Overview and history of cognitive psychology Flashcards
Fill in the arrows
__________->_____________–>_______
Stimulus - blackbox - response/behaviour
Why is cognition described like a blackbox?
Can’t see thoughts or mental processes inside
What was the start of history of cognitive psychology?
Introspection
What is introspection
We can monitor our own thought processes to understand how they work, which is done through anecdotes, stream of consciousness, and self tests
What are some problems with introspection
Might be inaccurate, some mental processes might not be amenable to introspection
What is behaviourism?
We cannot measure what is going on in the mind but we can measure behaviour
What is the radical behaviourist position?
There are no internal processes - we can explain the mind in terms of simple stimulus response associations alone
What is behaviourism in a nutshell?
Stimulus response associations are the basis of behaviour
Explain the concept of information processing
The mind as a computer
Explain decomposition
Cognition composed of multiple processesE
Explain representations
Cognition acting on and transforming information
What is the method used?
Rigorous empirical studies and abstract theories of mental processes
What methods are used in cognitive neuroscience?
We can measure the brain in action using fMRI which measures oxygen levels in the brain
What is an advantage of cog ns methods?
We can observe activity in the brain
What is a disadvantage of cog ns methods?
Methods are crude, only provides a blurred and low quality view.
