chapter 1 (intro) Flashcards
(21 cards)
mind
system that creates mental representations of the world and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, reasoning.
cognition
mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem solving, reasoning, decision making.
cognitive psychology
branch of psych concerned with scientific study of mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem solving, reasoning, decision making. scientific study of mind and mental processes.
reaction time
time it takes to respond to stimulus. usually measured as time between stimulus presented and response.
simple reaction time
reacting to presence or absence of single stimulus. no decisions.
choice reaction time
time to respond to one of two or more stimuli.
structuralism
approach to psych that explained perception as the adding up of small elementary units called sensations. wundt.
analytic introspection
procedure used by early psychologists in which trained participants described their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli. wundt.
savings
measure used by ebbinghaus to determine the magnitude of memory left from initial learning. higher savings indicate greater memory.
savings curve
plot of savings vs time after original learning.
behaviourism
watson’s approach to psych. states that observable behaviour provides the only valid data for psych. consequence is idea that consciousness and unobservable mental processes are not considered worthy of study by psychologists.
classical conditioning
procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response.
operant conditioning
skinner’s conditioning. focuses on how behaviour is strengthened by presentation of positive reinforcers, or withdrawal of negative reinforcers.
cognitive map
mental conception of a spatial layout.
cognitive revolution
shift in psych in 1950’s from behaviourist approach to approach where main thrust was to explain behaviour in terms of the mind. one outcome was introduction of info-processing approach to studying mind.
information-processing approach
approach to psych developed in 1950’s in which mind is described as processing info through sequence of stages similar to computers.
artificial intelligence
ability of a computer to perform tasks usually associated with human intelligence.
neuropsychology
study of behavioural effects of brain damage in humans.
electrophysiology
techniques used to measure electrical responses of nervous system. can listen to single neurons.
brain imaging
technique that results in images of brain that represent brain activity. ex: fMRI.
paradigm shift
shift in thinking from one paradigm to another.
