Contributions to the History of Psychology: XXXIX. T. V. Moore and His Cognitive Psychology of 1939

Abstract

In 1939 Thomas Verner Moore authored a book entitled Cognitive Psychology which shared many commonalities with the psychological perspective that emerged under the same name 25 years later. Moore rejected the behaviorism of his day, took knowing as the fundamental problem of psychology, employed reaction time procedures to differentiate among mental processes, and was committed to representationalism as an epistemology. His career, early experimental work, interaction with E. C. Tolman, and textbook are discussed.