Cognitive psychology in Scandinavia: Attention, memory, learning and memory dysfunctions

Abstract

The last 15 years of research on attention, memory, learning and memory dysfunction is reviewed in detail, while areas such as reading, problem‐solving and decision making are viewed from the perspective of memory and learning. Parts of the reference material are drawn from other areas than cognitive psychology: For example, educational psychology and the neurosciences. A total of 513 papers are reviewed of which 360 papers are of Scandinavian origin. On the basis of the reviewed material, three trends are projected: Cognitive task analysis, cognitive neuropsychology and, finally, an increase of qualitative data analyses.

Do languages behave like animals?

“…The tag theory leads one to hypothesize that bilingualism, however rewarding it may be from an individual point of view, is socially inefficient. A variety of experiments reviewed by Dornic (1975Dornic ( , 1980 and Rönnberg (1986) have indeed shown the slowing impact of bilingualism on communication, especially when the subject is forced to shift from one language to another.…”

Introduction to the 50th Anniversary Issue on “Highlights in Scandinavian Psychology”

“…Neuroscience is represented by a description of a theory of auditory hallucination (Hugdahl) and a discussion of post-traumatic functional recovery (Mogensen). While it is well known that both cognitive psychology and neuroscience are well-established fields in Scandinavia (Hugdahl, 1984;Rönnberg, 1986), the strength of Scandinavian developmental psychology has perhaps not been fully appreciated. However, it is well known that Scandinavian countries offer unique possibilities for longitudinal studies, and psychologists from Finland (Keltikangas-Järvinen, Pulkkinen, Räikkönen) and Sweden (Bohlin) describe unique prospective longitudinal studies of factors influencing psychological development.…”

Editorial statement

“…Content and citation analyses reveal a tremendous growth in certain areas of Scandinavian research, areas that are also recognized internationally (see e.g. Hugdahl & Öhman, 1987; Olsson, 1999; Rönnberg, 1986).…”