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Theories Of Knowledge And Psychological Applications

Theories of Knowledge and Psychological Applications


Robin A. Finlayson
University of Saskatchewan
Ed.Psy: 855.3: Advanced Educational Psychology
October 16, 1996

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...