Generative Theories in Cognitive Psychology

Modern cognitive psychology has strictly adhered to the experimental methodology of the natural sciences. Often, contributions in T&P have addressed shortcomings and possible remedies of this predominant approach and its emphasis on 'effects'. My comment will contrast this approach with the generative theories (cognitive simulation models) developed in cognitive science about thirty years ago and still not widely accepted in psychology. I'm going to characterize these generative theories, and discuss their weaknesses and their advantages over the usual way of theorizing in cognitive psychology. I hope to convince at least some readers that (i) in order to proceed in this manner, you need not to buy a ready-made 'cognitive architecture', and (ii) that this approach results in a much more rigorous theorizing (although still well controllable as a scientific endeavor).