T. V. Moore’s (1939)Cognitive Psychology

Abstract

Thomas Verner Moore published a book called Cognitive Psychology in 1939,almost 30 years before Neisser's (1967) more familiar and far more influential work. Although it covers most of the standard topics found in current cognitive psychology textbooks, and even anticipated several current trends, Moore's text is not cited by any ofthe major histories of the "cognitive revolution" or any current cognitive textbook. Weprovide a brief sketch of Moore's academic life and summarize several of his papers that are still cited. After describing the psychologies prevalent in 1939,we compare Moore's text with two contemporary works, Woodworth (1938) and McGeoch (1942). We conclude by comparing the older text with Neisser's and by offering several reasons why the book is virtually unknown.Cognitive psychology differs from other areas of scientific psychology in that it loudly and proudly proclaims to have arisen out ofa (largely bloodless) revolution. The very phrase "cognitive revolution" implies a fundamental change in theories and research into human thought and behavior and a complete overthrow of the previous way of thinking. As with most revolutions, the circumstances leading up to the cognitive revolution preceded the actual deed by many decades, and histories of cognitive psychology read like histories of political movements with discussions of the forces and events leading up to the revolt. Again, like so many political revolutions,

Mill and Mental Phenomena: Critical Contributions to a Science of Cognition

“…Sometimes theories are suppressed by a dominant paradigm. For example, Thomas Moore’s Cognitive Psychology framework appears to have been inhibited by a prevailing behaviorism [ 16 , 28 ]. Other theoretical frameworks of cognition have recycled over time, with newer iterations possessing a greater level of sophistication [ 21 ].…”

“…Cognition is the tool of investigating and interpreting historical artifacts, and, as Mill alluded, attention, memory, and interpretation functions can be biased. As a result, a retrospective analysis, such as this one, can overlook inconsistencies and may project current mental frameworks onto past texts when those linkages may not be warranted [ 28 ]. This can resemble a sort of retroactive interference, whereby the newer memory structure distorts or disrupts access to an older memory structure.…”

“…Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener would forward the cause of systematic introspection into the early 20 th century as they founded structuralism , the first paradigm in psychology. Consistent with some of Mill’s ideas (e.g., division of “...the mind into faculties”), structuralists attempted to parse perceptions into essential component parts in order to understand the composition of the mind [ 25 , 28 ]. Later, clinical scientists, informed by the cognitive revolution of the mid-20 th century, integrated introspection into “cognitive” therapies.…”

Attachment Theory and Cognitive Science: Commentary on Fonagy and Target

“…However, cognitive psychology is slightly older-and more continuous with previous psychological theorizing-than Fonagy and Target suggest. The term cognitive psychology was not (as the authors report) first coined by Neisser in the 1967 textbook of that name (Neisser 1967); it was in use at least by 1939, when another textbook with that title was published (Moore 1939; see also Surprenant and Neath 1997;Knapp 1985). The notions of information processing and internal representation were central to a generation of psychologists that preceded Neisser's cohort (e.g., Miller 1956;Piaget and Inhelder 1956).…”

Thomas Verner Moore

“…Moore had met the English psychologist Charles Spearman (1863-1945) in Leipzig in 1904 when working in the laboratory of Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) and is credited for being an early and influential proponent of Spearman's factor analysis in the United State (5). In his study of the psychoses Moore used Spearman's "tetrad difference technique" (1904), the first method of factor analysis ever devised.…”