Ch 1 Flashcards
Cognition
a term that refers to the acquisition, storage, transfor- mation, and use of knowledge
cognitive psychology
(1) Sometimes it is a synonym for the word cognition, and so it refers to the variety of mental activities we just listed; (2) Sometimes it refers to a particular theoretical approach to psychology.
cognitive approach
a theoretical orientation that emphasizes peo- ple’s thought processes and their knowledge
empirical evidence
scientific evidence obtained by careful observation and experimentation
Wilhelm Wundt
Wundt lived in Leipzig, Germany. Introspection
Introspection
carefully trained observers would systematically analyze their own sensations and report them as objectively as possible, under standardized conditions
Mary Whiton Calkins
the recency effect /first female APA president
recency effect
refers to the observation that our recall is especially accurate for the final items in a series of stimuli (such as a list of words or numbers). In addition, Calkins emphasized that psychologists should study how real people use their cognitive processes in the real world, as opposed to in artificial laboratory tasks
william james
tip of the tounge phenomenon
Gestalt psychology
emphasizes that we humans have basic tendencies to actively organize what we see, and furthermore, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
gestalt
or overall quality that transcends the individual elements
behaviorism
psychology must focus on objective, observable reac- tions to stimuli in the environment, rather than on introspection
operational definition
a precise definition that specifes exactly how a concept is to be measured
The Cognitive Revolution
disappointment with behaviorist approach •human memory research•children's thought processes; Jean Piaget •linguistics; Noam Chomsky •cognitive revolution birth in 1956 •Cognitive Psychology; Ulric Neisse
Cognitive science
an interdisciplinary field that tries to answer questions about the mind
Artificial intelligence (AI)
a branch of computer science. It seeks to explore human cognitive processes by creating computer models that show “intelligent behavior” and also accomplish the same tasks that humans do
Pure artificial intelligence (pure AI)
an approach that designs a program to accomplish a cognitive task as efficiently as possible, even if the computer’s processes are com- pletely different from the processes used by humans.
computer simulation or computer modeling
attempts to take human limita- tions into account
computer metaphor
our cognitive processes work like a computer. That is, computers and human minds are both examples of complex, multipurpose machinery that can process information quickly, accurately, and in a similar fashion
information-processing approach
argued that (a) our mental processes are similar to the operations of a computer, and (b) informa- tion progresses through our cognitive system in a series of stages, one step at a time
serial processing
the system must complete one step or processing stage before information can proceed to the next step in the flow- chart
connectionist approach
connectionist approach argues that cognitive processes can be understood in terms of networks that link together neuron-like processing units; in addition, many operations can proceed simultaneously—rather than one step at a time.
cerebral cortex
the outer layer of the brain that is essential for your cognitive processes