Metaphors and models in cognitive psychology

The aim of this work is to identify, mainly from an epistemological point of view, the different meanings of the so-called computer metaphor (or computational metaphor) of the mind in the development of cognitive psychology, both from a classical perspective and from the more recent connectionist metaphor of the mind. Following in part the taxonomy proposed by Black (1961), every possible meaning of the computational metaphor of the mind is analysed, as well as its efficiency as an epistemological method for the treatment of the mental processes. The different meanings of the term «model» in cognitive psychology are also discussed, establishing similarities and differences with respect to the terms «analogy» or «metaphor», which are frequently used as synonyms of model. We conclude that the computational metaphor can be interpreted according to one of Black's proposals, the metaphor as interaction. We also conclude the need to establish a basic kernel of equivalences to guarantee an isomorphism between the human mind and the computer.