Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Cognitive psychology > Lecture 1 > Flashcards

Lecture 1 Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
GRE® Psychology flashcards Psychology 101 flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

What is psychology?

A

The scientific study of mind and behaviour.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is ‘mind’?

A

Private inner experience of perception, thoughts, memories, and feelings.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is ‘behaviour’?

A

Observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is an experiment?

A

A technique establishing a causal relationship between variables.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is experimental psychology?

A

The scientific study of mind and behaviour by means of experiments.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is cognition?

A

All mental processes that lead to thoughts, knowledge, and awareness.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are cognitive processes?

A

Mechanisms that underly cognition.

  • They govern cognitive functions like attention, memory, learning, mental processing etc.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Continental rationalists (enlightenment)

A
  • Knowledge is innate or inborn: nativism.
  • Rene Descartes - the mind is not supreme, body and mind are separate entities.
  • Gottfried Leibniz, Benedict de Spinoza
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

British empiricists

A
  • Knowledge is acquired through observation.
  • David Hume, John Locke, George, Berkeley.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

One of the first psychologists to conduct experiments

A

Hermann von Helmholtz

  • Studied the conduction velocity of the nerve impulses.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Just Noticeable Difference

A

The minimum difference in stimulation that a person can detect 50% of the time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Inspiration and creator of JND

A

Inspired by Ernst Weber, created by Gustav Fechner.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Mental chronometry

A
  • Franciscus Donders
  • How much time do you need to decide whether you heard the syllable ‘ka’ or ‘ta’?
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Simple reaction time

A

Press a button whenever you hear a syllable.
- Detection RT

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Differential/choice reaction time

A

Press the ‘k’-button when you hear ‘ka’, and press the ‘t’-button when you hear ‘ta’
- Detection RT + discrimination RT + decision RT.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Go/No go reaction time

A

Press the ‘k’-button when you hear ‘ka’, but do nothing when you hear ‘ta’

  • Detection RT + discrimination RT.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Structuralism

A

Consciousness should be the focus of study via analyses of the basic elements that constitute the mind.

  • Breaking down consciousness into sensations and feelings via analytical introspection.
  • Further developed by Edward Titchener.
18
Q

Structuralism - Edward Titchener’s proposal

A

3 elementary states of consciousness:

  1. Sensations (sights, sounds, taste).
  2. Images (components of thoughts).
  3. Affections (components of emotions).

As well as identifying thousands of ‘elemental qualities of conscious experience’.

19
Q

Behaviourism

A

The introspective processes cannot be studied (being too vague and subjective) and over behaviour should be studied instead because:

  • The goal of scientific psychology is to predict and control behaviour in a way that benefits society.
20
Q

Behaviourism as a part of logical positivism (operational definition)

A

A description of an (abstract) property in terms of a concrete definition that can be measured.

21
Q

Ivan Pavlov - classical conditioning + term definitions

A

US (or UCS): unconditioned stimulus that produces an…
UR (or UCR): unconditioned response.
When the US is repeatedly paired with another stimulus, the other stimulus becomes…
CS: conditioned stimulus that produces a…
CR: conditioned response which is the same as the UR but now occurs without the original US.

22
Q

Skinner - operant conditioning

A

Learning occurs through reinforcement and punishment that can both be positive or negative.

23
Q

What is ‘positive reinforcement’?

A

When something good is added that intends to increase behaviour (e.g., a reward like food, money).

24
Q

What is ‘positive punishment’?

A

When something bad is added to decrease behaviour (e.g., pain, stress).

25
Q

What is ‘negative reinforcement’?

A

When something bad is removed to increase behaviour (e.g., removing pain, stress).

26
Q

What is ‘negative punishment’?

A

When something good is removed to decrease behaviour (e.g., food, money).

27
Q

Gestalt psychology - members (3) and principle

A
  • Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka.
  • The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
28
Q

What did Gestalt psychology reject, and why?

A
  • Structuralism, because experience is more than a function of sensation.
  • Behaviourism, because complex behaviour (the “whole”) is more than the sum of its components.
29
Q

Gestalt psychologists - apparent motion

A

Perception is a construction, not a reflection of the sensation.

  • Also in the auditory domain: you can either heard a galloping rhythm while 2 tones are played, or you hear 1 high stream and 1 low stream.
30
Q

Cognition since 1970s

A

Cognitive revolution, computer is used as a metaphor for human thinking.

31
Q

Cognition since 1980s

A

Modern imaging techniques avaliable: Structural MRI, Functional MRI, testing neuropsychological patients, can help answer theoretical hypotheses.

32
Q

Why was the scientific method created?

A

Observations can lead to mistakes, false conclusions and illusions, so we need a set of rules and techniques to avoid those.

33
Q

Scientific method techniques

A
  1. Theorise/generate idea.
  2. Formulate falsifiable hypothesis.
  3. Collect and analyse data.
  4. Draw conclusions regarding hypothesis.
34
Q

Deduction + problem

A

Drawing inferences based on premises (assumptions). E.g. all organisms die, John is an organism, John will die.
Problem: we cannot observe all organisms to figure out whether to not they die.

  • General to specific.
35
Q

Induction + problem

A
  • Specific to general
  • E.g. My dog died, my tomato plant died, all organisms die.
  • Problem: more observations cannot make a statement more true because un-encountered exceptions may arise. Conclusion can only be proven false.
36
Q

Humans are difficult to study for 3 reasons

A
  1. Complexity
  2. Variability
  3. Reactivity
37
Q

What are ‘demand characteristics’?

A

In an observational setting, people behave in a way that meets expectations or beliefs about desired outcome.

  • World: laughing even though you don’t like a joke.
  • Lab: students fill out a dress questionnaire (high scores because of participants’ beliefs about desired outcome).
38
Q

Causal relationship

A

A change on some property causing a change on another property

  • Hours immersed in combat situation : PTSD
  • Terminal illness : depression
39
Q

Correlation definition

A

Variations on one variable are synchronised with variations in another variable.

40
Q

Positive correlation

A

Variables change in the same direction (+1 = perfect correlation)

  • Time spent studying & exam grade
41
Q

Negative correlation

A

Variables change in opposite directions (-1 = perfect negative correlation).
- Age & hearing ability.

42
Q

Uncorrelated

A

No systematic pattern in variable changes.

  • Driving skills & favourite colour of shoe laces.
  • Length of index finger & money spend on groceries.

Cognitive psychology (13 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions