Intro To Cognition (Quiz #1) Flashcards
What is Cognition?
Broadly defined as the study of knowledge
Focuses on mental processes such as memory, problem-solving, concept formation, reasoning & decision-making, language & perception
What did Donder wanted to explore in 1868? How did he do it?
He was one of the first to do this. He wanted to try and understand when you perceive something how long does it take to react?
What was Donders experiement?
Participants were sat infront of a lights. They were instructed to watch for a light to switch on. When they saw a light switch on they needed to press the corresponding button.
What were the finding that Donder concluded from his experiment?
It takes a 1/10th second to make a decision
But there is a difference between reaction time and choosing what key to press.
What are the roots of Cognitive psychology?
The first psychology lab established by Wundt in Leizbig
Wundt and his colleagues describe mental events as having a structure which created the idea of structuralism.
What is structuralism?
suggests that the mind synthesizes basic elements and then organizes these elements
What is introspection?
the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes
What was the Wundt experiment and what were the limitations?
Introspect and monitor your mind
Report first association
Participants are asked to report what they think and the order of events in which they occur as they think
Limitation: We can never be completely certain about someone’s motives, emotions and experiences.
This suggests a wide range of behaviours and emotions which may or may not be consistent with the situation.
Research has shown that there is a great deal of variation in recall of an event even under controlled conditions (eye witness testimonies).
Too vague
What was Ebbinghaus trying to explore?
Memory and Forgetting
What was Ebbinghaus’s experiment and what did he find?
Read the list of nonsense syllables aloud to determine the number of repetitions necessary to repeat the list without errors
Learned many different lists at many different lengthed breaks
Once a list is learned perfectly, the ability to recall items from a list is not perfect and we still forget some.
What were William James’ principles of psychology?
Observations based on the functions of his mind, not experiments
Considered many topics in cognition, including thinking, consciousness, attention, memory, perception, imagination, and reasoning
Examine whole brain function, not parts (structuralism)
What did Watson have to say about analytical introspection?
John Watson noted two problems with the analytic introspection method
Extremely variable results per person
Results are difficult to verify due to the focus on invisible inner mental processes
What was the new method Watson proposed?
Behaviourism
Eliminate the mind as a topic of study
instead, study directly observable behaviour.
Acknowledged that there were thoughts, feelings, internal states, etc., but in terms of operant conditioning – these are not necessary to observe / change behaviour
Conducted the Little Albert experiment
What was B.F Skinner interested in?
B. F. Skinner was interested in determining the relationship between stimuli and response
What is Operant Conditioning
Shape behaviour by rewards or punishments
Rewarded behaviour more likely to be repeated
Punished behaviour that less likely to be repeated
