Why was the advent of the computer so important for the development of cognitive psychology?

The advent of computer is important for the development of cognitive psychology because it provided cognitive psychologists a comparison in order to analyze or process human minds.

Explanation:

Cognitive Psychology - this is a branch of science that deals with the mental processes of the human mind. This processes involves perception, memory, emotion, thinking, problem-solving and the like.

Since Cognitive Psychology deals with information processing of the human mind, it is highly related to computer. The study stemmed from the fact that it was compared to how computers process information and produce an output just like the mind. This became a model for psychologists in interpreting how the human mind works.

When a person sees an object, this information is processed by the visual sensors (like the eyes) which is then brought to the brain for further coding. This will then be used for essential activities, such as answering a question in a test (this is the output).