CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Cognitive psychology, basically, studies how people think. It is the study of how people attend to, observe, study, recall, and think about information. Therefore, the topics studied within cognitive psychology are ones that impact our daily lives. How we learn, how we remember, and how we consider information are all processes that we do each day for a number of different subjects, from something as easy as remembering a phone number or a person's name to something as complicated as learning how to solve a mathematical problem. In this situation, nonetheless, the subjects of importance to cognitive psychology are reading, writing, the act of composing, and learning how to write.
Psychology initially made a casual entrance into Nigeria with teacher-training institutions, and a lot later on through institutions of higher learning, whose students studied psychology as component of their major disciplines. Many Nigerians moved to abroad in order to study psychology, mainly as second and third degrees, before the formal founding of psychology in Nigeria higher institutions (Oguntuashe, 2010). It was long after some facets of psychology have been used as service courses, in especially education, psychiatry, nursing and sociology, when few Nigerians had gone abroad to study the discipline.
The advancement of psychology in many of African Universities has dragged, unlike many other course of study. A few of the possible explanations which underline this condition and which need to a large extent, hindered the advancement of psychology are cultural factors past colonial education affects, alien principles and the non-existence of trained native psychologists.
Perhaps the need for systematic application of psychology and its concepts has not been perceived in Africa and in Nigeria in particular, since the conventional set up provided for methods of coping with individual or group issues. There were for example, elders, "learned men: or wise men" "talented women" in lots of communities with the abilities, skills and capabilities to heal the psychic issues of the sick. Likewise, the educational, counselling and other socialization activities of the community were performed within the homestead by astute conventional teachers. Our forefathers made use of their knowledge to manage the environment, understood essential factors in child rearing, altruism, teamwork in addition to dealing with conflict scenarios.
The ideas of psychology, its concepts and techniques as understood by westerners continues to be alien to the thinking of non-westerners. Because of this, a great deal of effort is still needed to create new terminologies and sell the concept regarding the critical value of psychological principles to the educators and policymakers who are still uninformed about the need of such a discipline.
Perhaps, the above state of affairs can be described by the fact that Africa is allied with countless war against starvation and mass hunger, lack of knowledge, diseases and economic stagnation. Under such conditions, one may call for the need, importance and even the use of "pure concept" or "luxury-oriented" alien psychology. One might likewise doubt whether making use of standardized intelligence tests, which are western- oriented, would certainly be of any value in aiding a preliterate African. The necessity for African- oriented psychology, which is primarily based on the needs and problems of the people of Africa, cannot be overemphasized. Hence, this study examines issues and prospects of Cognitive Psychology in Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The preceding shows that psychology is undoubtedly a prominent discipline in Nigeria, however it is likewise mostly misinterpreted. Lots of people have a lot of suggestions regarding psychology that are incorrect. While many people thought that psychology is an avenue to have access to other people's thoughts, many others believe it is concerned with fortune telling or just voodooism (Anowi, 2004). The misunderstanding regarding psychology is really widespread, also other social scientists do not appear to have adequate understanding regarding its subject matter. Ojiji (2011) shared a personal experience, which shown that even related professionals carry some degree of lack of knowledge regarding the discipline of psychology. Therefore, this study will examine issues and prospects of Cognitive Psychology in Nigeria.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine issues and prospects of Cognitive Psychology in Nigeria. The specific objectives include:
i) To understand the contributions of Psychology as a course of study in the Nigerian society.
ii) To determine the importance of Psychology in Nigeria
iii) To find out the application of Cognitive Psychology to our everyday life
iv) To examine the prospects of Psychology in Africa and in Nigeria in particular
v) To asses the challenges of Psychology in Nigeria
1.4 Research Questions
This study answered to the following research questions:
i) What are the contributions of Psychology as a course of study in the Nigerian society?
ii) What is the importance of Psychology in Nigeria?
iii) What is the application of Cognitive Psychology to our everyday life?
iv) What are the prospects of Psychology in Africa and in Nigeria in particular?
v) What are the challenges of Psychology in Nigeria?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study gives various insights into the challenges and prospects of Cognitive and General Psychology in Nigeria. These highlighted challenges will enable stakeholders in the education sector to take adequate measures in tackling these challenges, and make learning of Psychology a lot easier for both lecturers and students in our higher institutions of learning.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study covers the challenges and prospects of teaching Psychology in our higher institutions of learning and in the Nigerian society at large. Findings and recommendations for the study may not reflect the true view of the challenges of Cognitive and General Psychology in Nigeria, as the researcher could not cover a wider area in Nigeria due to time and financial constraints.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
There are some limiting factors which influence the researcher’s effort towards developing this study (research). The most prevailing being time factor as other school extra curricula activities that had to be met with.
Definition of Terms
Cognitive Psychology: the branch of psychology dedicated to studying how people think. The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how the interactions of thinking, emotion, creativity, and problem-solving abilities affect how and why you think the way you do.
Psychology: is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists are actively involved in studying and understanding mental processes, brain functions, and behavior. The field of psychology is considered a "Hub Science" with strong connections to the medical sciences, social sciences, and education (Boyack, Klavans, & Borner, 2005).
