Cognitive psychology based on Alain Lieury
An Accessible Overview
📘 Cognitive psychology offers a modern and practical way to understand how the mind works. While many people associate psychology with psychoanalysis, another approach has taken a central role in recent decades: cognitive psychology.
🧩 What is Cognitive Psychology?
Unlike psychoanalysis, which explores hidden meanings through the unconscious, cognitive psychology focuses on observable and measurable mental processes such as:
Perception
Memory
Attention
Language
Reasoning
Emotion
Motivation
It provides concrete tools to understand how we think, feel, and act.
🧠 The Brain as an Information Processor
Our brain works like a powerful information-processing system. Stimuli enter through the senses, are selected, analyzed, and then either stored in memory or forgotten. This process unfolds through different stages.
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Memory
Short-term memory (working memory): holds a limited amount of information (like a phone code or address) for just a few seconds or minutes.
👉 Capacity: about 7 ± 2 items, also known as the “magical number.”Long-term memory: stores knowledge, skills, and experiences over time. To last, information must be organized into categories (phrases, images, mental maps).
📌 Example:
It is easier to remember a simple sentence like “punctuality is the politess of princess” than 35 random letters.
➤ Memory thrives on structure and meaning.
Attention: The Art of Mental Focus
We are constantly bombarded with stimuli. Luckily, our brain filters what matters. Cognitive psychology highlights three key concepts:
Selective attention: choosing what to focus on.
Sustained attention: maintaining concentration over time.
Cognitive load: the difficulty of multitasking (too many tasks = overload = errors).
Classic example: reading the word “RED” written in green ink. Do you read the word or the color? This conflict illustrates attentional bias.
Forgetting Is Not Losing
When we forget, we don’t lose information completely—it’s simply harder to access. Like a misplaced book in a disorganized library, the knowledge is still there, but the retrieval path is blocked.
Intelligence = Memory + Flexibility
IQ alone does not define intelligence. According to cognitive psychology, intelligence combines:
Long-term memory: to store knowledge
Working memory: to connect ideas
Learning environment: stimulation, context, and social interactions
📌 Example: “Toto’s mother has three sons: Pim, Pam, and…?”
Most people answer “Pom” automatically, a mistake driven by cognitive routines. This shows both the power and the limits of mental shortcuts.
Motivation: The Fuel for Action
Motivation drives us to act and is built on three components:
A need or goal
Reinforcement (reward, encouragement)
An inner drive: autonomy, pleasure, freedom
The most sustainable form is self-motivation—acting because you want to, not because you have to.
❤️ Emotions: Quick and Powerful Reactions
Emotions are fast, intense responses to significant situations. Psychologists identify 12 primary emotions, including:
Interest, joy, surprise
Sadness, anger, fear
Disgust, shame, guilt
Contempt, shyness, self-hostility
Emotions strongly influence memory, decision-making, and even physical health.
The Triangle of Love
According to Sternberg’s theory, love is a mix of:
Intimacy (sharing, closeness)
Passion (desire, energy)
Commitment (the decision to stay together)
Depending on the intensity of each element, eight different forms of love can emerge.
Personality: What Makes Us Unique
Personality refers to stable traits that shape how we think, feel, and behave. It includes:
Sensorimotor aspects: physical or artistic abilities
Cognitive aspects: intelligence, intellectual interests
Emotional temperament: empathy, reactivity, mood
Social skills and values
Psychologists often distinguish between:
Character: influenced by education and experience
Temperament: more biological and stable over time
In Summary
Cognitive psychology helps us understand how our brain perceives, processes, remembers, and filters information.
It offers a toolbox to:
Improve learning and memory
Manage emotions more effectively
Enhance attention and motivation
Better understand ourselves and others
✨ In short: by exploring how the mind works, cognitive psychology enriches everyday life.
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