Lecture cognitive revolution

Question 1

Cognitive psychology: why emerged 1975

Answer 1

Back to studying the mind: information processing between input and output. (S-R)

• techniques to map mental processes: new methods of imaging to relate mental to neural, to test models
• lack of explanation for phenomena by behaviourism
• mental processes better studied by looking at information processing.
• rise of computers

Question 2

Rise of computers

Answer 2

1. George Boole: Boolean logic and operators. Using logic to phrase everyday language in terms of mathematical operators.
2. Claude Elwood Shannon: using Boolean logic in electric circuits (truth tables) to make systems make decisions for you.
3. John von Neumann: developed famous computer model with input, output, arithmetic unit (Boolean), memory unit, control unit. First to make analogy
4. Alan Turing: Turing machine: devide that can represent any computational system with rules, states etc.

Question 3

What did rise of PC lead to

Answer 3

1.Turing machine:Can this be an analogy of the mind? Analogies with hardware and software later computers.

2. -> describing cognitive theories as algorhythms and testing cognitive processes in computer simulations
   - > by simulating thinking, gaining insight in underlying processes

Question 4

Example of a process that behaviourism couldnt explain

Answer 4

Language acquisition
Behaviourism: instrumental conditiong
Naom Chomsky: barely reinforced, what about the first utterance?
ALso: tip of tongue phenomenon can be better explained with information processing

Question 5

George Miller

Answer 5

Realised behaviourism had no future
Came up with influential working memory capacity limit of 7, which is explained by information processing models.
Started first cognitive research center.

Question 6

Donald Broadbent 1926 1993

Answer 6

• influential filter theory of selective attention (cocktail party): some stimuli are filtered, but somehow they are also still there kinda, cause you can pick em up if it is important. Also explained by cognitive. One of first to use flow diagrams to document transformations from input to output.