History Flashcards
Cognitive psychology
Scientific study of mental processes
Perception, attention, memory, language, reasoning, creativity
Problem with cognitive psychology
Stimulus -> occurrence in the mind -> response/behaviour
Tries to identify what happens in the mind
Data and theory
Data = experiment
Theory = how data is used —> abstract theory
Introspection
Monitor our own thought processes to understand how they work
Methods= anecdotes, stream of consciousness, self-tests
X- inconsistent between individuals
X- inaccurate
X- some mental processes not amenable
Behaviourism
No internal processes, explain mind as simple stimulus —> response associations
-reinforcement= basis of behaviour
Method= control of stimuli, measurement of behaviour
X- navigation establishes cognitive map (Skinner box)
X- children learn without explicit reinforcement
Cognitive revolution
Information processing- mind as computer
Decomposition- cognition composer of multiple processes
Representations- cognition acting on and transforming information
Methods= empirical studies, abstract theories
Cognitive neuroscience
Look inside mind to see occurrences
Measure brain in action
Areas involved in decision making processes
Observe brain directly
X- crude, low quality view
Embodied cognition
Body shapes how we sense/ act on the world
Methods= action and behaviourally relevant tasks
Methods in cognitive psychology
Case studies- brain lesions
Correlational studies- measures are associated
Experimental studies- causal manipulations
