Brain vs. Behavioral Studies by Elizabeth A. Phelps

The Nature of Cognition edited by Robert J. Sternberg

Few psychologists today would disagree with the statement that cognitive processes are related to brain function. However, if you asked psychologists whether studying the brain will help us understand cognition, you might get a range of opinions (e.g., Johnson-Laird, 1980; LeDoux & Hirst, 1986). In this chapter, I will attempt to address two related questions. First, can we learn about cognition from studying the brain? Second, is it necessary to study the brain to explain cognitive behavior? In order to address the first question, I will provide examples of research examining cognitive behaviors using three commonly used techniques for studying brain function in humans. For each technique, I will review the background and methodology and discuss some of its advantages and disadvantages. I hope to demonstrate that our understanding of cognition can be informed by the study of the brain. T The second question is a little more difficult. Although one can argue that a type of research is informative, to say it is necessary implies that achieving our goals as cognitive psychologists is intertwined with the study of the brain. At the end of the chapter, I will discuss the role of brain research in our understanding of cognition. I hope to convince you that brain research is a useful and necessary step in our study of cognition, but that success in understanding the brain-behavior relationship is dependent on the quality of the behavioral research and our ability to describe cognition on a behavioral level.