Theories Of Knowledge And Psychological Applications

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Theories of Knowledge and Psychological Applications

How individuals are able to obtain knowledge is something that

psychologists have studied for a number of years. The ability to store and

retrieve knowledge provides individuals with the propensity to form logical

thought, express emotions and internalize the world around them. In order for a

psychologist to understand the theories of knowledge it is necessary to

investigate the aspects of the theories. In this paper we examine the history ,

the basic construct, the similarities of the theories and how those theories

relate to psychological therapies. History of the theories

The neural network model attempts to explain that which is known about

the retention and retrieval of knowledge. Neural network models have been

examined for a number of years. In the mid 1940's and 1950's the first of the

network models began to appear. These publications introduced the first models

of neural networks as computing machines, the basic model of a self-organizing

network (Arbib, 1995).

In 1943 McCulloch and Pitts published their model theory ( Arbib, 1995). In

1948 Rashevsky proposed a number of neural network models to explain

psychological phenomena. During this era not enough was known about the brain,

subsequently he was considered ahead of his time. Rashevsky relied heavily upon

complex mathematical equations within his model, consequently many people simply

did not understand his theoretical perspective ( Martindale, 1991). In 1958

Rosenblatt proposed his theory on neural network models which focused on

perception. The theory elicited a great deal of interest; however it was

considered too simple to sufficiently explain all aspects of perception (Arbib,

1995).

As a result of the lack of acceptance, neural network models "fell out

of fashion"(Martindale, 1991, P.12). For a nine year lapse no neural network

model theories were developed. In 1967 the network approach was again examined.

Konorski developed a useful network model that focused primarily on Pavlovian

conditioning as opposed to cognition. Grossberg developed his neural network

theory during the years of 1969, 1980, 1987, and 1988. Grossberg developed a

powerful network theory of the mind but, like the Rashevsky model, Grossberg's

theory was comprised of...

... middle of paper ...

...ledge tend to be quite complex. In the terms of a

psychological context it is important to understand the knowledge theories. The

history, the construct, and their similarities all allow the psychologist to

better understand how an individual internalizes the world around them. The

basic understanding of the knowledge theories allows the psychologist to

comprehend how therapeutic techniques effect the clients' internal constructs

and also how all knowledge, both past and present, plays a role in making those

connection necessary.

References

Arbib, M. (1995). The hand book of brain theories and neural networks.

Cambridge, MA: MIT press.

Lusebrink, V. (1990). Imagery and visual expression in therapy. New

York: Plenum press.

Martindale, C. (1991). Cognitive psychology a neural-network approach.

Belmont,CA: Brooks/Cole.

McClelland, J., & Rumelhart, D. (1988). Explorations in parallel

distributed processing. Cambridge, MA: MIT press.

Paivio, A. (1986). Mental representations a dual coding approach. New

York: Oxford University Press.

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