Cognitive Psychology Chapters 1-4 Flashcards
What is Cognitive Psychology?
The scientific interdisciplinary study of the mind
-Interested in how the brain processes information
Cognition
The mental events and knowledge we use when we recognize an object, remember a name, have an idea, understand a sentence, or solve a problem
Cognitive Science
The scientific study of thought, language, and the brain, in short, the scientific study of the mind
Research Oriented because…
Empirical (scientific) and models used
Emotions effect on processing of the brain
We pass an emotional judgement to see if something is worth time spent, *A way emotional aspect is used in cog. psych
Mental processes
Can occur with little conscious awareness.
-Mental processes are complex (elaborate)
Memory
The mental processes of acquiring and retaining information for later retrieval and the mental storage system that enables these processes.
*Not always consciously using memories that one has
Retrieval of Memories
Retrieval of memories deals with both the conscious and the automatic recalling—-> we can also alter our memories
Human Biases
*Humans have a bias towards negativity (It grabs our attention)
How to study mental processes
Mental processes can be studied by behaviors (Ex. reaction time and responses)
-Technology is a big factor in studying cognition
Assumptions of Cog. Psych (1)
Mental processes exist
Assumptions of Cog. Psych (2)
Mental processes can be studied scientifically
“If it exists it can be studied”
Assumptions of Cog. Psych (3)
ACTIVE INFORMATION PROCESSORS
Scientist Miller calls us informavores
Hear info., you process it and decide if you need it or don’t need it by processors—–> Have to undergo a process to get rid of a previously ignored info. longer reaction time occurs because of this
Assumptions of Cog. Psych (4)
Some processes occur without conscious awareness
- Representations reflects the sensory modality and meaning of information…Components of this are:
1) Format: the means by which it conveys info.
2) Content: the meaning, conveyed by a particular representation
Three stages
Encoding, Retention, Retrieval
Neisser 1976
Ecological Validitiy: findings are true of the real world
Reductionist Approach
Attempting to understand complex events by breaking them down into their components
First Lab created in 1879 for Cog Psych
Wundt founded this labratory
To see: How does the brain work?
Introspection
A method in which one looks carefully inward, reporting on inner sensations and experiences.
*Original method of studying cognitive psych, but today’s research is different and focuses on behavior expressed from study
Major Contributions from Wundt’s School
(1) Demonstrated that mental activity can be broken down into more basic operations
(2) Created objective methods to study mental processes
Edward Titchner
Not too interested in memory
- Used introspection
- Used structuralism: The structure of the conscious mind, sensations, images, and feelings that were the very elements of the mind’s structure
Hermann Vonn Ebbinghaus
- Thought that a study of the mind through objective measures was possible
- Studied memory using nonsense syllables (CVC) so their wouldn’t be interference….Learn the lost then wait and try again gets a savings score.
William James
- Functionalism: the functions of consciousness, rather than its structure, were of interest
- Divided memory into 2 areas; one that is of immediate circumstances and one that is large and more hidden or passive
Behaviorism (1913)
Watson started behaviorism
*Behaviorism: the scientific study of behavior
Dissatisfaction with behaviorism
~Cognitive revolution was about the 1950’s
~Disagreement about:
- New behaviors come through conditioning:stimulus response psychology - Used animals - Skinner thought that a theory of behavior wasn't neccesary
The Language Debate
In 1959,
Chomsky blasted Skinner’s 1957 book “Verbal Behavior”
~Language is generative, not reinforced
Four Methods to Measure Cognitive Processes
RT and Accuracy
Verbal Reports
neuropsychological evidence
Donder’s Speed of Mental Processes (1868)
Donder’s method of subtraction
Ex:
A+B+C=1200ms
A+C=800ms
Therefore B=400ms
Neuropsychological Evidence
Cognitive psychologists use detailed observation of the brain instead of other methods used before
~Dissociation: when damage to one area of the brain will show impaired performance on one task, but not other tasks
The Computer Analogy
A computer model was created outlining cognitive processes
~Process Model: hypothesis about the specific mental processes that take place when a particular task is preformed
Lexical Decision Task
***A timed task in which people decide whether letter strings are or are not English words.
Stages:
(1) Encoding (Input)
(2) Search Retrieval
(3) Activation Stage
(4) Decision
(5) Response (Output)
The Strict Information Processing Approach
Assumptions of sequential stages of processing and independent/nonoverlapping
——-> It was believed that each stage of a process has to be completed before moving on to the next stage (FOUND to not be always true; FLAWED)
*Multiple stages can be happening at once, or a whole stage was seen to even get skipped
Neural Net Models: Connectionism
A computer based technique for modeling complex systems
*The connectionist models gives us insight into how cognition is set up bottom-up and top-down
