Chapter 1

Question 1

What is cognitive psychology?

Answer 1

• the study of mental processes

Question 2

Hippocrates view of cognitive psychology

Answer 2

• brain creates the mind

Question 3

Platos view of cognitive psychology

Answer 3

• Dualism: there is the mind and then there is the brain, separate

Question 4

John Locke and cognitive psychology

Answer 4

• the mind is a Tabula Rasa (clean slate)
• proven wrong by current research because babies have innate knowledge of cause and effect and living vs non living things

Question 5

Why were all of these theories so wrong?

Answer 5

• the presence or absence of the mind as separate from the body
• there is a relation between the brain and the body and environmental influences
• we can study what knew borns know
• most old theories are “arm-chair” speculations not empirical studies that started in the 19th C

Question 6

Structuralism in relation to cognitive psychology and its limitations

Answer 6

• Wilhem Wundt
• sensations are the basic elements of experience (periodic table of sensations)
• Limitations: we are not good at describing whats going on in our minds
• having to think about something can change our thoughts/ approach
• introspection not experiments

Question 7

Functionalism in relation to cognitive psychology and its limitations

Answer 7

• William James, introspection not experiments, defined attention, set a good basis for future research

Question 8

What are Ebbinghaus’s memory experiments and what theory does it belong to?

Answer 8

• Functionalism
• list of nonsense syllable and investigated patterns of forgetting for word lists over time.
• this experiment provided implications for Amnesia, Dementia and improving classroom learning

Question 9

Behaviourism in relation to cognitive psychology

Answer 9

• John B Watson, was a reaction to structuralism and functionalism that used introspective methods because inner mental processes are not able to be to investigated
• behaviourism focuses on observable behaviours
• classical conditioning (pavlov, salivating dog, prediction) and operant conditioning (skinner, modify overt behaviours with punishment and reinforcement)

Question 10

What are the limitations of Behavioursim

Answer 10

• ignores mental processes

- Noam Chomsky : poverty of stimulus

Question 11

What is Universal Grammar

Answer 11

• Languages have common underlying structure that is not restricted by meaning
• if behaviourists were right than any combination of words should be possible (its not)
  (Behaviourism limitation, noam chomksky)

Question 12

What is the Language Acquisition Device?

Answer 12

• Noam Chomsky
• humans have an innate ability to use language
• meaning we are not blank slates

Question 13

When did cognitive school become a thing?

Answer 13

• 1950s

- advances in computers and brain as a computer analogy

Question 14

What is the computer model of cognition called?

Answer 14

• information processing approach

- it is helpful but misleading

Question 15

What was one of the most important findings in relation to cognitive psychology

Answer 15

• advances in neuroimaging , the ability to view brain activity in real time (fMRI)
• advances in cognitive neuroscience- brain localization for sensory and motor process aka, learning and memory

Question 16

Who is Patient H.M

Answer 16

• patient H.M got their hippocampus and major temporal region removed
• this created anterograde amnesia ( meaning they were not able to make new memories)