding metacognitive training. Finally, we compare findings in both fields, highlight gaps and shortcomings, and propose avenues for research relying on crossovers of the two disciplines.

Meta-knowledge is characterised as the upward flow from object-level to meta-level. Meta-control is characterised as the downward flow from meta-level to object-level. Metacognition is therefore conceptualised as the bottom-up monitoring and top-down control of object-level processes. Adapted from Nelson and Narens’ cognitive psychology model of metacognition 23 .

In cognitive neuroscience, metacognition is divided into two main components 5 , 24 , which originate from the seminal works of Flavell on metamemory 25 , 26 . First, metacognitive knowledge (henceforth, meta-knowledge) is defined as the knowledge individuals have of their own cognitive processes and their ability to monitor and reflect on them. Second, metacognitive control (henceforth, meta-control) consists of someone’s self-regulatory mechanisms, such as planning and adapting behaviour based on outcomes 5 , 27 . Following Nelson and Narens’ definition 23 , meta-knowledge is characterised as the flow and processing of information from the object level to the meta-level, and meta-control as the flow from the meta-level to the object level 28 , 29 , 30 (Fig. 1 ). The object-level encompasses cognitive functions such as recognition and discrimination of objects, decision-making, semantic encoding, and spatial representation. On the meta-level, information originating from the object level is processed and top-down regulation on object-level functions is imposed 28 , 29 , 30 .

Educational researchers have mainly investigated metacognition through the lens of Self-Regulated Learning theory (SRL) 3 , 4 , which shares common conceptual roots with the theoretical framework used in cognitive neuroscience but varies from it in several ways 31 . First, SRL is constrained to learning activities, usually within educational settings. Second, metacognition is merely one of three components, with “motivation to learn” and “behavioural processes”, that enable individuals to learn in a self-directed manner 3 . In SRL, metacognition is defined as setting goals, planning, organising, self-monitoring and self-evaluating “at various points during the acquisition” 3 . The distinction between meta-knowledge and meta-control is not formally laid down although reference is often made to a “self-oriented feedback loop” describing the relationship between reflecting and regulating processes that resembles Nelson and Narens’ model (Fig. 1 ) 3 , 23 . In order to facilitate the comparison of operational definitions, we will refer to meta-knowledge in educational sciences when protocols operationalise self-awareness and knowledge of strategies, and to meta-control when they operationalise the selection and use of learning strategies and planning. For an in-depth discussion on metacognition and SRL, we refer to Dinsmore et al. 31 .

Metacognition in cognitive neuroscience

Operational definitions.

In cognitive neuroscience, research in metacognition is split into two tracks 32 . One track mainly studies meta-knowledge by investigating the neural basis of introspective judgements about one’s own cognition (i.e., metacognitive judgements), and meta-control with experiments involving cognitive offloading. In these experiments, subjects can perform actions such as set reminders, making notes and delegating tasks 33 , 34 , or report their desire for them 35 . Some research has investigated how metacognitive judgements can influence subsequent cognitive behaviour (i.e., a downward stream from the meta-level to the object level), but only one study so far has explored how this relationship is mapped in the brain 35 . In the other track, researchers investigate EF, also referred to as cognitive control 30 , 36 , which is closely related to metacognition. Note however that EF are often not framed in metacognitive terms in the literature 37 (but see ref. 30 ). For the sake of concision, we limit our review to operational definitions that have been used in neuroscientific studies.

Metacognitive judgements

Cognitive neuroscientists have been using paradigms in which subjects make judgements on how confident they are with regards to their learning of some given material 10 . These judgements are commonly referred to as metacognitive judgements , which can be viewed as a form of meta-knowledge (for reviews see Schwartz 38 and Nelson 39 ). Historically, researchers mostly resorted to paradigms known as Feelings of Knowing (FOK) 40 and Judgements of Learning (JOL) 41 . FOK reflect the belief of a subject to knowing the answer to a question or a problem and being able to recognise it from a list of alternatives, despite being unable to explicitly recall it 40 . Here, metacognitive judgement is thus made after retrieval attempt. In contrast, JOL are prospective judgements during learning of one’s ability to successfully recall an item on subsequent testing 41 .

More recently, cognitive neuroscientists have used paradigms in which subjects make retrospective metacognitive judgements on their performance in a two-alternative Forced Choice task (2-AFC) 42 . In 2-AFCs, subjects are asked to choose which of two presented options has the highest criterion value. Different domains can be involved, such as perception (e.g., visual or auditory) and memory. For example, subjects may be instructed to visually discriminate which one of two boxes contains more dots 43 , identify higher contrast Gabor patches 44 , or recognise novel words from words that were previously learned 45 (Fig. 2 ). The subjects engage in metacognitive judgements by rating how confident they are relative to their decision in the task. Based on their responses, one can evaluate a subject’s metacognitive sensitivity (the ability to discriminate one’s own correct and incorrect judgements), metacognitive bias (the overall level of confidence during a task), and metacognitive efficiency (the level of metacognitive sensitivity when controlling for task performance 46 ; Fig. 3 ). Note that sensitivity and bias are independent aspects of metacognition, meaning that two subjects may display the same levels of metacognitive sensitivity, but one may be biased towards high confidence while the other is biased towards low confidence. Because metacognitive sensitivity is affected by the difficulty of the task (one subject tends to display greater metacognitive sensitivity in easy tasks than difficult ones and different subjects may find a task more or less easy), metacognitive efficiency is an important measure as it allows researchers to compare metacognitive abilities between subjects and between domains. The most commonly used methods to assess metacognitive sensitivity during retrospective judgements are the receiver operating curve (ROC) and meta- d ′. 46 Both derive from signal detection theory (SDT) 47 which allows Type 1 sensitivity, or d’ ′ (how a subject can discriminate between stimulus alternatives, i.e. object-level processes) to be differentiated from metacognitive sensitivity (a judgement on the correctness of this decision) 48 . Importantly, only comparing meta- d ′ to d ′ seems to give reliable assessments metacognitive efficiency 49 . A ratio of 1 between meta- d’ ′ and d’ ′, indicates that a subject was perfectly able to discriminate between their correct and incorrect judgements. A ratio of 0.8 suggests that 80% of the task-related sensory evidence was available for the metacognitive judgements. Table 1 provides an overview of the different types of tasks and protocols with regards to the type of metacognitive process they operationalise. These operationalisations of meta-knowledge are used in combination with brain imaging methods (functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging; fMRI; MRI) to identify brain regions associated with metacognitive activity and metacognitive abilities 10 , 50 . Alternatively, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be used to temporarily deactivate chosen brain regions and test whether this affects metacognitive abilities in given tasks 51 , 52 .

a Visual perception task: subjects choose the box containing the most (randomly generated) dots. Subjects then rate their confidence in their decision. b Memory task: subjects learn a list of words. In the next screen, they have to identify which of two words shown was present on the list. The subjects then rate their confidence in their decision.

The red and blue curves represent the distribution of confidence ratings for incorrect and correct trials, respectively. A larger distance between the two curves denotes higher sensitivity. Displacement to the left and right denote biases towards low confidence (low metacognitive bias) and high confidence (high metacognitive bias), respectively (retrieved from Fig. 1 in Fleming and Lau 46 ). We repeat the disclaimer of the original authors that this figure is not a statistically accurate description of correct and incorrect responses, which are typically not normally distributed 46 , 47 .

A recent meta-analysis analysed 47 neuroimaging studies on metacognition and identified a domain-general network associated with high vs. low confidence ratings in both decision-making tasks (perception 2-AFC) and memory tasks (JOL, FOK) 11 . This network includes the medial and lateral prefrontal cortex (mPFC and lPFC, respectively), precuneus and insula. In contrast, the right anterior dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) was specifically involved in decision-making tasks, and the bilateral parahippocampal cortex was specific to memory tasks. In addition, prospective judgements were associated with the posterior mPFC, left dlPFC and right insula, whereas retrospective judgements were associated with bilateral parahippocampal cortex and left inferior frontal gyrus. Finally, emerging evidence suggests a role of the right rostrolateral PFC (rlPFC) 53 , 54 , anterior PFC (aPFC) 44 , 45 , 55 , 56 , dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) 54 , 55 and precuneus 45 , 55 in metacognitive sensitivity (meta- d ′, ROC). In addition, several studies suggest that the aPFC relates to metacognition specifically in perception-related 2-AFC tasks, whereas the precuneus is engaged specifically in memory-related 2-AFC tasks 45 , 55 , 56 . This may suggest that metacognitive processes engage some regions in a domain-specific manner, while other regions are domain-general. For educational scientists, this could mean that some domains of metacognition may be more relevant for learning and, granted sufficient plasticity of the associated brain regions, that targeting them during interventions may show more substantial benefits. Note that rating one’s confidence and metacognitive sensitivity likely involve additional, peripheral cognitive processes instead of purely metacognitive ones. These regions are therefore associated with metacognition but not uniquely per se. Notably, a recent meta-analysis 50 suggests that domain-specific and domain-general signals may rather share common circuitry, but that their neural signature varies depending on the type of task or activity, showing that domain-generality in metacognition is complex and still needs to be better understood.

In terms of the role of metacognitive judgements on future behaviour, one study found that brain patterns associated with the desire for cognitive offloading (i.e., meta-control) partially overlap with those associated with meta-knowledge (metacognitive judgements of confidence), suggesting that meta-control is driven by either non-metacognitive, in addition to metacognitive, processes or by a combination of different domain-specific meta-knowledge processes 35 .

Executive function

In EF, processes such as error detection/monitoring and effort monitoring can be related to meta-knowledge while error correction, inhibitory control, and resource allocation can be related to meta-control 36 . To activate these processes, participants are asked to perform tasks in laboratory settings such as Flanker tasks, Stroop tasks, Demand Selection tasks and Motion Discrimination tasks (Fig. 4 ). Neural correlates of EF are investigated by having subjects perform such tasks while their brain activity is recorded with fMRI or electroencephalography (EEG). Additionally, patients with brain lesions can be tested against healthy participants to evaluate the functional role of the impaired regions 57 .

a Flanker task: subjects indicate the direction to which the arrow in the middle points. b Stroop task: subjects are presented with the name of colour printed in a colour that either matches or mismatches the name. Subjects are asked to give the name of the written colour or the printed colour. c Motion Discrimination task: subjects have to determine in which direction the dots are going with variating levels of noise. d Example of a Demand Selection task: in both options subjects have to switch between two tasks. Task one, subjects determine whether the number shown is higher or lower than 5. Task two, subjects determine whether the number is odd or even. The two options (low and high demand) differ in their degree of task switching, meaning the effort required. Subjects are allowed to switch between the two options. Note, the type of task is solely indicated by the colour of the number and that the subjects are not explicitly told about the difference in effort between the two options (retrieved from Fig. 1c in Froböse et al. 58 ).

In a review article on the neural basis of EF (in which they are defined as meta-control), Shimamura argues that a network of regions composed of the aPFC, ACC, ventrolateral PFC (vlPFC) and dlPFC is involved in the regulations of cognition 30 . These regions are not only interconnected but are also intricately connected to cortical and subcortical regions outside of the PFC. The vlPFC was shown to play an important role in “selecting and maintaining information in working memory”, whereas the dlPFC is involved in “manipulating and updating information in working memory” 30 . The ACC has been proposed to monitor cognitive conflict (e.g. in a Stroop task or a Flanker task), and the dlPFC to regulate it 58 , 59 . In particular, activity in the ACC in conflict monitoring (meta-knowledge) seems to contribute to control of cognition (meta-control) in the dlPFC 60 , 61 and to “bias behavioural decision-making toward cognitively efficient tasks and strategies” (p. 356) 62 . In a recent fMRI study, subjects performed a motion discrimination task (Fig. 4c ) 63 . After deciding on the direction of the motion, they were presented additional motion (i.e. post-decisional evidence) and then were asked to rate their confidence in their initial choice. The post-decisional evidence was encoded in the activity of the posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC; meta-knowledge), while lateral aPFC (meta-control) modulated the impact of this evidence on subsequent confidence rating 63 . Finally, results from a meta-analysis study on cognitive control identified functional connectivity between the pMFC, associated with monitoring and informing other regions about the need for regulation, and the lPFC that would effectively regulate cognition 64 .

Online vs. offline metacognition

While the processes engaged during tasks such as those used in EF research can be considered as metacognitive in the sense that they are higher-order functions that monitor and control lower cognitive processes, scientists have argued that they are not functionally equivalent to metacognitive judgements 10 , 11 , 65 , 66 . Indeed, engaging in metacognitive judgements requires subjects to reflect on past or future activities. As such, metacognitive judgements can be considered as offline metacognitive processes. In contrast, high-order processes involved in decision-making tasks such as used in EF research are arguably largely made on the fly, or online , at a rapid pace and subjects do not need to reflect on their actions to perform them. Hence, we propose to explicitly distinguish online and offline processes. Other researchers have shared a similar view and some have proposed models for metacognition that make similar distinctions 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 . The functional difference between online and offline metacognition is supported by some evidence. For instance, event-related brain potential (ERP) studies suggest that error negativities are associated with error detection in general, whereas an increased error positivity specifically encodes error that subjects could report upon 69 , 70 . Furthermore, brain-imaging studies suggest that the MFC and ACC are involved in online meta-knowledge, while the aPFC and lPFC seem to be activated when subjects engage in more offline meta-knowledge and meta-control, respectively 63 , 71 , 72 . An overview of the different tasks can be found in Table 1 and a list of different studies on metacognition can be found in Supplementary Table 1 (organised in terms of the type of processes investigated, the protocols and brain measures used, along with the brain regions identified). Figure 5 illustrates the different brain regions associated with meta-knowledge and meta-control, distinguishing between what we consider to be online and offline processes. This distinction is often not made explicitly but it will be specifically helpful when building bridges between cognitive neuroscience and educational sciences.

The regions are divided into online meta-knowledge and meta-control, and offline meta-knowledge and meta-control following the distinctions introduced earlier. Some regions have been reported to be related to both offline and online processes and are therefore given a striped pattern.

Training metacognition

There are extensive accounts in the literature of efforts to improve EF components such as inhibitory control, attention shifting and working memory 22 . While working memory does not directly reflect metacognitive abilities, its training is often hypothesised to improve general cognitive abilities and academic achievement. However, most meta-analyses found that training methods lead only to weak, non-lasting effects on cognitive control 73 , 74 , 75 . One meta-analysis did find evidence of near-transfer following EF training in children (in particular working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility), but found no evidence of far-transfer 20 . According to this study, training on one component leads to improved abilities in that same component but not in other EF components. Regarding adults, however, one meta-analysis suggests that EF training in general and working memory training specifically may both lead to significant near- and far-transfer effects 76 . On a neural level, a meta-analysis showed that cognitive training resulted in decreased brain activity in brain regions associated with EF 77 . According to the authors, this indicates that “training interventions reduce demands on externally focused attention” (p. 193) 77 .

With regards to meta-knowledge, several studies have reported increased task-related metacognitive abilities after training. For example, researchers found that subjects who received feedback on their metacognitive judgements regarding a perceptual decision-making task displayed better metacognitive accuracy, not only in the trained task but also in an untrained memory task 78 . Related, Baird and colleagues 79 found that a two-week mindfulness meditation training lead to enhanced meta-knowledge in the memory domain, but not the perceptual domain. The authors link these results to evidence of increased grey matter density in the aPFC in meditation practitioners.

Research on metacognition in cognitive science has mainly been studied through the lens of metacognitive judgements and EF (specifically performance monitoring and cognitive control). Meta-knowledge is commonly activated in subjects by asking them to rate their confidence in having successfully performed a task. A distinction is made between metacognitive sensitivity, metacognitive bias and metacognitive efficacy. Monitoring and regulating processes in EF are mainly operationalised with behavioural tasks such as Flanker tasks, Stroop tasks, Motion Discrimination tasks and Demand Selection tasks. In addition, metacognitive judgements can be viewed as offline processes in that they require the subject to reflect on her cognition and develop meta-representations. In contrast, EF can be considered as mostly online metacognitive processes because monitoring and regulation mostly happen rapidly without the need for reflective thinking.

Although there is some evidence for domain specificity, other studies have suggested that there is a single network of regions involved in all meta-cognitive tasks, but differentially activated in different task contexts. Comparing research on meta-knowledge and meta-control also suggest that some regions play a crucial role in both knowledge and regulation (Fig. 5 ). We have also identified a specific set of regions that are involved in either offline or online meta-knowledge. The evidence in favour of metacognitive training, while mixed, is interesting. In particular, research on offline meta-knowledge training involving self-reflection and metacognitive accuracy has shown some promising results. The regions that show structural changes after training, were those that we earlier identified as being part of the metacognition network. EF training does seem to show far-transfer effects at least in adults, but the relevance for everyday life activity is still unclear.

One major limitation of current research in metacognition is ecological validity. It is unclear to what extent the operationalisations reviewed above reflect real-life metacognition. For instance, are people who can accurately judge their performance on a behavioural task also able to accurately assess how they performed during an exam? Are people with high levels of error regulation and inhibitory control able to learn more efficiently? Note that criticism on the ecological validity of neurocognitive operationalisations extends beyond metacognition research 16 . A solution for improving validity may be to compare operationalisations of metacognition in cognitive neuroscience with the ones in educational sciences, which have shown clear links with learning in formal education. This also applies to metacognitive training.

Metacognition in educational sciences

The most popular protocols used to measure metacognition in educational sciences are self-report questionnaires or interviews, learning journals and thinking-aloud protocols 31 , 80 . During interviews, subjects are asked to answer questions regarding hypothetical situations 81 . In learning journals, students write about their learning experience and their thoughts on learning 82 , 83 . In thinking-aloud protocols, subjects are asked to verbalise their thoughts while performing a problem-solving task 80 . Each of these instruments can be used to study meta-knowledge and meta-control. For instance, one of the most widely used questionnaires, the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) 42 , operationalises “Flavellian” metacognition and has dedicated scales for meta-knowledge and meta-control (also popular are the MSLQ 84 and LASSI 85 which operate under SRL). The meta-knowledge scale of the MAI operationalises knowledge of strategies (e.g., “ I am aware of what strategies I use when I study ”) and self-awareness (e.g., “ I am a good judge of how well I understand something ”); the meta-control scale operationalises planning (e.g., “ I set a goal before I begin a task ”) and use of learning strategies (e.g., “ I summarize what I’ve learned after I finish ”). Learning journals, self-report questionnaires and interviews involve offline metacognition. Thinking aloud, though not engaging the same degree self-reflection, also involves offline metacognition in the sense that online processes are verbalised, which necessitate offline processing (see Table 1 for an overview and Supplementary Table 2 for more details).

More recently, methodologies borrowed from cognitive neuroscience have been introduced to study EF in educational settings 22 , 86 . In particular, researchers used classic cognitive control tasks such as the Stroop task (for a meta-analysis 86 ). Most of the studied components are related to meta-control and not meta-knowledge. For instance, the BRIEF 87 is a questionnaire completed by parents and teachers which assesses different subdomains of EF: (1) inhibition, shifting, and emotional control which can be viewed as online metacognitive control, and (2) planning, organisation of materials, and monitoring, which can be viewed as offline meta-control 87 .

Assessment of metacognition is usually compared against metrics of academic performance such as grades or scores on designated tasks. A recent meta-analysis reported a weak correlation of self-report questionnaires and interviews with academic performance whereas think-aloud protocols correlated highly 88 . Offline meta-knowledge processes operationalised by learning journals were found to be positively associated with academic achievement when related to reflection on learning activities but negatively associated when related to reflection on learning materials, indicating that the type of reflection is important 89 . EF have been associated with abilities in mathematics (mainly) and reading comprehension 86 . However, the literature points towards contrary directions as to what specific EF component is involved in academic achievement. This may be due to the different groups that were studied, to different operationalisations or to different theoretical underpinnings for EF 86 . For instance, online and offline metacognitive processes, which are not systematically distinguished in the literature, may play different roles in academic achievement. Moreover, the bulk of research focussed on young children with few studies on adolescents 86 and EF may play a role at varying extents at different stages of life.

A critical question in educational sciences is that of the nature of the relationship between metacognition and academic achievement to understand whether learning at school can be enhanced by training metacognitive abilities. Does higher metacognition lead to higher academic achievement? Do these features evolve in parallel? Developmental research provides valuable insights into the formation of metacognitive abilities that can inform training designs in terms of what aspect of metacognition should be supported and the age at which interventions may yield the best results. First, meta-knowledge seems to emerge around the age of 5, meta-control around 8, and both develop over the years 90 , with evidence for the development of meta-knowledge into adolescence 91 . Furthermore, current theories propose that meta-knowledge abilities are initially highly domain-dependent and gradually become more domain-independent as knowledge and experience are acquired and linked between domains 32 . Meta-control is believed to evolve in a similar fashion 90 , 92 .

Common methods used to train offline metacognition are direct instruction of metacognition, metacognitive prompts and learning journals. In addition, research has been done on the use of (self-directed) feedback as a means to induce self-reflection in students, mainly in computer-supported settings 93 . Interestingly, learning journals appear to be used for both assessing and fostering metacognition. Metacognitive instruction consists of teaching learners’ strategies to “activate” their metacognition. Metacognitive prompts most often consist of text pieces that are sent at specific times and that trigger reflection (offline meta-knowledge) on learning behaviour in the form of a question, hint or reminder.

Meta-analyses have investigated the effects of direct metacognitive instruction on students’ use of learning strategies and academic outcomes 18 , 94 , 95 . Their findings show that metacognitive instruction can have a positive effect on learning abilities and achievement within a population ranging from primary schoolers to university students. In particular, interventions lead to the highest effect sizes when they both (i) instructed a combination of metacognitive strategies with an emphasis on planning strategies (offline meta-control) and (ii) “provided students with knowledge about strategies” (offline meta-knowledge) and “illustrated the benefits of applying the trained strategies, or even stimulated metacognitive reasoning” (p.114) 18 . The longer the duration of the intervention, the more effective they were. The strongest effects on academic performance were observed in the context of mathematics, followed by reading and writing.

While metacognitive prompts and learning journals make up the larger part of the literature on metacognitive training 96 , meta-analyses that specifically investigate their effectiveness have yet to be performed. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that such interventions can be successful. Researchers found that metacognitive prompts fostered the use of metacognitive strategies (offline meta-control) and that the combination of cognitive and metacognitive prompts improved learning outcomes 97 . Another experiment showed that students who received metacognitive prompts performed more metacognitive activities inside the learning environment and displayed better transfer performance immediately after the intervention 98 . A similar study using self-directed prompts showed enhanced transfer performance that was still observable 3 weeks after the intervention 99 .

Several studies suggest that learning journals can positively enhance metacognition. Subjects who kept a learning journal displayed stronger high meta-control and meta-knowledge on learning tasks and tended to reach higher academic outcomes 100 , 101 , 102 . However, how the learning journal is used seems to be critical; good instructions are crucial 97 , 103 , and subjects who simply summarise their learning activity benefit less from the intervention than subjects who reflect about their knowledge, learning and learning goals 104 . An overview of studies using learning journals and metacognitive prompts to train metacognition can be found in Supplementary Table 3 .

In recent years, educational neuroscience researchers have tried to determine whether training and improvements in EF can lead to learning facilitation and higher academic achievement. Training may consist of having students continually perform behavioural tasks either in the lab, at home, or at school. Current evidence in favour of training EF is mixed, with only anecdotal evidence for positive effects 105 . A meta-analysis did not show evidence for a causal relationship between EF and academic achievement 19 , but suggested that the relationship is bidirectional, meaning that the two are “mutually supportive” 106 .

A recent review article has identified several gaps and shortcoming in the literature on metacognitive training 96 . Overall, research in metacognitive training has been mainly invested in developing learners’ meta-control rather than meta-knowledge. Furthermore, most of the interventions were done in the context of science learning. Critically, there appears to be a lack of studies that employed randomised control designs, such that the effects of metacognitive training intervention are often difficult to evaluate. In addition, research overwhelmingly investigated metacognitive prompts and learning journals in adults 96 , while interventions on EF mainly focused on young children 22 . Lastly, meta-analyses evaluating the effectiveness of metacognitive training have so far focused on metacognitive instruction on children. There is thus a clear disbalance between the meta-analyses performed and the scope of the literature available.

An important caveat of educational sciences research is that metacognition is not typically framed in terms of online and offline metacognition. Therefore, it can be unclear whether protocols operationalise online or offline processes and whether interventions tend to benefit more online or offline metacognition. There is also confusion in terms of what processes qualify as EF and definitions of it vary substantially 86 . For instance, Clements and colleagues mention work on SRL to illustrate research in EF in relation to academic achievement but the two spawn from different lines of research, one rooted in metacognition and socio-cognitive theory 31 and the other in the cognitive (neuro)science of decision-making. In addition, the MSLQ, as discussed above, assesses offline metacognition along with other components relevant to SRL, whereas EF can be mainly understood as online metacognition (see Table 1 ), which on the neural level may rely on different circuitry.

Investigating offline metacognition tends to be carried out in school settings whereas evaluating EF (e.g., Stroop task, and BRIEF) is performed in the lab. Common to all protocols for offline metacognition is that they consist of a form of self-report from the learner, either during the learning activity (thinking-aloud protocols) or after the learning activity (questionnaires, interviews and learning journals). Questionnaires are popular protocols due to how easy they are to administer but have been criticised to provide biased evaluations of metacognitive abilities. In contrast, learning journals evaluate the degree to which learners engage in reflective thinking and may therefore be less prone to bias. Lastly, it is unclear to what extent thinking-aloud protocols are sensitive to online metacognitive processes, such as on-the-fly error correction and effort regulation. The strength of the relationship between metacognitive abilities and academic achievement varies depending on how metacognition is operationalised. Self-report questionnaires and interviews are weakly related to achievement whereas thinking-aloud protocols and EF are strongly related to it.

Based on the well-documented relationship between metacognition and academic achievement, educational scientists hypothesised that fostering metacognition may improve learning and academic achievement, and thus performed metacognitive training interventions. The most prevalent training protocols are direct metacognitive instruction, learning journals, and metacognitive prompts, which aim to induce and foster offline metacognitive processes such as self-reflection, planning and selecting learning strategies. In addition, researchers have investigated whether training EF, either through tasks or embedded in the curriculum, results in higher academic proficiency and achievement. While a large body of evidence suggests that metacognitive instruction, learning journals and metacognitive prompts can successfully improve academic achievement, interventions designed around EF training show mixed results. Future research investigating EF training in different age categories may clarify this situation. These various degrees of success of interventions may indicate that offline metacognition is more easily trainable than online metacognition and plays a more important role in educational settings. Investigating the effects of different methods, offline and online, on the neural level, may provide researchers with insights into the trainability of different metacognitive processes.

In this article, we reviewed the literature on metacognition in educational sciences and cognitive neuroscience with the aim to investigate gaps in current research and propose ways to address them through the exchange of insights between the two disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches. The main aspects analysed were operational definitions of metacognition and metacognitive training, through the lens of metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive control. Our review also highlighted an additional construct in the form of the distinction between online metacognition (on the fly and largely automatic) and offline metacognition (slower, reflective and requiring meta-representations). In cognitive neuroscience, research has focused on metacognitive judgements (mainly offline) and EF (mainly online). Metacognition is operationalised with tasks carried out in the lab and are mapped onto brain functions. In contrast, research in educational sciences typically measures metacognition in the context of learning activities, mostly in schools and universities. More recently, EF has been studied in educational settings to investigate its role in academic achievement and whether training it may benefit learning. Evidence on the latter is however mixed. Regarding metacognitive training in general, evidence from both disciplines suggests that interventions fostering learners’ self-reflection and knowledge of their learning behaviour (i.e., offline meta-knowledge) may best benefit them and increase academic achievement.

We focused on four aspects of research that could benefit from an interdisciplinary approach between the two areas: (i) validity and reliability of research protocols, (ii) under-researched dimensions of metacognition, (iii) metacognitive training, and (iv) domain-specificity vs. domain generality of metacognitive abilities. To tackle these issue, we propose four avenues for integrated research: (i) investigate the degree to which different protocols relate to similar or different metacognitive constructs, (ii) implement designs and perform experiments to identify neural substrates necessary for offline meta-control by for example borrowing protocols used in educational sciences, (iii) study the effects of (offline) meta-knowledge training on the brain, and (iv) perform developmental research in the metacognitive brain and compare it with the existing developmental literature in educational sciences regarding the domain-generality of metacognitive processes and metacognitive abilities.

First, neurocognitive research on metacognitive judgements has developed robust operationalisations of offline meta-knowledge. However, these operationalisations often consist of specific tasks (e.g., 2-AFC) carried out in the lab. These tasks are often very narrow and do not resemble the challenges and complexities of behaviours associated with learning in schools and universities. Thus, one may question to what extent they reflect real-life metacognition, and to what extent protocols developed in educational sciences and cognitive neuroscience actually operationalise the same components of metacognition. We propose that comparing different protocols from both disciplines that are, a priori, operationalising the same types of metacognitive processes can help evaluate the ecological validity of protocols used in cognitive neuroscience, and allow for more holistic assessments of metacognition, provided that it is clear which protocol assesses which construct. Degrees of correlation between different protocols, within and between disciplines, may allow researchers to assess to what extent they reflect the same metacognitive constructs and also identify what protocols are most appropriate to study a specific construct. For example, a relation between meta- d ′ metacognitive sensitivity in a 2-AFC task and the meta-knowledge subscale of the MAI, would provide external validity to the former. Moreover, educational scientists would be provided with bias-free tools to assess metacognition. These tools may enable researchers to further investigate to what extent metacognitive bias, sensitivity and efficiency each play a role in education settings. In contrast, a low correlation may highlight a difference in domain between the two measures of metacognition. For instance, metacognitive judgements in brain research are made in isolated behaviour, and meta-d’ can thus be viewed to reflect “local” metacognitive sensitivity. It is also unclear to what extent processes involved in these decision-making tasks cover those taking place in a learning environment. When answering self-reported questionnaires, however, subjects make metacognitive judgements on a large set of (learning) activities, and the measures may thus resemble more “global” or domain-general metacognitive sensitivity. In addition, learners in educational settings tend to receive feedback — immediate or delayed — on their learning activities and performance, which is generally not the case for cognitive neuroscience protocols. Therefore, investigating metacognitive judgements in the presence of performance or social feedback may allow researchers to better understand the metacognitive processes at play in educational settings. Devising a global measure of metacognition in the lab by aggregating subjects’ metacognitive abilities in different domains or investigating to what extent local metacognition may affect global metacognition could improve ecological validity significantly. By investigating the neural correlates of educational measures of metacognition, researchers may be able to better understand to what extent the constructs studied in the two disciplines are related. It is indeed possible that, though weakly correlated, the meta-knowledge scale of the MAI and meta-d’ share a common neural basis.

Second, our review highlights gaps in the literature of both disciplines regarding the research of certain types of metacognitive processes. There is a lack of research in offline meta-control (or strategic regulation of cognition) in neuroscience, whereas this construct is widely studied in educational sciences. More specifically, while there exists research on EF related to planning (e.g. 107 ), common experimental designs make it hard to disentangle online from offline metacognitive processes. A few studies have implemented subject reports (e.g., awareness of error or desire for reminders) to pin-point the neural substrates specifically involved in offline meta-control and the current evidence points at a role of the lPFC. More research implementing similar designs may clarify this construct. Alternatively, researchers may exploit educational sciences protocols, such as self-report questionnaires, learning journals, metacognitive prompts and feedback to investigate offline meta-control processes in the brain and their relation to academic proficiency and achievement.

Third, there is only one study known to us on the training of meta-knowledge in the lab 78 . In contrast, meta-knowledge training in educational sciences have been widely studied, in particular with metacognitive prompts and learning journals, although a systematic review would be needed to identify the benefits for learning. Relative to cognitive neuroscience, studies suggest that offline meta-knowledge trained in and outside the lab (i.e., metacognitive judgements and meditation, respectively) transfer to meta-knowledge in other lab tasks. The case of meditation is particularly interesting since meditation has been demonstrated to beneficiate varied aspects of everyday life 108 . Given its importance for efficient regulation of cognition, training (offline) meta-knowledge may present the largest benefits to academic achievement. Hence, it is important to investigate development in the brain relative to meta-knowledge training. Evidence on metacognitive training in educational sciences tends to suggest that offline metacognition is more “plastic” and may therefore benefit learning more than online metacognition. Furthermore, it is important to have a good understanding of the developmental trajectory of metacognitive abilities — not only on a behavioural level but also on a neural level — to identify critical periods for successful training. Doing so would also allow researchers to investigate the potential differences in terms of plasticity that we mention above. Currently, the developmental trajectory of metacognition is under-studied in cognitive neuroscience with only one study that found an overlap between the neural correlates of metacognition in adults and children 109 . On a side note, future research could explore the potential role of genetic factors in metacognitive abilities to better understand to what extent and under what constraints they can be trained.

Fourth, domain-specific and domain-general aspects of metacognitive processes should be further investigated. Educational scientists have studied the development of metacognition in learners and have concluded that metacognitive abilities are domain-specific at the beginning (meaning that their quality depends on the type of learning activity, like mathematics vs. writing) and progressively evolve towards domain-general abilities as knowledge and expertise increase. Similarly, neurocognitive evidence points towards a common network for (offline) metacognitive knowledge which engages the different regions at varying degrees depending on the domain of the activity (i.e., perception, memory, etc.). Investigating this network from a developmental perspective and comparing findings with the existing behavioural literature may improve our understanding of the metacognitive brain and link the two bodies of evidence. It may also enable researchers to identify stages of life more suitable for certain types of metacognitive intervention.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the University of Amsterdam for supporting this research through the Interdisciplinary Doctorate Agreement grant. W.v.d.B. is further supported by the Jacobs Foundation, European Research Council (grant no. ERC-2018-StG-803338), the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant no. DiGYMATEX-870578), and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (grant no. NWO-VIDI 016.Vidi.185.068).

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Fleur, D.S., Bredeweg, B. & van den Bos, W. Metacognition: ideas and insights from neuro- and educational sciences. npj Sci. Learn. 6 , 13 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00089-5

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Research Topics & Ideas: Psychology

100+ Psychology Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Research

If you’re starting out on the dissertation or thesis journey for your psychology degree, the very first challenge you’ll face is finding a solid research topic . In this post, we’ll help get the topic ideation process started by providing a meaty list of research ideas, spanning a range of psychology sub-disciplines. We’ll also look at some examples from actual theses and dissertations to give you an idea of what these look like in the real world.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps (which we’ll explain a little later). Therefore, it’s important to recognise that this post is only the first step in finding a high-quality psychology-centred research topic. To develop a research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this all sounds a bit intimidating, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course , which covers the process of writing a dissertation or thesis from A-Z. You can also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to find a high-quality research topic. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, have a look at our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Psychology-Related Topics

How to find a research topic (video)
Behavioural psychology
Clinical psychology
Cognitive psychology
Developmental psychology
Educational psychology
Forensic psychology
Social psychology
Sports psychology
Examples of actual dissertation topics
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How To Find A Research Topic

In the video below, we explain how to find suitable research ideas (in psychology or any field), and how to then refine those into well-articulated potential topics for your dissertation or thesis. We also discuss a few important evaluation criteria to help you make the right choice for your project.

Below you’ll find a list of research ideas to get your thinking started. Please note that these research topic ideas are intentionally broad and generic, so you will need to refine them a fair deal using the techniques we discussed in the video above.

We’ve grouped the topic ideas based on a few popular areas of psychology to make it a little easier for you to find something in your particular field of interest. That said, there is naturally some overlap between topics, so keep this in mind.

Research Ideas: Behavioural Psychology

Cultural variation in behaviour and mental health of adolescents during a disaster: a case study
The impact of parental drug use and risky behaviour on early child development
The effects of video game violence on aggressive behaviour among teenage boys in school
The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and adult risk-seeking behaviour
The impact of physical exercise on anxiety and health-harming behaviour
The relationship between personality traits and addiction behaviour
The effects of reinforcement schedules on decision-making and associative learning
The effects of daily mindfulness practice on stress and anxiety in middle-aged women
The use of behavioural interventions in the treatment of eating disorders in poorer communities
Understanding implicit cognitive processes involved in the over-consumption of fast food
The use of cognitive behavioural therapy for alcohol addiction treatment
The impact of extensive technology use in children on long-term attention and focus
The impact of social media on self-destructive behaviour and poor mental health outcomes
Exploring the role of sleep and sleep deprivation on healthy behaviours

Research Ideas: Clinical Psychology

The use of mindfulness-based approaches in the treatment of anxiety disorders among college students
The use of technology in the delivery of psychological services in war-torn countries
The effectiveness of dialectical behaviour therapy for borderline personality disorder
The use of virtual reality technology in the treatment of phobias and PTSD among war veterans
The role of childhood adversity on adult mental health in immigrant populations in the USA
The role of genetics and epigenetics in the development of bipolar disorder in Pakistani women: an integrative review
The effectiveness of pharmacotherapy in the treatment of social anxiety among hikikomori in Japan
The perception of healthcare workers and patients on the use of teletherapy for the delivery of psychological services
The impact of social support on mental health outcomes among single parents.
The effectiveness of integrative therapeutic approaches in the treatment of schizophrenia
The effectiveness of trauma-focused therapies on post-traumatic growth in domestic abuse survivors
The role and use of cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression among first-generation students
The effectiveness of family therapy in addressing childhood trauma and depression
The impact of cultural mistrust on the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues in culturally-diverse populations
The effectiveness of group therapy on post-traumatic stress symptoms among survivors of sexual assault

Research Topic Kickstarter - Need Help Finding A Research Topic?

Research Ideas: Cognitive Psychology

The impact of lifelong aerobic exercise on cognitive function in old age
The effects of evening screen use on cognitive development in preschool children
The impact of sleep deprivation on decision-making among graduate students
The use of neuroimaging to understand the neural basis of memory retrieval
The effect of conservative religious homes on social functioning in LGBT+ adolescents
The role of positive emotions in working memory among high school learners
The neural basis of decision-making and problem-solving during undergraduate statistic assessments
The neural basis of language processing among adults learning English as a second language
The role of technological tools in improving working memory in older adults
The role of attention in emotional face processing among adult males
The impact of depression on cognitive function during ageing The impact of daily meditation and mindfulness practice on cognitive function
The relationship between increased protein intake and improved cognitive function
The effects of stress on cognitive function among final-year learners

Research Ideas: Developmental Psychology

The impact of maternal affection on cognitive, social, and emotional development
The effects of parenting styles on children’s executive function
The impact of late-night screen use on child development
The role of digital play on child development outcomes
Exploring the impact of poverty on early child development in Brazil
The trauma-informed care as moderating the impact of trauma on child development
Evaluating the relationship between peer relationship quality and child social development
The impact of child-targeted media and advertising on child behavioural development
The role of parental attachment in child resilience
The moderating impact of culture on bullying and child social development
The impact of single-parenting on child development in India
The impact of early educational interventions on child socio-emotional development
The impact of digital technology use on adolescent development and mental health
The impact of socioeconomic status on child executive function
The role of genetics and epigenetics on child neurodevelopmental outcomes linked to depression

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Research Ideas: Educational Psychology

The relationship between self-regulated learning and academic performance in asynchronous versus synchronous learning environments
Exploring effective parental involvement strategies and their impact on student achievement
The role of intrinsic motivation in formative assessment in the classroom
The impact of classroom management and practice on student learning and behaviour
University students’ preference regarding online learning environments
The effects of gentrification on student achievement in traditionally poor neighbourhoods
The impact of teacher expectations and academic self-concept on K12 student mathematics performance
The use and effectiveness of game-based learning in a high school biology classroom
The impact of prejudice on the relationship between student motivation and academic performance among Black university students
The impact of culture on second language English student learning preferences
The effects of student self-efficacy and engagement on academic performance in secondary school mathematics
The role of metacognition in learning musicality in hip hop
The role of small group instruction on teacher efficacy and stress in early childhood education
The perception and use of multimedia among high school biology teachers in France
The use of augmented reality applications and its impact on student learning, motivation and attitude

Research Ideas: Forensic Psychology

The impact of trauma on the psychological functioning of police officers and first responders
Understanding cultural considerations during forensic psychological assessment and treatment of trauma
Ethical considerations of the use of AI in forensic psychology in the legal system
The psychological factors related to recidivism among white collar female offenders in the USA
The psychological factors related to false confessions among juveniles
Understanding the use of psychological assessment in the evaluation of eyewitness testimony in criminal courts in England
The impact of trauma on the reflective functioning of adult female sexual assault victims
The use and effectiveness of psychological interventions in reducing recidivism among non-violent criminals
The impact of domestic violence on the mental health and forensic evaluation of men
Exploring the ethical considerations and use of behavioural analysis in the study of criminal behaviour
The use and limitations of neuropsychological assessment in forensic evaluations
The use of social media forensics in evaluating criminal behaviour in violent crimes
The racialised use of psychological assessment in the evaluation of competency to stand trial in Canada
Exploring the use and availability of virtual reality technologies in forensic psychology in Spain
The impact of motivational interviewing-based interventions among criminalized drug users

Research Ideas: Social Psychology

The impact of prejudice and discrimination on social behaviour among African immigrants in South Africa
The impact of social networks on behaviour and well-being among young adult females
The effects of social identity on non-conformity in University students
The effects of group dynamics on risk-seeking behaviour in adult men
The impact of social media on the quality of interpersonal relationships among high school learners
The impact of parental emotional intelligence on pro-social behaviour in children and adolescents
The effects of conformity and deviance on social attitudes and behaviour during a global recession
The effects of Tik Tok on social comparison and self-esteem among teenage girls
Understanding gendered differences in social influence and algorithms on impulsive decision-making
The effects of social support on mental health among healthcare workers in the UK
The effects of gender roles on social behaviour among trans teens
The impact of perceived power and social status on the behaviour of social media influencers
The impact of social norms on prosocial behaviour among women
The effects of community participation on aggression and violence in middle-aged men
The impact of culture and gender on social behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic

Research Ideas: Sports Psychology

The moderating role of cultural factors on the relationship between mental health and sports performance in team sports
The role of mindfulness practice in addressing stress and anxiety in young national athletes
The relationship between team cohesion and performance in cricket teams
The effect of transformational leadership on female sports teams in Canada
The effect of positive self-talk on athletic performance and motivation among Olympic athletes
The use and perception of hypnosis in New Zealand team sports Understanding stress and burnout in University team athletes
The efficacy of personalised nutrition and diet on athletic performance among sprinters
Exploring mental preparation techniques and their effect on athletic motivation and resilience among team-sport athletes
Exploring the perception and understanding of goal-setting characteristics on athletic performance among team coaches
The effects of motivational feedback on the performance of female gymnasts
The perception and use of visualization and imagery among coaches as a means to enhance sport performance
The impact of sports injuries on mental health and recovery in high school athletes
The moderating role of sleep on mental toughness and sports performance in Olympic athletes
The use and perception of technology in sports training and performance in little league softball

Free Webinar: How To Find A Dissertation Research Topic

Psychology-Related Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic in psychology, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together in practice.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various psychology degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

Effects of a Patient Question Prompt List on Outpatient Palliative Care Appointments (McDarby, 2022)
The role of affect and exercise goals in physical activity engagement in younger and older adults (Stojanovic, 2022)
Lay Theories about Whether Emotion Helps or Hinders Reasoning and Well-being (Karnaze, 2022)
The effects of blast-induced traumatic brain injury on two transgenic models of Alzheimer’s Disease (Gann, 2020)
Understanding the parental mind: Examining the stability of parental reflective functioning across the birth of a child and associations with maternal mind-mindedness (Pitzen, 2021)
An investigation of ineffective ally behaviours (Collier, 2019)
Response Inhibition-Related Beta Power: Distinguishing Cognitively Intact Elders by Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease (Evans, 2021)
Recognition Memory of Extremely High-Frequency Words (Miller, 2019)
The Relationship between Dementia Caregiver Burden and Caregiver Communications in a Memory Clinic Setting (Martin, 2021)
Examination of Maternal Versus Paternal Ratings of Child Pre-Injury Functioning in Predicting Child Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms (Sayer, 2021)
Electromyography As A Means of Predicting The Rubber Hand Illusion (Teaford, 2021)
Linking Diversity Climate and Feedback Seeking Through Interpersonal Processes and Race Effects (Flores, 2021)

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are far more specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. This is an important thing to keep in mind as you develop your own research topic. That is to say, to create a top-notch research topic, you must be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Fast-Track Your Topic Ideation

Still unsure about how to find the right topic for your research project? Check out our private coaching services , where we work with psychology students on a 1:1 basis to help them find the perfect topic.

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Topic Kickstarter: Research topics in education

10 Comments

Great insight

A very interesting site that offers a variety of options regarding research topics.

You’re most welcome

A good platform to get information

Amazing and interesting options 👌

Very useful but had not any field of research in health psychology

I feel honored going through this lovely stuff put together. Thank you so much

I need counseling psychology research topics

very empowering and insightful presentations. Can I be assisted in crafting a school psychology-related research topic about African context

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Speech perception
Analysis of choice behavior
Visual perception
Stages of sensory information processing
The focus of attention
Forgetting in short and long-term memory
The nature of retrieval from memory
The mechanisms of visual and auditory imagery
The control of the memorial system
Shared cognitive processing

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Research topics.

Benjamin, A. S. (2008). Memory is more than just remembering: Strategic control of encoding, accessing memory, and making decisions. In A. S. Benjamin & B. H. Ross (Eds.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: Skill and Strategy in Memory Use (Vol. 48; pp.175-223). London: Academic Press.
Finley, J. R., Tullis, J. G., & Benjamin, A. S. (2010). Metacognitive control of learning and remembering. In M. S. Khine & I. Saleh (Eds.), New science of learning: cognition, computers and collaboration in education (pp. 108-132) . New York: Springer.
Benjamin, A. S. & Ross, B. H. (2008). Introduction and overview. In A. S. Benjamin & B. H. Ross (Eds.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: Skill and Strategy in Memory Use (Vol. 48; pp. xi-xiv). London: Academic Press.

Memory and Decision Making We use recognition memory and related tasks as a test bed for developing computational models of memory decisions. In one line of work, we extend decision models based on signal-detection theory to include variable decision noise and to describe more varied memory tasks, including multivariate tasks that involve multiple memory decisions. For example, querying memory for an event often involves attempts at retrieving information about the event itself (item memory) as well as information about contextual details accompanying that event (source memory) — such as the gender of a speaker, the color a word was printed in, or the physical surroundings of a pictured object. We also develop process models of recognition judgments in order to test how global deficits in memory fidelity can yield selective deficits on empirical tasks such as source memory judgments. Selected publications on this topic:

Benjamin, A. S., Diaz, M. L., & Wee, S. (2009). Signal detection with criterion noise: Applications to recognition memory. Psychological Review, 116 , 84-115.
Benjamin, A. S. & Bawa, S. (2004). Distractor plausibility and criterion placement in recognition. Journal of Memory & Language, 51 , 159-172.

Metacognition and metamemory Efficient memory use requires accurate metamemory: the processes that monitor states of learning, knowledge, and skill, and also control the deployment of mnemonic and other cognitive processes to achieve desired states. That is, one must be able to make accurate judgments about one’s current memory state and predictions about future states, and exercise judicious control over the various options at one’s disposal, including encoding and retrieval strategies, study time allocation, item selection, and scheduling of study repetitions. Our research investigates the monitoring and control processes that comprise metamemory by focusing on factors that moderate metamemory performance, such as: prior knowledge, task goals and expectations, time pressure, and stimulus characteristics. For example, we are interested in the conditions under which one exhibits “learning to learn”–adaptively calibrating metamemory in order to more effectively assess and deploy memory resources in the context of a specific task. Our interests also concern the development of ever more sophisticated and rigorous approaches to the analysis and measurement of metamemory. Selected publications on this topic:

Tullis, J. G. & Benjamin, A. S. (2011). On the effectiveness of self-paced learning. Journal of Memory and Language , 64 , 109-118.
Finley, J. R., Tullis, J. G., & Benjamin, A. S. (2010). Metacognitive control of learning and remembering. In M. S. Khine & I. Saleh (Eds.), New science of learning: cognition, computers and collaboration in education (pp. 108-132) . New York: Springer.

Aging and memory The human memory system is constantly changing and adapting throughout the lifespan. Some of these changes result because of the ever growing body of knowledge and experience acquired over a lifetime. The system has to adapt to maintain fluent access to an ever-growing knowledge base. Other changes occur in order to compensate for biological changes that occur with aging. The goal of our research is to understand what aspects of memory and metamemory change across the lifespan and to understand what aspects remain the same. Our basic perspective is that aging involves a global deficit in memory that reveals a landscape of the relative resistance of tasks to disruption. Further, we investigate changes in older learners’ metamnemonic monitoring and how older learners compensate (or fail to compensate) for changes in memory ability through the use of metamnemonic strategies and behaviors. Selected publications on this topic:

Benjamin, A. S. (2010). Representational explanations of “process” dissociations in recognition: The DRYAD theory of aging and memory judgments. Psychological Review, 117 , 1055-1079.
Benjamin, A. S. & Craik, F. I. M. (2001). Parallel effects of aging and time pressure on memory for source: Evidence from the spacing effect. Memory & Cognition, 29, 691-697.

Reminding By bringing relevant knowledge to bear in novel circumstances, remindings allow us to thrive in a complex and ever-changing world. Remindings play a significant role in higher cognition (e.g., problem solving, understanding, generalization, classification, and number representation), but their role in memory has largely been ignored. We have proposed a reminding theory arguing that remindings play a fundamental role in memory, underlying the effects of both repetition and spacing (Benjamin & Tullis, 2010). We are currently investigating hypotheses derived from reminding theory concerning remindings’ basic mnemonic effects. Preliminary results hint that remindings enhance the memory for individual instances in associated pairs, as predicted by reminding theory. Reminding may be an effective technique to capitalize on the innate strengths of human memory system while minimizing the efforts learners must expend. Selected publications on this topic:

Benjamin, A. S. & Ross, B. H. (2010). The causes and consequences of reminding. In A. S. Benjamin (Ed.), Successful remembering and successful forgetting: A Festschrift in honor of Robert A. Bjork (pp. 71-88). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Benjamin, A. S. & Tullis, J. G. (2010). What makes distributed practice effective? Cognitive Psychology, 61 , 228-247.

Language and memory The goal of our research in language and memory is to understand how linguistic cues can influence memory for words, sentences, or larger texts. Words contain both semantic information (meaning) and surface form information (the letters or sounds in the words), and these different kinds of cues may remind us of different information or be forgotten at different rates. Another important cue is the emphasis placed on particular words. For example, if a speaker emphasizes the word “NEWSPAPER” in the sentence “The NEWSPAPER won an award for covering the fire,” we may focus our memory on different information (that the newspaper won the award, rather what the award was for) or even bring to mind different ideas (who else might have won the award instead of the newspaper?). Our general view is that linguistic contexts can powerfully influence encoding strategies, which in turn affect memory performance. Selected publications on this topic:

Matzen, L. E. & Benjamin, A. S. (2009). Remembering words not presented in sentences: How study context changes patterns of false memories. Memory & Cognition, 37 , 52-64.
Fraundorf, S. H., Watson, D. G., & Benjamin, A. S. (2010). Recognition memory reveals just how CONTRASTIVE contrastive accenting really is. Journal of Memory and Language, 63, 367-386.

Memory for Faces The ability of humans to recognize the faces of recently encountered individuals has generated a vast amount of research. Surprisingly, there is almost no research examining whether we are able to make accurate predictions about our own ability to recognize faces. A well-replicated finding is that people are better at recognizing faces more like their own–their own race, their own age–relative to faces from other groups. We are interested in examining the cognitive and metacognitive processes underlying this bias in face memory: Do people spend less time studying other-race faces relative to own-race faces? Are predictions about later recognition more accurate for own-race faces than for other-race faces? Can individuals use metacognitive information to change their encoding strategy and improve recognition of other-race faces? We are also examining how social information can bias the encoding and recognition of ambiguous race faces. Selected publications on this topic:

Hourihan, K. L., Benjamin, A. S., & Gronlund, S. D. (2010, November). An own-group bias in metamnemonic accuracy for faces. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society, St. Louis, MO.

International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching pp 177–200 Cite as

Topics, Methods, and Research-Based Strategies for Teaching Cognition

Maya M. Khanna 5 &
Michael J. Cortese 6
Reference work entry
First Online: 17 December 2022

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Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

In this chapter, we review the basic contents and structure of our courses in cognition and cognitive psychology as well as pedagogical approaches to teaching. Topics range from an historical overview of the areas of science that lead up to the formation of cognitive science to detailed discussions of published articles within each of the major subfields of cognition (e.g., perception, attention, short-term working memory, long-term memory, language, and decision-making). Throughout our courses, we also focus extensively on the practical applications to cognitive theory. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of research design and data analyses and discuss how we guide our students in the practice of using theory to arrive at specific numerical predictions. In addition, we discuss our major learning objectives that we hope our students achieve in completing our courses and highlight ways that we assess student work toward these objectives. We also share some of the best practices for teaching cognition that we have developed ourselves and ones that we acquired from others. In particular, we discuss our style of teaching the course as well as examples of in-class activities and demonstrations. Finally, we share a list of resources that interested readers can review to help in the design of their courses on cognition, or in any courses, in general. This overview can serve as both a good starting point for beginning instructors and a useful resource for more experienced instructors.

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Khanna, M.M., Cortese, M.J. (2023). Topics, Methods, and Research-Based Strategies for Teaching Cognition. In: Zumbach, J., Bernstein, D.A., Narciss, S., Marsico, G. (eds) International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28745-0_11

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Cognitive neuroscience research on conceptual knowledge often is discussed with respect to “embodiment” or “grounding.” We tried to disentangle at least three distinct claims made using these terms. One of these, the view that concepts are entirely reducible to sensory-motor representations, is untenable and diminishing in the literature. A second is the view that concepts and sensory-motor representations “interact,” and a third view addresses the question of how concepts are neurally organized—the neural partitions among concepts of different kinds, and where these partitions are localized in cortex. We argue that towards the second and third issues, much fruitful research can be pursued, but that no position on them is specifically related to “grounding.” Furthermore, to move forward on them, it is important to precisely distinguish different kinds of representations—conceptual vs. sensory-motor—from each other theoretically and empirically. Neuroimaging evidence often lacks such specificity. We take an approach that distinguishes conceptual from sensory-motor representations by virtue of two properties: broad generality and tolerance to the absence of sensory-motor associations. We review three of our recent experiments that employ these criteria in order to localize neural representations of several specific kinds of nonsensory attributes: functions, intentions, and belief traits. Building on past work, we find that neuroimaging evidence can be used fruitfully to distinguish interesting hypotheses about neural organization. On the other hand, most such evidence does not speak to any clear notion of “grounding” or “embodiment,” because these terms do not make clear, specific, empirical predictions. We argue that cognitive neuroscience will proceed most fruitfully by relinquishing these terms.

This research studies the neural systems underlying two integration processes that take place during natural discourse comprehension: consistency evaluation and passive comprehension. Evaluation was operationalized with a consistency judgment task and passive comprehension with a passive listening task. Using fMRI, the experiment examined the integration of incoming sentences with more recent, local context and with more distal, global context in these two tasks. The stimuli were stories in which we manipulated the consistency of the endings with the local context and the relevance of the global context for the integration of the endings. A whole-brain analysis revealed several differences between the two tasks. Two networks previously associated with semantic processing and attention orienting showed more activation during the judgment than the passive listening task. A network previously associated with episodic memory retrieval and construction of mental scenes showed greater activity when global context was relevant, but only during the judgment task. This suggests that evaluation, more than passive listening, triggers the reinstantiation of global context and the construction of a rich mental model for the story. Finally, a network previously linked to fluent updating of a knowledge base showed greater activity for locally consistent endings than inconsistent ones, but only during passive listening, suggesting a mode of comprehension that relies on a local scope approach to language processing. Taken together, these results show that consistency evaluation and passive comprehension weigh differently on distal and local information and are implemented, in part, by different brain networks.

The perception of apparent body movement sometimes follows biologically plausible paths rather than paths along the shortest distance as in the case for inanimate objects. For numerous authors, this demonstrates that the somatosensory and motor representations of the observer's own body support and constrain the perception of others’ body movements. In this paper, we report evidence that calls for a re-examination of this account. We presented an apparent upper limb movement perception task to typically developed participants and five individuals born without upper limbs who were, therefore, totally deprived of somatosensory or motor representations of those limbs. Like the typically developed participants, they showed the typical bias toward long and biomechanically plausible path. This finding suggests that the computations underlying the biomechanical bias in apparent body movement perception is intrinsic to the visual system.

Segmentation of the world into meaningful units has typically been described as object individuation, emphasizing the spatially disconnected quality that comes as a result of objecthood. This segmentation can occur rapidly, even in parallel for multiple objects. It remains unclear whether objecthood is a necessary requirement for parallel individuation, or whether target features in distinct locations, such as object parts, may also be individuated in parallel. In a series of six experiments, we used a rapid enumeration task to test whether subitizing, a phenomenon believed to result from parallel individuation, occurs over object parts. We found that subitizing and individuation occur over connected object parts as well as physically separate objects of varied shapes and sizes. We also observed subitizing when target items are indents, features intrinsic to the shape of the object, and when cues for occlusion were removed. The results of these studies suggest that parallel individuation is not bound to objecthood, and can occur over object parts existing in separate locations.

The nature of domain-specific organization in higher-order visual cortex (ventral occipital temporal cortex, VOTC) has been investigated both in the case of visual experience deprivation and of modality of stimulation in sighted individuals. Object domain interacts in an intriguing and revelatory way with visual experience and modality of stimulation: selectivity for artifacts and scene domains is largely immune to visual deprivation and is multi-modal, whereas selectivity for animate items in lateral posterior fusiform gyrus is present only with visual stimulation. This domain-by-modality interaction is not readily accommodated by existing theories of VOTC representation. We conjecture that these effects reflect a distinction between the visual features that characterize different object domains and their interaction with different types of downstream computational systems.

Every day, we interact with people synchronously, immediately understand what they are doing, and easily infer their mental state and the likely outcome of their actions from their kinematics. According to various motor simulation theories of perception, such efficient perceptual processing of others ’ actions cannot be achieved by visual analysis of the movements alone but requires a process of motor simulation — an unconscious, covert imitation of the observed movements. According to this hypothesis, individ- uals incapable of simulating observed movements in their motor system should have difficulty perceiving and interpreting ob- served actions. Contrary to this prediction, we found across eight sensitive experiments that individuals born with absent or se- verely shortened upper limbs (upper limb dysplasia), despite some variability, could perceive, anticipate, predict, comprehend, and mem- orize upper limb actions, which they cannot simulate, as efficiently as typically developed participants. We also found that, like the typically developed participants, the dysplasic participants systematically per- ceived the position of moving upper limbs slightly ahead of their real position but only when the anticipated position was not biomechan- ically awkward. Such anticipatory bias and its modulation by implicit knowledge of the body biomechanical constraints were previously considered as indexes of the crucial role of motor simulation in action perception. Our findings undermine this assumption and the theories that place the locus of action perception and comprehension in the motor system and invite a shift in the focus of future research to the question of how the visuo-perceptual system represents and pro- cesses observed body movements and actions.

Recognizing the identity of a face is computationally challenging, because it requires distinguishing between similar images depicting different people, while recognizing even very different images depicting a same person. Previous human fMRI studies investigated representations of face identity in the presence of changes in viewpoint and in expression. Despite the importance of holistic processing for face recognition, an investigation of representations of face identity across different face parts is missing. To fill this gap, we investigated representations of face identity and their invariance across different face halves. Information about face identity with invariance across changes in the face half was individuated in the right anterior temporal lobe, indicating this region as the most plausible candidate brain area for the representation of face identity. In a complementary analysis, information distinguishing between different face halves was found to decline along the posterior to anterior axis in the ventral stream.

What are the processes involved in determining that there are exactly n objects in the visual field? The core level of representation for this process is based on a mechanism that iteratively individuates each of the set of relevant objects for exact enumeration. In support of this proposal, we review recent electrophysiological findings on enumeration-at-a-glance and consider three temporally distinct responses of the EEG signal that are modulated by object numerosity, and which have been associated respectively with perceptual modulation, attention selection, and working memory. We argue that the neural response associated with attention selection shows the hallmarks of an object individuation mechanism, including the property of simultaneous individuation of a limited number of objects thought to underlie the behavioral subitizing effect. The findings support the view that the core component of exact enumeration is an attention-based individuation mechanism that binds specific features to locations and provides a stable representation of a limited set of relevant objects. The resulting representation is made available for further cognitive operations for exact enumeration.

The placement and development of the visual word form area (VWFA) have commonly been assumed to depend, in part, on its connections with language regions. In this study, we specifically examined the effects of auditory speech experience deprivation in shaping the VWFA by investigating its location distribution, activation strength, and functional connectivity pattern in congenitally deaf participants. We found that the location and activation strength of the VWFA in congenitally deaf participants were highly comparable with those of hearing controls. Furthermore, while the congenitally deaf group showed reduced resting-state functional connectivity between the VWFA and the auditory speech area in the left anterior superior temporal gyrus, its intrinsic functional connectivity pattern between the VWFA and a fronto-parietal network was similar to that of hearing controls. Taken together, these results suggest that auditory speech experience has consequences for aspects of the word form-speech sound correspondence network, but that such experience does not significantly modulate the VWFA's placement or response strength. This is consistent with the view that the role of the VWFA might be to provide a representation that is suitable for mapping visual word forms onto language-specific gestures without the need to construct an aural representation.

Regions in human lateral and ventral occipitotemporal cortices (OTC) respond selectively to pictures of the human body and its parts. What are the organizational principles underlying body part responses in these regions? Here we used representational similarity analysis (RSA) of fMRI data to test multiple possible organizational principles: shape similarity, physical proximity, cortical homunculus proximity, and semantic similarity. Participants viewed pictures of whole persons, chairs, and eight body parts (hands, arms, legs, feet, chests, waists, upper faces, and lower faces). The similarity of multivoxel activity patterns for all body part pairs was established in whole person-selective OTC regions. The resulting neural similarity matrices were then compared with similarity matrices capturing the hypothesized organizational principles. Results showed that the semantic similarity model best captured the neural similarity of body parts in lateral and ventral OTC, which followed an organization in three clusters: (1) body parts used as action effectors (hands, feet, arms, and legs), (2) noneffector body parts (chests and waists), and (3) face parts (upper and lower faces). Whole-brain RSA revealed, in addition to OTC, regions in parietal and frontal cortex in which neural similarity was related to semantic similarity. In contrast, neural similarity in occipital cortex was best predicted by shape similarity models. We suggest that the semantic organization of body parts in high-level visual cortex relates to the different functions associated with the three body part clusters, reflecting the unique processing and connectivity demands associated with the different types of information (e.g., action, social) different body parts (e.g., limbs, faces) convey.

The ability to recognize, create, and use complex tools is a milestone in human evolution. Widely distributed brain regions in parietal, frontal, and temporal cortices have been implicated in using and understanding tools, but the roles of their anatomical connections in supporting tool use and tool conceptual behaviors are unclear. Using deterministic fiber tracking in healthy participants, we first examined how 14 cortical regions that are consistently activated by tool processing are connected by white matter (WM) tracts. The relationship between the integrity of each of the 33 obtained tracts and tool processing deficits across 86 brain-damaged patients was investigated. WM tract integrity was measured with both lesion percentage (structural imaging) and mean fractional anisotropy (FA) values (diffusion imaging). Behavioral abilities were assessed by a tool use task, a range of conceptual tasks, and control tasks. We found that three left hemisphere tracts connecting frontoparietal and intrafrontal areas overlapping with left superior longitudinal fasciculus are crucial for tool use such that larger lesion and lower mean FA values on these tracts were associated with more severe tool use deficits. These tracts and five additional left hemisphere tracts connecting frontal and temporal/parietal regions, mainly overlapping with left superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior frontooccipital fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, and anterior thalamic radiation, are crucial for tool concept processing. Largely consistent results were also obtained using voxel-based symptom mapping analyses. Our results revealed the WM structural networks that support the use and conceptual understanding of tools, providing evidence for the anatomical skeleton of the tool knowledge network.

Knowledge of function is critical for selecting objects to meet action goals, even when the affordances of those objects are not mechanical—for instance, both a painting and a vase can decorate a room. To identify neural representations of such abstract function concepts, we asked participants in an fMRI scanner to view a variety of objects and evaluate their utility to each of four goals (two Decoration goals: dress up for a night out and decorate a house, and two Protection goals: protect your body from the cold and keep objects dry in a flooded basement). These task conditions differed in the kind of functional evaluation participants had to perform over objects, but did not vary in the objects themselves. We performed a searchlight multivariate pattern analysis to identify cortical representations in which neural patterns were more similar for the pairs of similar-goal than dissimilar-goal task conditions (Decorate vs. Protect). We report such effects in anterior inferior parietal lobe (aIPL) close to regions typically reported for processing tool-related actions, and thought to be important for representing how they are manipulated. However, the current study design fully controlled for manipulation similarity, which predicted orthogonal relationships among the conditions. We conclude that the aIPL likely has nearby, but distinct, representations of both manipulation and function knowledge, and thereby may have a broader role in understanding how objects can be used, representing not just physical affordances but also abstract functional criteria such as esthetic value or purpose categories such as decorate . This pattern of localization has implications for how semantic knowledge is organized in the brain.

Classical animal visual deprivation studies and human neuroimaging studies have shown that visual experience plays a critical role in shaping the functionality and connectivity of the visual cortex. Interestingly, recent studies have additionally reported circumscribed regions in the visual cortex in which functional selectivity was remarkably similar in individuals with and without visual experience. Here, by directly comparing resting-state and task-based fMRI data in congenitally blind and sighted human subjects, we obtained large-scale continuous maps of the degree to which connectional and functional “fingerprints” of ventral visual cortex depend on visual experience. We found a close agreement between connectional and functional maps, pointing to a strong interdependence of connectivity and function. Visual experience (or the absence thereof) had a pronounced effect on the resting-state connectivity and functional response profile of occipital cortex and the posterior lateral fusiform gyrus. By contrast, connectional and functional fingerprints in the anterior medial and posterior lateral parts of the ventral visual cortex were statistically indistinguishable between blind and sighted individuals. These results provide a large-scale mapping of the influence of visual experience on the development of both functional and connectivity properties of visual cortex, which serves as a basis for the formulation of new hypotheses regarding the functionality and plasticity of specific subregions.

Is visual input during critical periods of development crucial for the emergence of the fundamental topographical mapping of the visual cortex? And would this structure be retained throughout life-long blindness or would it fade as a result of plastic, use-based reorganization? We used functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging based on intrinsic blood oxygen level-dependent fluctuations to investigate whether significant traces of topographical mapping of the visual scene in the form of retinotopic organization, could be found in congenitally blind adults. A group of 11 fully and congenitally blind subjects and 18 sighted controls were studied. The blind demonstrated an intact functional connectivity network structural organization of the three main retinotopic mapping axes: eccentricity (centre-periphery), laterality (left-right), and elevation (upper-lower) throughout the retino- topic cortex extending to high-level ventral and dorsal streams, including characteristic eccentricity biases in face- and house- selective areas. Functional connectivity-based topographic organization in the visual cortex was indistinguishable from the normally sighted retinotopic functional connectivity structure as indicated by clustering analysis, and was found even in participants who did not have a typical retinal development in utero (microphthalmics). While the internal structural organization of the visual cortex was strikingly similar, the blind exhibited profound differences in functional connectivity to other (non-visual) brain regions as compared to the sighted, which were specific to portions of V1. Central V1 was more connected to language areas but peripheral V1 to spatial attention and control networks. These findings suggest that current accounts of critical periods and experience- dependent development should be revisited even for primary sensory areas, in that the connectivity basis for visual cortex large- scale topographical organization can develop without any visual experience and be retained through life-long experience-dependent plasticity. Furthermore, retinotopic divisions of labour, such as that between the visual cortex regions normally representing the fovea and periphery, also form the basis for topographically-unique plastic changes in the blind.

In congenitally blind individuals, many regions of the brain that are typically heavily involved in visual processing are recruited for a variety of nonvisual sensory and cognitive tasks ( Rauschecker 1995 ; Pascual-Leone et al. 2005 ). This phenomenon — cross-modal plasticity — has been widely documented, but the principles that de- termine where and how cross-modal changes occur remain poorly understood ( Bavelier and Neville 2002 ). Here, we evaluate the hypothesis that cross-modal plasticity respects the type of compu- tations performed by a region, even as it changes the modality of the inputs over which they are carried out ( Pascual-Leone and Hamilton 2001 ). We compared the fMRI signal in sighted and con- genitally blind participants during proprioceptively guided reaching. We show that parietooccipital reach-related regions retain their functional role — encoding of the spatial position of the reach target — even as the dominant modality in this region changes from visual to nonvisual inputs. This suggests that the computational role of a region, independently of the processing modality, codetermines its potential cross-modal recruitment. Our fi ndings demonstrate that preservation of functional properties can serve as a guiding prin- ciple for cross-modal plasticity even in visuomotor cortical regions, i.e. beyond the early visual cortex and other traditional visual areas.

Processing within the dorsal visual stream subserves object-directed action, whereas visual object recognition is mediated by the ventral visual stream. Recent findings suggest that the computations performed by the dorsal stream can nevertheless influence object recognition. Little is known, however, about the type of dorsal stream information that is available to assist in object recognition. Here, we present a series of experiments that explored different psychophysical manipulations known to bias the processing of a stimulus toward the dorsal visual stream in order to isolate its contribution to object recognition. We show that elongated-shaped stimuli, regardless of their semantic category and familiarity, when processed by the dorsal stream, elicit visuomotor grasp-related information that affects how we categorize manipulable objects. Elongated stimuli may reduce ambiguity during grasp preparation by providing a coarse cue to hand shaping and orientation that is sufficient to support action planning. We propose that this dorsal-stream-based analysis of elongation along a principal axis is the basis for how the dorsal visual object processing stream can affect categorization of manipulable objects.

Conspecifics are potential mates, and can be the most dangerous threats. With conspecifics we engage in complex social interactions. Therefore, it is important to rapidly detect the presence of conspecifics in a scene. Images of humans attract attention, and do so already in 9-months-old infants, showing that the distinction between conspecifics and other animals emerges early in development. However, despite a wealth of evidence on the behavioral differences between the processing of conspecifics and other animals, the neural mechanisms that underlie the recognition of conspecifics remain unknown. In this experiment, we used recursive feature elimination to individuate brain regions that show selective effects for the faces of conspecifics, individuating reliable conspecific effects in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC). Consistent with the importance of conspecifics recognition for reorienting attention and for social cognition, this region shows functional connectivity with the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), implicated in reorienting attention and in the attribution of mental states to others. Our results suggest that the right vlPFC plays an important role for the recognition of conspecifics and may function as a gateway for the attribution of mental states to an object.

Every day we encounter dozens of people, and in order to interact with them appropriately we need to recognize their identity. The face is a crucial source of information to recognize a person’s identity. However, recognizing the identity of a face is challenging because it requires distinguishing between very similar images (e.g., the front views of two different faces) while categorizing very different images (e.g., a front view and a profile) as the same person. Neuroimaging has the whole-brain coverage needed to investigate where representations of face identity are encoded, but it is limited in terms of spatial and temporal resolution. In this article, we review recent neuroimaging research that attempted to investigate the representation of face identity, the challenges it faces, and the proposed solutions, to conclude that given the current state of the evidence the right anterior temporal lobe is the most promising candidate region for the representation of face identity.

Publication Type

Book Chapters

Recent Publications

Large-scale organizations of the hand action observation network in individuals born without hands
Plasticity based on compensatory effector use in the association but not primary sensorimotor cortex of people born without hands
View-invariant representation of hand postures in the human lateral occipitotemporal cortex
The neural representation of human versus nonhuman bipeds and quadrupeds
Multimodal representations of person identity individuated with fMRI
Neural Representations of Belief Concepts: A Representational Similarity Approach to Social Semantics

Copyright Notice

Electronic copies of publications provided on this website are for individual, non-commercial use only. Copyright belongs to those designated within each publication. Files provided herein are not to be disseminated or reposted without permission of the appropriate entities. For any articles not available on this website, please email Prof. Alfonso Caramazza, [email protected] for further discussion.

201 Memory Research Topics & Essay Examples

Memory is a fascinating brain function. Together with abstract thinking and empathy, memory is the thing that makes us human.

❓ Memory Research Questions

🏆 best memory topic ideas & essay examples, 💭 exciting memory research topics, 💫 interesting memory topics for essays, 👍 research topics about memory in psychology, 🕑 learning & memory research topics, 💡 easy memory essay ideas.

In your essay about memory, you might want to compare its short-term and long-term types. Another idea is to discuss the phenomenon of false memories. The connection between memory and the quality of sleep is also exciting to explore.

If you’re looking for memory topics to research & write about, you’re in the right place. In this article, you’ll find 174 memory essay topics, ideas, questions, and sample papers related to the concept of memory.

How does sensory memory work?
How is short-term memory different from long-term memory?
What memory-training techniques are the most effective?
What are the reasons for memory failures?
Memory and aging: what is the connection?
What are the key types of memory disorders?
How to improve memory?
Memory Chart Stages in Psychology For instance, the brain uses the procedural memory to encode procedural skills and tasks that an individual is involved in. The stages of memory are very complex and often pass unrecognized.
Computer’s Memory Management Memory management is one of the primary responsibilities of the OS, a role that is achieved by the use of the memory management unit.
Improving Memory and Study Power Study power and memory are important aspects of the learning process and improving them is necessary for success. Working the brain is important in improvement of memory and study power.
Memory for Designs Test The examination of the functioning of the memory of an individual cannot be limited to only one memory test, and as a result, there are a variety of assessments that target the various features of […]
Music Role in Memory and Learning Processes As such, the study purposed to test the differences in visuospatial abilities between men and women bearing in mind that the former is perceived to demonstrate greater memory capabilities compared to the latter As such, […]
Love and Memory From a Psychological Point of View The commonly known love types include affection, passionate love, friendship, infatuation, puppy love, sexual love, platonic love, romantic love and many other terms that could be coined out to basically describe love.
Review of Wordfast: Strengths and Weaknesses of This Translation Memory Tool Recognizing the variety of benefits of using Wordfast in the translation process, it should be noted that the use of this ACT program can have a number of unintended negative implications for the quality of […]
Chocolate Consumption and Working Memory in Men and Women In this study, the independent variable was chocolate intake, while the dependent variable was the effect of chocolate on the memory of different genders.
Memory Test The two controversies determine the classification of memory depending on the form of information processing that occurs in the brain and the different types of memories in relation to the accessibility.
Long and Short Term Memory The procedure of conveying information from STM to LTM entails the encoding and consolidation of information: it is not a task of time; the more the data resides in STM it increases the chances of […]
“The Sorrow of War” by Bao Ninh: Memory as a Central Idea The image of soldier Kien in The Sorrow of War demonstrates the difficulties of the Vietnamese people before, through and after this war.
Memory, Thoughts, and Motivation in Learning Moreover, using the knowledge acquired from various sources of information, students can interpret the contents of their various environments and apply them to their advantage.
Stroop Effect on Memory Function The aim of the study was to examine the Stroop effect on memory function of men and women. The aim of the study was to examine Stroop effect on men and women’s cognitive functions.
Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test and Cognistat Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test and the Cognistat are the assessment tools employed by the occupational therapists in order to determine the levels of impairment in their mental function that directly impact the individuals’ executive abilities […]
Memory by Analogy: Hiroshima Mon Amour It is quite painful to recall the events that took place in Japan during the Second World War in the aftermath of the atomic bombing of the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
Memory Strategies Examples and How They Work A good strategy for memory is the one that improves information encoding, necessitates storage of data in a memorable state and enables the mind to easily retrieve information. Indeed, a malfunction in retrieval of stored […]
Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) The first mentioning of shape memory materials was with the discovery of martensite in 1890, which was the first step for phenomenal discovery of the shape memory effect.
Memory Model of Teaching and Its Effectiveness The main objective of the research study was to find out the difference in the effect of the memory model and the traditional method of teaching on students’ performance.
The Effect of Sleep Quality and IQ on Memory Therefore, the major aim of sleep is to balance the energies in the body. However, the nature of the activity that an individual is exposed to determines the rate of memory capture.
”The Mystery of Memory” Documentary by Gray & Schwarz The documentary examines the brain’s ability to form and retrieve a memory, highlights the importance of neurobiology, and focuses on the problems of PTSD treatment and neuroscience backwardness, concluding that human memory is still a […]
The Difference Between Females and Males Memory The hippocampus is of importance when it comes to memory formation and preservation and is relatively larger in females than males, giving the females advantage in memory cognition.
“How Reliable Is Your Memory?” by Elizabeth Loftus Regardless of how disturbing and sorrowful it may be, and even when pointed out that this certain memory is false, a person may be unable to let it go.
Conflict at Walt Disney Company: A Distant Memory? The conflict between Michael Eisner and the Weinstein brothers, the two board members, and Steve Jobs was related to a dysfunctional form of conflict.
Factors of Learners’ and Adults’ Working Memory An individual’s working memory refers to their ability to access and manipulate bits of data in their mind for a short period.
Statistics: The Self-Reference Effect and Memory After the distraction part was over, the participants were asked to recall the twelve adjectives they rated from a list of 42 words. This brings the question of whether the results would be different if […]
Memory Mechanisms: Cognitive Load Theory The teacher’s task is not only to give information but also to explain the principles of learning and to work with it.
The Self-Reference Effect and Memory Accordingly, the analysis has the following hypotheses: the SRE should enhance recognition of words that participants can relate to themselves, and people should feel more confident about their memory under the SRE.
Henry Molaison and Memory Lessons The case of Henry Molaison serves as a poignant reminder of the complexity of memory and the importance of understanding its various components.
Memory and Attention as Aspects of Cognition It has specific definitions, such as “consideration with a view to action,” “a condition of readiness involving a selective narrowing or focusing of consciousness and receptivity,” and “the act or state of applying the mind […]
Intergenerational Trauma and Traumatic Memory The exploration of interconnected issues of intergenerational trauma and traumatic memory in society with historical data of collective violence across the world sensitizes to the importance of acknowledging trauma.
The Role of Memory Cells in Cellular Immunity Therefore, when a bacterium gets into the body for a second time, the response is swift because the body has fought it before. Thus, a healthy body can recognize and get rid of chronic microorganisms […]
Psychological Conditions in Addition to Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory The authors, who have many papers and degrees in the field, have noted the features of the brain structure and the differences between HSAM.
Cognitive Psychology: The Effects of Memory Conformity The experiment’s control conditions did not allow the witnesses to discuss the event seen in the videos, while in the other condition, the witnesses were encouraged to discuss the event.
Survival and Memory in Music of the Ghosts by Ratner When it comes to individual memory of Teera’s childhood, the author explains the connection between her memories of her father and musical instruments: “Perhaps it’s because as a child she grew up listening to her […]
Concept for Teaching Memory in Primary School Students Teaching is one of the most demanding and demanding jobs in the world because it is the job that holds the future generation together.
Draw It or Lose It Memory and Storage Considerations Since the size of the biggest component of this data is known and the additional component can be reasonably estimated, memory for it can be assigned at load time.
The Multi-Storage Memory Model by Atkinson and Schiffrin The function of the is to track the stimuli in the input register and to provide a place to store the information coming from the LTS.
Emotions: The Influence on Memory At the same time, the influence of positive and negative feelings on the process of memorization and reproduction is different. In conclusion, it should be said that the process of the influence of emotions on […]
Civility, Democracy, Memory in Sophocles’ Antigone In Sophocles’ Antigone, the narrative flow makes the audience empathize with the tragic fate of the characters, deepening the emotional involvement of the readers and viewers.
The Psychological Nature of Memory Using the numerical representation of the participants’ results, the researchers calculated the dependence of the memory and theory of mind in the process of recalling the interlocutors.
Functioning of Human Memory Schemas Consecutively, the study aimed to identify the relation between the facilitation of prior knowledge schemas and memories and the ability to form new schemas and inferences in older adults.
Enhancing Individual and Collaborative Eyewitness Memory Considering the positive results of research utilizing category clustering recall and the reported benefits of group memory, a question arises whether the use of category clustering recall might diminish the negative effects of group inhibition.
Memory: Its Functions, Types, and Stages of Storage First, information is processed in sensory memory, which perceives sensory events for a couple of seconds to determine whether the information is valuable and should be kept for a longer period. As information goes through […]
The Relationship Between the Working Memory and Non-Conscious Experiences The structure of the proposal follows the logical layout, beginning from the background of the issue through the methodology to problem significance and research innovation.
Consciousness: The Link Between Working Memory and Unconscious Experience The present study seeks to address the gap in the research regarding the executive function of VWM and consciousness. This study will follow a modified structure of Bergstrom and Eriksson experiment on non-conscious WM to […]
The Role of Image Color in Association With the Memory Functions Memory is the cornerstone of human cognition that enables all of its profound mechanisms, and the instrument of knowledge acquisition and exchange.
The Memory Formation Process: Key Issues Hippocampus plays an essential role in the memory formation process because it is the part of the brain where short-term memories become long-term memories.
Information Processing and Improving Learning and Memory Information processing theory is a method of studying cognitive development that arose from the American experimental psychology tradition.
Memory Techniques in Learning English Vocabulary ‘Word’ is defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary as follows: “1a: something that is said b plural: the text of a vocal musical composition c: a brief remark or conversation 2a: a speech sound or series […]
Covalent Modification of Deoxyribonucleic Acid Regulates Memory Formation The article by Miller and Sweatt examines the possible role of DNA methylation as an epigenetic mechanism in the regulation of memory in the adult central nervous system.
Repressed Memory in Childhood Experiences The suffering often affects a child’s psychological coping capacity in any respect, and one of the only ways of dealing with it is to force the memory out of conscious perception.
Adaptive Memory and Survival Subject Correlation The results of the study have revealed that the participants found it slightly easier to recall the words related to the notion of survival.
Developmental Differences in Memory Over Lifespan While growth refers to the multiplication of the number of individual units or cells in the body, maturation on the other hand can be defined as the successive progress of the individual’s appendage land organs […]
Memory, the Working-Memory Impairments, and Impacts on Memory The first important argument for a thorough discussion on how ADHD could affect brain functioning and working memory impairments is the existence of prominent factors that could create a link between the disorder and the […]
Working Memory in 7 &13 Years Aged Children However, it was hypothesized that children with AgCC will show similar performance improvement in verbal working memory task performance from 7 to 13 years of age as indicated in the study with CVLT.
Working Memory & Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum However, it was hypothesized that children with AgCC will show similar improvement in performance on verbal working memory task performance from 7 to 13 years of age as indicated in the study with CVLT.
Lifespan Memory Decline, Memory Lapses and Forgetfulness The purpose of the research by Henson et al.was to deepen the understanding of differential aging of the brain on differential patterns of memory loss.
Elaborative Process and Memory Performance The process is significant in the study and retention of data. In addition, the application of the concepts in the author’s learning process will be highlighted.
The Essence of Context Dependent Memory The results ought to show that the context in which eyewitnesses observed an event is important in the recall memory of the participants.
“Neural Processing Associated With True and False Memory Retrieval” by Yoko The researchers noted that both true and distorted memories activate activities in the left parental and left frontal areas of the brain. Parahippocampal gyrus- Is the area of the brain that is responsible for processing […]
Dementia and Memory Retention Art therapy is an effective intervention in the management of dementia because it stimulates reminiscence and enhances memory retention among patients with dementia.
Fabricating the Memory: War Museums and Memorial Sites Due to the high international criticism, a very tiny portion of the East Wing is dedicated to explain the context, yet visitors easily overlook the section after the dense display of tragedies after a-bomb in […]
Biological Psychology: Memory By and large, there is a general agreement that molecular events are involved in the storage of information in the nervous system. It is about to differentiate different kinds of memory, one which is short-term […]
The Memory of Silence and Lucy: A Detailed Analysis From damaging relationships to her hope to come back to the native land, Lucy has all kinds of issues to address, but the bigger issue is that Lucy’s progress is cyclical, and she has to […]
Two Tutorials on the Virtual Memory Subject: Studytonight and Tutorials Point The explanation of the demand paging term leads to the concept of a page fault. It is a phrase that characterizes an invalid memory reference that occurs as a result of a program addressing a […]
The Relationship Between Memory and Oblivion The purpose of this essay is to discuss the relationship between memory and oblivion, private and public recollection of events, and the way these concepts are reflected in the works of Walid Raad, Christo, and […]
Music and Memory: Discussion Future research should focus on addressing the limitations of the study and exploring the effect of other types of music. The findings of the study are consistent with the current body of knowledge about the […]
Fuzzy-Trace Theory and False Memory The writers set out to show the common ground for all these varied scenarios and convincingly show that false memories are a result of an interaction between memory and the cognitive process of reasoning. The […]
Individual Differences in Learning and Memory In the following paper, the variety of learning styles will be evaluated in relation to theories of human learning and memory retrieval on the basis of the findings currently made by academic researchers.
The Nature of False Memory Postevent information is one of the reasons that provoke the phenomenon of misinformation. The participants watched a video of a hockey collision and were asked to estimate the speed of the players.
Organizational Memory and Intellectual Capital The main emphasis here concerns modalities of motivating the retrieval and use of information and experiences in the OM. The source of intellectual capital arises from the managers’ ability to welcome new information and experiences, […]
Advertising and Memory: Interaction and Effect An advert sticks into one’s memory when it focuses on the characteristic of the material being advertised, other advertisements competing for the same market niche, and the kind of people it targets.
The Internet and Autobiographical Memory Allie Young’s blog or journal is a perfect illustration of the impact that social sites and blogs have, since for her autobiographic memory; she uses a blog site to write about issues affecting her life.
Creativity and Memory Effects in Advertising A study was conducted in China to establish the kind of effects agency creativity has on the total outcome of the advertising campaign.
Memory, Thinking, and Human Intelligence As Kurt exposits, “The effects of both proactive and retroactive inferences while one is studying can be counteracted in order to maximize absorption of all the information into the long-term memory”.
Psychological Issues: Self-Identity and Sexual Meaning Issues, and Memory Processing Most sex surveys are run by firms dealing in other products and the motives of the surveys are for marketing of their primary products.
Human Memory as a Biopsychology Area This paper is going to consider the idea that electrical activity measures of the brain of a human being can be utilized as a great means for carrying out the study of the human memory.
Biopsychology: Learning and Memory Relationship Memorization involves an integral function of the brain which is the storage of information. Memorization is directly linked to learning through the processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
Apiculture: Memory in Honeybees They have a sharp memory to recall the previous locations of food, the scent, and the color where they can get the best nectar and pollen.
Gender and Memory Capabilities of Humans However, in the spatial memory, none of the genders outdid the other and this questioned the prevalent idea that men are more advanced in spatial memory as compared to women.
Collective Memory as “Time Out”: Repairing the Time-Community Link The essay will first give an account of how time helps to shape a community, various events that have been formulated in order to keep the community together and the effectiveness of these events in […]
Community Gatherings and Collective Memory The objective of this paper is to examine some of the gatherings that take place in the community and how these gatherings are related to time.
“The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci” by Jonathan D. Spence: Concept of Memory Palaces The information concerning Matteo Ricci’s concept of memory palaces presented in the book is generalized to the extent that it is necessary to search for an explanation and some clarifications in the additional sources; “His […]
Memory in Learning and Elapsed Time Manipulation And the longer they are subjected to presentation of stimuli, similar to a longer rehearsal, the better the learning rate. And that rats could communicate the flavor “learned”.
Gender Factor Affecting Memory: Critically Evaluating of Researches In the book, ‘Gender and Memory,’ the authors, Leydesdorf, Passerini, and Thompson, point out that there is a significant difference in memories for narrative speech between men and women.
Biologically Programmed Memory The brain, which carries the memory of the species, is a complex and delicate organ believed to carry the functions of the species.
Sleep Patterns and Memory Performance of Children The article presents the essence, the methods and the results of the experiment which had to show the influence of TV and computer games on German children’s sleep.
Psychology: Memory, Thinking, and Intelligence Information which serves as the stimuli moves from the sensory memory to the short term memory and finally to the long term memory for permanent storage.
Working With Working Memory Even if we can only make a connection of something we see with a sound, it is easier to remember something we can speak, because the auditory memory helps the visual memory.
Operant Conditioning, Memory Cue and Perception Operant conditioning through the use of punishment can be used to prevent or decrease a certain negative behavior, for example, when a child is told that he/she will lose some privileges in case he/she misbehaves, […]
Human Memory: Serial Learning Experiment The background of the current research was stated in Ebbinghaus’ psychological study, and reveals the fact, that if e series of accidental symbols is offered for memorizing, the human memory will be able to memorize […]
Hot and Cold Social Cognitions and Memory What is mentioned in biology text books and journals about the human brain is so small and almost insignificant compared to the myriad functions and parts of the brain that are yet to be explored.
Memory Consolidation and Reconsolidation After Sleep The memory consolidation of the visual skill tasks is related to the REM sleep and the short wave component of the NREM.
Attention, Perception and Memory Disorders Analysis Teenage is the time for experimentation, with a desire to be independent and try new and forbidden things like drugs or indulge in indiscrete sexual activity.
Memory in Context of Optimal Studying Skill The focal point of the paper is to understand the different aspects of memory and find out the best method of studying.
Autobiographical Memory and Cognitive Development During this stage important cognitive processes take place and are fundamental towards the development of autobiographical memory in the infants. This help the infants to have important memory cues that form part of the autobiographical […]
Sensory and Motor Processes, Learning and Memory There are three processes involved in the sensory function of the eyes: the mechanical process, the chemical process, and the electrical process. The mechanical process starts as the stimuli passes through the cornea and […]
Repressed Memory and Developing Teaching Strategies The author aims to emphasize the “importance, relevance, and potential to inform the lay public as well as our future attorneys, law enforcement officers, therapists, and current or future patients of therapists” with regards to […]
Chauri Chaura Incident in History and Memory The book’s first half was a reconstruction, a narrative in historical view of the burning of the chowki or station and the account of the trial that focused on the testimony of the principal prosecution […]
Hippocampus: Learning and Memory The limbic cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus are considered the processing parts of the limbic system while the output part comprises the septal nuclei and the hypothalamus.
The Implications of False Memory and Memory Distortion The former refers to the manner of impressing into our minds the memories which we have acquired while the former refers to the manner by which a person reclaims the memories which have been stored […]
Memory Comprehension Issue Review To sum up, studying with the background of loud music is counterproductive, as it is also an information channel that interferes with the comprehension and memorization of more important information.
Memory Loss Treatment in Nursing Practice The identification of clinical manifestations of the disease is an important first step toward a correct diagnosis and the development of a plan of action to improve the patient’s short-term and long-term stability.
The Interaction of Music and Memory Therefore, the research is of enormous significance for the understanding of individual differences in the connection between memory and music. Therefore, the research contributes to the understanding of the interaction of age with music and […]
The Effect of Memory, Intelligence and Personality on Employee Performance and Behaviour The present paper will seek to explain the theoretical background on memory, intelligence and personality and evaluate the influence of these factors on work performance and employee behaviours.
Cogmed Working Memory Training in Children The methodology of the study is strong, and the number of participants is adequate to measure the effects of the program.
Elderly Dementia: Holistic Approaches to Memory Care The CMAI is a nursing-rated questionnaire that evaluates the recurrence of agitation in residents with dementia. Since the research focuses on agitation, the CMAI was utilized to evaluate the occurrence of agitation at baseline.
The Conceptual Relationship Between Memory and Imagination In particular, the scholar draws parallels between these processes by addressing the recorded activity of specific brain structures when “remembering the past and imagining the future”.
Cognitive Psychology: Memory and Interferences For instance, I remember how to organize words in the right way to form a sentence and I know the capitals of countries.
Memory as a Topic of Modern Studies in Psychology Holt and Delvenne present a research paper on the effect of rehearsing on memorization, stating that there is a connection between “spatial” attention, repetition, and short-term memory.
How Memory and Intelligence Change as We Age The central argument of the paper is that intelligence and memory change considerably across the lifespan, but these alterations are different in the two concepts. The article by Ofen and Shing is a valuable contribution […]
Memory Acquisition and Information Processing The problem of disagreeing with memories can be explained by a closer look at the process of memory acquisition. Most part of the sensory information is not encoded due to selective attention.
Memory and Motivation at History Lesson Step 1: Presentation uncovering the unknown facts about the famous people Step 2: Identifying the inaccuracies in groups Step 3: Discussion of the results Step 4: in-class quiz on the presented material Step 5: working […]
Varlam Shalamov on Memory and Psychological Resilience The soldiers sent to therapists such as Rivers and Yealland in Regeneration had one problem in common they were unable to forget the traumatic and frightening experiences that had affected them in the past.
Learning Activity and Memory Improvement The easiest way to explain the difference between implicit and explicit types of learning is to think of the latter as active learning and of the former – as passive one.
Surrealism and Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory” Of course, The Persistence of Memory is one of the best-known works, which is often regarded as one of the most conspicuous illustrations of the movement.
Psychology: Short-Term and Working Memory The thing is that the term short-term memory is used to describe the capacity of the mind to hold a small piece of information within a very short period, approximately 20 seconds.
Dealing With the Limitations of Flash Memory Implanted medical chip technology can help to reduce the amount of medical misdiagnosis that occur in hospitals and can also address the issue of the amount of money that Jones Corp.pays out to its clients […]
Free and Serial Memory Recalls in Experiments In the study, the experimenters changed the order in which the items were presented to the participants before each trial to test the ability of the subject to recognize these words it was observed that […]
Learning Disabilities and Memory Disorders Large amounts of phenylalanine in the blood will result in complications of the neurons in the central nervous system referred to as myelinization of the cerebral hemispheres.
Collective Memory and Patriotic Myth in American History However, to think that colonists and early Americans pursued a general policy of killing or driving out the native Indians is incorrect.
When the Desire Is Not Enough: Flash Memory As a result, a number of rather uncomfortable proposals were made to the founders of Flash, but the company’s members had to accept certain offers for the financing to continue and the firm not to […]
Effects of Marijuana on Memory of Long-Term Users The pivotal aim of the proposed study is to evaluate the impact of marijuana use on long-term memory of respondents. The adverse impact of marijuana after the abstinent syndrome refers to significant changes in prefrontal […]
Amphetamines and Their Effects on Memory The scope of the problem of stimulant abuse is quite important in nowadays medicine since the application of amphetamine is not explored in an in-depth manner.
Memory Retrieval, Related Processes and Secrets The resulting impression of having experienced what is portrayed in the picture leads to the creation of false memories. The authors of the study make it clear that placing one in specific visual and spatial […]
Mnemonics for Memory Improvement in Students The selected participants will be split into two groups that will be asked to memorize a set of words from a story with the help of the suggested technique.
Sociocultural Memory in European and Asian Americans The Asian perspective on the use of memory, however, suggests that a much greater emphasis should be placed on using memory as a learning resource so that it can be expanded with the help of […]
Emotional Memory: Negative and Positive Experiences For instance, autobiographical memory provides a chance to remember the events that shaped one’s personality and defined the further course of one’s development.
Concreteness of Words and Free Recall Memory The study hypothesized that the free recall mean of concrete words is not statistically significantly higher than that of abstract words.
The Public Memory of the Holocaust In addition to his pain, Levi concerns the increasing temporal distance and habitual indifference of hundreds of millions of people towards the Holocaust and the survivors1 It causes the feeling of anxiety that was fuelled […]
Memory Formation and Maintenance The first similarity between working memory and long term memory is that in both cases, tasks retrieve information from secondary memory, although sometimes working memory tasks retrieve information from the primary memory. After completion of […]
Working Memory Training and Its Controversies As a result, a range of myths about WM has been addressed and subverted successfully, including the one stating that WM related training cannot be used to improve one’s intellectual abilities and skills.
Music and Human Memory Connection The effects of music on people vary considerably, and this project should help to understand the peculiar features of the connection between human memory and music.
Police Shooting Behaviour, Memory, and Emotions The subject of the study was limited to analyzing the shooting behavior of police officers in danger-related situations. It is supposed that officers with low capacity of working memory are more likely to shoot the […]
Place-Based Memory Studies and Thinking Architecture There is a need to inform the society of the history represented by the sites and educate the masses on events leading to such occurrences.
Working Memory Training: Benefits and Biases The research results indicate that the effects of stereotyping on the development of WM and the relevant skills are direct and rather drastic.
Biopsychology of Learning and Memory The hippocampus is a brain region in the form of a horseshoe that plays an essential role in the transformation of information from the short-term memory to the long-term memory.
Working Memory Concept The central executive, as the name implies, is the primary component of the working memory system; every other component is subservient to it.
False Memory and Emotions Experiment The hypothesis was as follows: a list of associate words creates a false memory by remembering a critical lure when the list is presented to a subject and a recall test done shortly after that.
Building of Memory: Managing Creativity Through Action It could be important for the team to understand Kornfield’s vision of the project, the main and secondary tasks, the project timeline, and the general outline of it. The third technique is to ensure face-to-face […]
Misinformation Effect and Memory Impairment It is important to determine the science behind the misinformation effect, because the implication of the study goes beyond the confines of psychology.
Memory Distortions Develop Over Time Memory is the ability to recall what happened in the past or the process through which one’s brain stores events and reproduce them in the future. Simpson were put on a scoreboard to analyze the […]
Working Memory Load and Problem Solving The present research focuses on the way working memory load affects problem solving ability and the impact working memory capacity has on problem solving ability of people.
Sensory Memory Duration and Stimulus Perception Cognitive psychologists argue that perceived information takes one second in the sensory memory, one minute in the short-term memory and a life-time in the long-term memory.
Memory Study: Mnemonics Techniques Having carried out two experiments, Oberauer comes to the conclusion that information in working memory is highly organized and has its own structure and understanding of this structure can help to improve the work of […]
Memory Study: Different Perspectives Having carried out two experiments, Oberauer comes to the conclusion that information in working memory is highly organized and has its own structure and understanding of this structure can help to improve the work of […]
Individual Recognition Decisions and Memory Strength Signal The individual recognition decision and the memory strength will be compared to determine their relation. A positive correlation between the individual recognition decisions and the aggregated memory strength will be shown.
Working Memory Concept: Psychological Views To begin with, the findings support the use of the Working-Memory Model because it offers a clear distinction between the subordinate memory systems and the “central executive” memory.
Memory Strategies and Their Effects on the Body Memory problems are a common concern in the society due to the increased rate of memory problems among the individuals. This is a strategy that uses chemicals to suppress the adverse effects of memory problems.
George Santayana’s Philosophy Views on Historical Memory To Plato, democracy was the worst form of governance because it was the tyranny of the multitude. Furthermore, the effects of the war were hard to take because people lost everything they had.
Cognitive Stimulation on Patients With Impaired Memory Cognitive stimulation therapy is effective in mitigating the effects of dementia. As a result, the researchers tested cognitive stimulation therapy in clinical trials.
Memory and Emotions in Personal Experience I tried to convince Sherry that the kind of life she led will not do good to her. I thought that Sherry is a grown-up person who would understand the mistakes she had done and […]
Face Recognition and Memory Retention It is imperative to mention that cognitive process is very significant in face recognition especially due to its role in storage and retrieval of information from long-term memory.
False Memory Condition: Experimental Studies It is therefore important to conduct some experiments to see the differences between the correct memory and the false memory. The distracters and words to be identified were the variables that were independent.
Memory Capacity and Age Correlation Since young adults have high levels of positive emotions and low levels of negative emotions, the positive emotions enable them to enhance their memory capacity for positive information.
Eye-Path and Memory-Prediction Framework Online marketing and advertising actively develop nowadays, and modern advertisers need to focus on the customers’ attitudes and behaviours in the context of the effectiveness of the advertisement’s location on the web page.
Long Term Memory and Retrieval The mode of presenting the items in sequence in the first presentation has great impact on the results and validity of the study.
Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory by Deborah Lipstadt The book is divided into chapters that focus on the history and methods that are used to distort the truth and the memory of the Holocaust.
Power, Memory and Spectacle on Saddam Hussein’s Death His rational was that the only way to unite the country was to eliminate the elements of division who in his opinion were the opposition.
Theoretical Models in Understanding Working Memory The second model for understanding the processes involved in working memory is the Baddeley and Hitch multi-component model which states that working memory operates via a system of “slave systems” and a central controller which […]
Semantic Memory and Language Production
Basic Functions of Memory and Language
The Concept of Autobiographical Memory
Neuroimaging Experiments and Memory Loss Studies
Semantic Memory and Language Production Relationship
Chinese Novellas: The Role of Memory and Perception
Memory Lane and Morality
Autonoetic Consciousness in Autobiographical Memory
“Memory by Analogy” Film Concepts
Film About Hirosima Memory by Analogy
Ecstasy and Memory Impairment Neurological Correlation
Memory Theories in Developing Marketing Strategies of the iPad
Definition of Storage Locations in Memory
Establishing False Memory in Humans
Constructive Nature of Memory
Comparison and Contrast Assignment on “Paradoxical Effects of Presentation Modality on False Memory,” Article and “Individual Differences in Learning and Remembering Music.”
How to Improve Your Memory
Memory Systems of the Brain
Strategies of the Memory
Brain and Memory
Biology of Memory: Origins and Structures
Amnesia and Long-Term Memory
Cannabis and Its Effects on Long Term Memory
Mental Chronometry: Response Time and Accuracy
Working Memory in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
False Memory Syndrome: Is It Real?
The Relationships of Working Memory, Secondary Memory, and General Fluid Intelligence: Working Memory Is Special
Memory Process: Visual Receptivity and Retentiveness
How Age and Diseases Affect Memory
Memory, Thinking, and Intelligence
Language and Memory Paper
Memory: Understanding Consciousness
Sleep Improves Memory
Language Rules for a Reliable Semantic Memory
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Cognitive Psychology Research Paper Topics
100 Cognitive Psychology Research Paper Topics. Cognitive psychology stands at the forefront of exploring the vast capabilities and intricacies of the human mind, offering profound insights into our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This branch of psychology delves into how people understand, diagnose, and interact with the world around them ...
101 Best Cognitive Psychology Research Topics
Getting excellent cognitive psychology research topics can be mind-boggling. However, our writers have gone the extra mile to produce the most exciting ideas. Behavior analysis in sports and exercise psychology. Behavioral psychology in sports performance enhancement. Implications of sport-athlete relationship for training.
50+ Research Topics for Psychology Papers
Topics of Psychology Research Related to Human Cognition. Some of the possible topics you might explore in this area include thinking, language, intelligence, and decision-making. Other ideas might include: Dreams. False memories. Attention. Perception.
61 Interesting Psychology Research Topics (2024)
Examples of systemic racism-related psychology research topics include: Access to mental health resources based on race. The prevalence of BIPOC mental health therapists in a chosen area. The impact of systemic racism on mental health and self-worth. Racism training for mental health workers.
32 Cognitive Psychology Dissertation Topics
32 Cognitive Psychology Dissertation Topics. Published by Owen Ingram at January 3rd, 2023 , Revised On August 11, 2023. The study of cognitive psychology focuses on how the brain processes and stores information. The underlying mechanisms are investigated using experimental methods, computer modelling, and neuropsychology.
Cognitive Psychology: The Science of How We Think
MaskotOwner/Getty Images. Cognitive psychology involves the study of internal mental processes—all of the workings inside your brain, including perception, thinking, memory, attention, language, problem-solving, and learning. Cognitive psychology--the study of how people think and process information--helps researchers understand the human brain.
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RSS Feed. Cognitive neuroscience is the field of study focusing on the neural substrates of mental processes. It is at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience, but also overlaps with ...
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Publishes research on cognitive psychology, covering topics like cognitive mechanisms & processes, attention, language processing, motor control, and learni ... Occasionally, contributions are at the intersection of cognitive psychology and related disciplines such as social or clinical psychology; note that such contributions can only be ...
Frontiers in Psychology
Francesca Borgonovi. 1,489 views. 1 article. Part of the largest journal in its field, this section explores standard cognitive topics, such as sensation, perception, attention, memory, judgement and decision making, problem solving, reasonin...
Cognitive psychology
Why you stink at fact-checking. Lisa Fazio, Vanderbilt University. Cognitive psychologists know the way our minds work means we not only don't notice errors and misinformation we know are wrong ...
Metacognition: ideas and insights from neuro- and educational ...
Metacognition is defined as "thinking about thinking" or the ability to monitor and control one's cognitive processes 1 and plays an important role in learning and education 2,3,4.For ...
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Research Ideas: Developmental Psychology. The impact of maternal affection on cognitive, social, and emotional development. The effects of parenting styles on children's executive function. The impact of late-night screen use on child development. The role of digital play on child development outcomes.
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The Effects of Naturalistic Stimuli on Neural Network Activity. A multidisciplinary journal for empirical studies and theoretical works on major cognitive functions, focusing on developments in cognitive neuropsychology and cognition from theory and data, to be...
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Research in Cognitive Psychology Cognitive psychologists develop a systematic understanding of cognitive processes. These include perception, human learning, attention, categorization, problem solving, decision-making, information processing and retrieval, short and long-term memory and forgetting, sensory encoding, motor control ...
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Major topics in cognitive psychology include sensation and perception, attention, memory, categorization, learning, language and communication, and thinking, reasoning, judgment, and decision-making. Cognitive development is discussed from both an ontogenetic and phylogenetic point of view. Cognitive neuroscience explores the neural substrates ...
Research Topics
Introduction and overview. In A. S. Benjamin & B. H. Ross (Eds.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: Skill and Strategy in Memory Use (Vol. 48; pp. xi-xiv). London: Academic Press. Memory and Decision Making We use recognition memory and related tasks as a test bed for developing computational models of memory decisions.
Topics, Methods, and Research-Based Strategies for Teaching ...
A number of other topics could also be included in a cognitive psychology course. Some of these topics are cognitive development, social cognition, application of cognitive psychology principles to real-world situations, and the like. ... Doing this requires students to develop a relatively deep understanding of the cognitive research related ...
129 Cognitive Psychology Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
The cognitive theory has been found to be a blend of the human and behavioral theories. Past research shows that the origin of cognitive psychology is in the behavior of a human being. From birth to about the age of two years, a child goes through the sensorimotor phase of development.
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Cognitive neuroscience research on conceptual knowledge often is discussed with respect to "embodiment" or "grounding." We tried to disentangle at least three distinct claims made using these terms. One of these, the view that concepts are entirely reducible to sensory-motor representations, is untenable and diminishing in the literature.
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Recently published articles from subdisciplines of psychology covered by more than 90 APA Journals™ publications. For additional free resources (such as article summaries, podcasts, and more), please visit the Highlights in Psychological Research page. Browse and read free articles from APA Journals across the field of psychology, selected by ...
201 Memory Research Topics & Essay Examples
The connection between memory and the quality of sleep is also exciting to explore. If you're looking for memory topics to research & write about, you're in the right place. In this article, you'll find 174 memory essay topics, ideas, questions, and sample papers related to the concept of memory.
Research Topics
Research topics include memory and memory development, symbol processing and language development, mechanisms of attention, visual perception, visual cognition, psycholinguistics, psychology of law, and computational modeling. We participate in several interdisciplinary programs, including the newly established Center for Neuroscience, and the graduate programs in Human Development ...
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A leading example is the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which tracks the health of Americans ages 50+ and includes robust data on physical, cognitive, and psychological health. HRS and international partner studies, such as the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol, are crucial resources for scientists around the world. NIA also funds ...

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Introduction