ABSTRACT
The scientific study of the processing of information on a short time scale defines the field of learning and cognitive psychology. Theoretically, cognitive psychology might be defined in terms of the study of all aspects of information processing by organisms. Long before experimental psychology made its earliest appearance, other biological and physical sciences had accumulated imposing records of accomplishment with regard to prediction and control of natural phenomena. The form taken by a theory is dictated partly by facts, partly by philosophical and methodological presuppositions that constrain and shape the thinking of those who do the theorizing. The entire array of conceptual systems association theory, functionalism, and behavior theory which dominated research on both human and animal learning over the first half of the century had in common a view of a hypothetical ageless organism. Research focused on the description and analysis of the human learner's performance on specific tasks requires increasingly specialized techniques.
