This article presents a historical context for the current notion of macrocognition. The idea of macrocognition has precedents dating to the first decades of experimental psychology. The distinction between macrocognition and microcognition instantiates philosophical issues that contrast structuralism with functionalism (naturalism and holism). This is one of the thematic “pendulum swings” across the history of psychology. With regard to both experimentation and computational modeling, the issues that persist across history can be interpreted as cautionary tales, as constraints on methodologies, or as challenges.
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