Cognitive Psychology Flashcards
cognition
any and all processes involved in thinking
cognoscere
“to know”, “to be aware of”
what 5 functions do cognitive processes perform
- transform information
- reduce information
- elaborate information
- store and recover information
- use information
cognitive psychology
scientific study of any and all processes involving thinking
3 assumptions made by cognitive psychologists
- there are representations in the mind
- the mind performs processes on these representations
- these processes are isolated from each other
is cognition an active or passive state?
active
is cognition accurate?
yes
4 major themes of cognitive psychology
- automatic vs. controlled processes
- data-driven vs. conceptually-driven processing
- how is information represented in the mind
- metacognition
how is cognitive science different than cognitive psychology
cognitive science includes other fields and includes cognitive psychology
cognitive science
scientific study of the human mind
Greek and Rome time period
3300 BCE - 330 AD
what did Plato say about knowledge
it was innate
about recalling and remembering
what did Aristotle say about knowledge
it is about observing and learning
3 important Greek assumptions
- world could be understood and predicted
- humans are part of physical world
- explanations of events in this world depend on other events in this world
middle ages time period
300 - 1300
who added to knowledge during the middle ages?
the Muslim world
2 Muslim scientists
Ibn al-Haytham
Al-biruni
Ibn al-Haytham
developed methodology for science
Ibn al-Haytham’s 4 step methodology
- explicitly state a problem
- test through experimentation
- analyze data using math
- publish findings
Al-biruni
recognized that instruments of measurement are limited and humans make mistakes
what are Al-biruni’s concepts in their modern form?
experimental and experimenter error
Renaissance time period
1300 - 1800
which Greek assumptions were revived?
- world could be understood and predicted and 3. explanations of events in this world depend on other events in this world
3 Renaissance scientists
- Descartes
- Hume
- Kant
Descartes
nativism
nativism
certain abilities/processes are hardwired at birth
Hume
empiricism
empiricism
we are born a blank slate but we are capable of learning
Kant
reconciled nativism and empiricism
Kant’s theory
we are born with categories of knowledge and experience shapes these
early empirical work time period
1800 - 1900
early empirical cognitive scientists
- Weber and Fechner
- Donders
- Ebbinghaus
- Wundt
- James
Weber and Fechner
monitor perception by determining thresholds
Donders
reaction time of a task compared to reaction time of a slightly more difficult task
Ebbinghaus
graphed memory of a list over time between repetitions learning the list
Wundt
developed first psychology lab
what is Wundt considered to be
father of psychology
James
started psychology lab in US
behaviorism time period
1900 - 1950
what did behaviorists believe about consciousness
consciousness could not be measured
3 behaviorists
- Pavlov
- Watson
- Skinner
cognitive revolution time period
1950 - modern day
who believed culture is important in memory
Bartlett
Bartlett study
told Americans a story about Native Americans with a traditional Native American structure. More difficult to remember
Piaget
children have a certain schema in order to learn
Tolman
mice develop mental maps to find a piece of cheese
when were digital computers invented
1940s
why were computers significant to psychology
new metaphor to understanding the mind
what methodology from computers was applied to the mind
flow chart methodology
year of important artificial intelligence conference
1956
2 guys at the conference
Newell and Simon
what did Newell and Simon try to create
Logic Theorist
Logic Theorist
computer program that could solve logic problems, modelling our own cognition
Broadbent, year
1958, created flow chart of mind
Cherry, year
1953, measured attention by looking at dichotic listening
Miller, year
1956, studied memory and showed its limits
Chomsky, year
1957, destroyed any behavioral explanation of language
Neisse, year
published first cognitive psych textbook
information processing theory
coordinated operation of active mental processes within a multicomponent memory system
what did information processing theory suggest?
our memories process info like a computer
Atkinson-Shiffrin model (draw it)
represented information processing theory with a specific flowchart (refer to notes for diagram)
4 methods of measuring thinking
- produced response
- reaction time
- accuracy
- transfer of training
produced response
ask someone a question and observe what they do or don’t say
model
representation containing the essential structure of some object or event in the real world
3 properties of symbolic models
- models are incomplete
- models should be easy to change
- models contain parameters that can be changed
3 criticisms of cognitive psychology
- lacks ecological validity
- fragmented
- artificial
lacks ecological validity
cog psych is studied in an artificial environment
fragmented
complex cognitions are divided and studied separately
artificial
studies often performed on 1st year uni students
4 future things in cog psych
- cognitive neuroscience
- probability theory
- social dimensions
- embodiment
cognitive neuroscience
new technology emerging to image the brain
probability theory
quantifying behaviour in a probabilistic way
social dimensions
research on how social situations and culture effect cognitive processes
embodiment
must understand body to understand cognition
marble experiment on memory
people talk about negative memories when moving marbles down. positive when moving marbles up
