a philosophical and cognitive school that asserts that the human mind is the primary and reliable source of knowledge, and that truth can be reached through logical reasoning and deduction from clear and self-evident principles, without relying entirely on sensory experience. This approach emphasizes that some knowledge is innate or a priori, that is, it exists in the mind before experience Founder: René Descartes – XVII century. The main psychological theories derived from rationalism are:
1) Cognitive learning theory – focuses on the role of mental processes such as understanding, reasoning, and problem-solving.
2) Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development – assumes that a person goes through organized mental stages that affect his understanding of the world.
3) Noam Chomsky’s theory of innate grammar – states that a person is born with a mental structure that allows him to acquire language
4) Information processing theory – compares the human mind to a computer in the process of receiving, processing, storing and retrieving information.