A cognitive module in cognitive psychology is a specialized tool or sub-unit that can be used by other parts to resolve cognitive tasks. It is used in theories of the modularity of mind and the closely related society of mind theory and was developed by Jerry Fodor. It became better known throughout cognitive psychology by means of his book, ''The Modularity of Mind'' (1983). The nine aspects he lists that make up a mental module are domain specificity, mandatory operation, limited central accessibility, fast processing, informational encapsulation,‘shallow’ outputs, fixed neural architecture, characteristic and specific breakdown patterns, and characteristic ontogenetic pace and sequencing. Not all of these are necessary for the unit to be considered a module, but they serve as general parameters. The question of their existence and nature is a major topic in cognitive science and

evolutionary psychology Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evol ...

. Some see cognitive modules as an independent part of the mind. Others also see new thought patterns achieved by experience as cognitive modules. Other theories similar to the ''cognitive module'' are ''cognitive description'', ''cognitive pattern'' and ''psychological mechanism''. Such a mechanism, if created by evolution, is known as '' evolved psychological mechanism''.

Examples

Some examples of cognitive modules: * The modules controlling your hands when you ride a bike, to stop it from crashing, by minor left and right turns. * The modules that allow a basketball player to accurately put the ball into the basket by tracking ballistic orbits.Ralf Th. Krampe, Ralf Engbert and Reinhold Kliegl: "Representational Models and Nonlinear Dynamics: Irreconcilable Approaches to Human Movement Timing and Coordination or Two Sides of the Same Coin? Introduction to the Special Issue on Movement Timing and Coordination", Brain and Cognition Volume 48, Issue 1, February 2002, Pages 1-6. * The modules that recognise hunger and tell you that you need food. This cognitive module may be dysfunctional for people with eating disorders, for them various non-hunger distress emotions may wrongly make them feel hungry and causes them to eat. * The modules that cause you to appreciate a beautiful flower, painting or person. * The modules that make humans very efficient in recognising faces, already shown in

Rhesus monkeys The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally b ...

and in two-month-old babies, see

Face perception Facial perception is an individual's understanding and interpretation of the face. Here, perception implies the presence of consciousness and hence excludes automated facial recognition systems. Although facial recognition is found in other sp ...

. * The modules that cause some humans to be

jealous Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. ...

of their partners' friends. * The modules that compute the speeds of incoming vehicles and tells you if you have time to cross without crashing into said vehicles. * The modules that cause parents to love and care for their children. * The

libido Libido (; colloquial: sex drive) is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act u ...

modules. * Modules that specifically discern the movements of animals. * The fight or flight reflex choice modules.

Psychological disorders

Many common psychological and

personality disorder Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture ...

s are caused by cognitive modules running amok.

Jealousy

All people are born with a basic

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

cognitive module, which is developed through as an evolutionary strategy in order to safeguard a mate. This module triggers aggression towards competitors in order to ensure paternity and prevent extramarital offspring. If this module is activated to a strong degree, it becomes a personality disorder.

Stalking

Stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

is an extreme psychological disorder also related to jealousy and several other cognitive modules.''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - DSM-IV'', American Psychiatric Association 1994 page 287 A stalker is a person who behaves as if he had a relation to another person who is not interested in him. Some behaviors related to this disorder can get to the extent of following the other person on the street or observe him or her at home, compulsively reviewing their activity on social media, and can even result in harassment.

Paranoia

Being suspicious of fellow human beings is a cognitive module linked to human survival traits, which is generally characterized by being excessively suspicious of others or even situations, perceiving irrational threats from others, or feeling disruptive distrust in others. Such behaviour, in its extreme cases is labeled as ''

paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...

'' by matter experts, or in milder forms it is also called ''

paranoid personality disorder Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) is a mental illness characterized by paranoid delusions, and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others. People with this personality disorder may be hypersensitive, easily i ...

''.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

An example of this disorder is commonly illustrated by a person who will repeatedly check that a door is locked. One may constantly wash hands or other body parts, sometimes for hours, to ensure cleanliness. The obsessive-compulsory disorder is an extreme malfunction of a normal adaptation trait in all humans.

Transference

A cognitive module developed to solve a particular problem in which an emotional load can sometimes be taken to other situations where it is not appropriate. One may be angry at one's boss, but take the anger out on one's family. Often, the transference is

unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...

(see also

Subconscious mind In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. Scholarly use of the term The word ''subconscious'' represents an anglicized version of the French ''subconscient'' as coined in 1889 by the psycho ...

and

Unconscious mind The unconscious mind (or the unconscious) consists of the processes in the mind which occur automatically and are not available to introspection and include thought processes, memories, interests, and motivations. Even though these processes exi ...

). In psychotherapy, the

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other hea ...

is made aware of this, which makes it easier to modify the unsuitable behaviour.

Freud's theory of sublimation

Sublimation presents itself when a certain impulse that is socially unacceptable is deflected into a more suitable public behavior. Freud also introduced the idea of the unconscious, which interpreted cognitive modules where a person is not aware of the initial cause of these modules and may use them inappropriately.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

is a psychotic disorder where cognitive modules are triggered too often, overwhelming the brain with information. The inability to repress overwhelming information is a cause of schizophrenia.

Treatment of cognitive module psychological disorders

Cognitive therapy Cognitive therapy (CT) is a type of psychotherapy developed by American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck. CT is one therapeutic approach within the larger group of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) and was first expounded by Beck in the 1960s. Co ...

is a

psychotherapeutic Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...

method that helps people better understand the cognitive modules that cause them to do certain things, and to teach them alternative, more appropriate cognitive modules to use instead in the future.

Psychoanalytic view of cognitive modules

According to psychoanalytic theory, many cognitive modules are unconscious and repressed, to avoid mental conflicts. ''Defenses'' are meant to be cognitive modules used to suppress the awareness of other cognitive modules. Unconscious cognitive modules may influence our behaviour without our being aware of it.

Evolutionary psychology view

In the research field of

it is believed that some cognitive modules are inherited and some are created by learning, but the creation of new modules by learning is often guided by inherited modules. For example, the ability to drive a car or throw a basketball are certainly learned and not inherited modules, but they may make use of inherited modules to rapidly compute trajectories. There is some disagreement between different social scientists on the importance to the capabilities of the human mind of inherited modules. Evolutionary psychologists claim that other social scientists do not accept that some modules are partially inherited, other social scientists claim that evolutionary psychologists are exaggerating the importance of inherited cognitive modules.

Memory and creative thought

A very important aspect of how humans think is the ability, when encountering a situation or problem, to find more or less similar, but not identical, experiences or cognitive modules. This can be compared to what happens if you sound a tone near a piano. The piano string corresponding to this particular tone will then vibrate. But also other strings, from nearby strings, will vibrate to a lesser extent. Exactly how the human mind does this is not known, but it is believed that when you encounter a situation or problem, many different cognitive modules are activated at the same time, and the mind selects those most useful for understanding a new situation or solving a new problem.

Ethics and law

Most law-abiding people have cognitive modules that stop them from committing crimes. Criminals have different modules, causing criminal behaviour. Thus, cognitive modules can be a cause of both ethical and unethical behaviour.

David Abrahamsen David Abrahamsen (June 23, 1903 – May 20, 2002) was a Norwegian forensic psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author who wrote analyses of Richard M. Nixon and David Berkowitz. He was the father of Inger McCabe Elliott. Early life and educa ...

: The Psychology of Crime; Columbia University Press, 1960. p. 158ff

References

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