Cognitive psychology

The human mental processes such as attention, memory, language use, perception, problem solving, creativity and thinking.

knowledge

cross-sector

Cognitive psychology is an essential knowledge of the following occupations:

Music therapist: Music therapists use music-therapeutic interventions to treat patients with behavioural disorders and pathogenic conditions to prevent, mitigate or eliminate symptoms and to change behaviours and attitudes requiring treatment. They promote and maintain or restore the development, maturity and health of the patient/client by music-therapeutic interventions. Music therapy especially provides help for people with with emotional, somatic, intellectually or socially induced behavioural disorders and pathogenic conditions, such as psychoses (schizophrenic disorders, bipolar disorders) and personality development disorders.
 
Technical communicator: Technical communicators prepare clear, concise and professional communication from product developers to users of the products such as online help, user manuals, white papers, specifications and industrial videos. For this, they analyse products, legal requirements, markets, customers and users. They develop information and media concepts, standards, structures and software tool support. They plan the content creation and media production processes, develop written, graphical, video or other contents, generate media output, release their information products and receive feedback from the users.
System configurator: System configurators tailor a computer system to the organisation’s and users’ needs. They adjust the base system and software to the needs of the customer. They perform configuration activities and scripting and ensure communication with users.
E-learning architect: E-learning architects establish goals and procedures for the application of learning technologies within an organisation and the creation of an infrastructure that will support these goals and procedures.
Instructional designer: Instructional designers develop instructional material for training courses using multimedia technology and authoring tools. They aim to create instructional experiences which make the acquisition of knowledge and skills more efficient, effective, and appealing.
Art therapist: Art therapists help patients overcome psychological and emotional difficulties through an artistic process which reflects emotions and feelings, focusing on patients who suffer a variety of problems such as mental, psychological, and behavioural disorders in order to facilitate self-understanding and awareness.
User experience analyst: User experience analysts assess client interaction and experience and analyse users’ behaviours, attitudes, and emotions about the usage of a particular product, system or service. They make proposals for the improvement of the interface and usability of products, systems or services. In doing so, they take into consideration the practical, experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human–computer interaction and product ownership, as well as the person’s perceptions of system aspects such as utility, ease of use and efficiency, and user experience dynamics.

Cognitive psychology is optional for these occupations. This means knowing this knowledge may be an asset for career advancement if you are in one of these occupations.

Language engineer: Language engineers work within the field of computing science, and more specifically in the field of natural language processing. They aim to close the gap in translation between accurate human translations to machine-operated translators. They parse texts, compare and map translations, and improve the linguistics of translations through programming and code.
ICT accessibility tester: ICT accessibility testers evaluate websites, software applications, systems or user interface components with regards to friendliness, operability of the navigation and visibility to all types of users, especially including those with special needs or disabilities.
ICT usability tester: ICT usability testers ensure compliance with requirements and strive for optimal usability within the software engineering cycle phases (analysis, design, implementation, and deployment). They also work closely with users (analysts) to research for and document user profiles, analyse tasks, workflows, and user scenarios.
Graphologist: Graphologists analyse written or printed materials in order to draw conclusions and evidence about traits, personality, abilities and authorship of the writer. They interpret letter forms, the fashion of writing, and patterns in the writing.
Knowledge engineer: Knowledge engineers integrate structured knowledge into computer systems (knowledge bases) in order to solve complex problems normally requiring a high level of human expertise or artificial intelligence methods. They are also responsible for eliciting or extracting knowledge from information sources, maintaining this knowledge, and making it available to the organisation or users. To achieve this, they are aware of knowledge representation and maintenance techniques (rules, frames, semantic nets, ontologies) and use knowledge extraction techniques and tools. They can design and build expert or artificial intelligence systems that use this knowledge.
User interface designer: User interface designers are in charge of designing user interfaces for applications and systems. They perform layout, graphics and dialogues design activities as well as adaptation activities.
ICT trainer: ICT trainers conduct training-needs analysis and design programs to train students in the use of software packages and information systems accordingly. They produce and update existing training materials (content and method), deliver effective training in classroom, online or informally, monitor, evaluate and report effectiveness of training. They maintain and update expertise on specialised ICT subjects and evaluate and report on students’ performance.
Web content manager: Web content managers curate or create content for a web platform according to the long-term strategic goals, policies and procedures for an organisation’s online content or their customers. They control and monitor compliance with standards, legal and privacy regulations and ensure web optimisation. They are also responsible for integrating the work of writers and designers to produce a final layout which is compatible with corporate standards.
Assistant clinical psychologist: Assistant clinical psychologists aid psychologists in their work. They work in healthcare facilities or private practices where they assist psychologists with their treatment of patients. Assistant clinical psychologists are healthcare professionals that can assess patients with psychological tests and aid with therapy, as well as performing administrative functions.
Recreational therapist: Recreational therapists offer treatment to persons who have behavioural disorders or conditions. They use techniques and interventions such as art, music, animals and dance to promote, maintain and restore the development and health of the patient.
Application engineer: Application engineers deal with the technical requirements, management, and design for the development of various engineering applications, such as systems, new product designs, or the improvements of processes. They are responsible for the implementation of a design or process improvement, they offer technical support for products, answer questions about the technical functionality and assist the sales team.

References

1. Cognitive psychology – ESCO