---
title: "Cognitive psychology"
description: "Find out whether studying cognitive psychology is for you. Discover what it is, the characteristics of a cognitive psychologist and potential career paths."
canonical: "https://ads.pr1.ops.ads.arden-prod01.arden.ac.uk/psychology-subject-guide/cognitive-psychology"
published: 2022-09-06
updated: 2022-10-19
author: "Arden University"
---

# Cognitive psychology

WHAT IS COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY?

### Feeling nice and relaxed? That's what we like to hear! Even though your mind might not feel like it's racing at a million miles per minute, your brain is still undertaking lots of mental processes (like processing these words), and cognitive psychology is the study of all these processes.

Essentially it covers everything that goes on in our minds, such as how we think, the things we choose to remember versus those we forget, how we perceive the things we see and hear, the methods we use to solve problems and why, and lots more.

The psychology of criminal behaviour has become hugely popular, with the CSI franchise and Serial true crime podcast providing a window into a disturbing world. However, it's important to note, that it's not exclusively focused on murder but rather all kinds of crime - including fraud, terrorism and abuse.

[Read more ](#collapseExtraText)

## Cognitive psychologist personality traits

![Attention to detail](https://d2n98vq36tw7n9.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/2022-09/Attention%20to%20detail.png?VersionId=MNbI4ycuMvZGV96wCjuRcl1t7jMiNqT3)

METICULOUS ATTENTION TO DETAIL

![Highly Organised](https://d2n98vq36tw7n9.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/2022-09/Highly%20organised.png?VersionId=8Ag3JGFGp6Uef6U.c2WvJPljmHYTnRIC)

HIGHLY ORGANISED

EMOTIONAL SEPARATION

![Communication Skills](https://d2n98vq36tw7n9.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/2022-09/Communication%20skills.png?VersionId=6v39OwwZzVe62YhMqRl8DwpgiOE6TTQV)

GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS

## Our fictional famous cognitive psychologist

![Alice-Howland](https://cdn.arden.ac.uk/s3fs-public/styles/course_hero_low/public/2022-09/Alice-Howland.jpg)

Alice Howland (Still Alice)

Lisa Genova’s novel, *Still Alice*, explores the titular character’s experience with early on-set Alzheimer’s disease. Alice is a world-renowned expert in linguistics and a professor of cognitive psychology. The story focuses on how her life is impacted after her diagnosis.

` ## Your potential cognitive psychology career paths

In clinical settings, like hospitals or mental health centres, cognitive psychologists often work with people who’ve experienced traumatic brain injuries.

They may also treat those affected by dementia, children with speech disorders or people impacted by sensory issues.

Cognitive psychologists that decide to go into research may work with universities, where they’ll conduct research projects and publish their findings.

When creating new products or developing new strategies, businesses may also rely on specialist knowledge of a cognitive psychologist.

![](https://cdn.arden.ac.uk/s3fs-public/styles/quote_low/public/2022-09/Cognitive-Psy-Careers%20%281%29.jpg)

### How much is a cognitive psychologist’s salary?

So, what’s the average salary for a cognitive psychologist who’s fully qualified? If you’re just starting out, you can expect to earn just over £34,500 per year. However, when you reach a senior level of experience, you can as much as £60,000 per year or more.

[ Explore our psychology courses ](https://arden.ac.uk/our-courses/subject/psychology-sociology)

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