PSYC*2650 Chapter 1: The Science of the Mind Flashcards

1
Q

What is cognitive psychology?

A

The scientific study of the acquisition, retention, and use of knowledge

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2
Q

Explain the case of H.M, presented in chapter 1?

A
  • Had surgery to control severe epilepsy
  • Lost the ability to form new memories
  • Able to remember everything from before surgery
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3
Q

What does it mean to study something empirically?

A

To study it through experimentation and observation

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4
Q

What is introspection?

A

A method in which people observe and record the content of their own mental lives and experiences

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5
Q

Who proposed introspection?

A

Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Bradford Titchener

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6
Q

What three things were involved in the “training” of introspectors?

A
  • Given vocabulary to describe their observations
  • Taught to be as complete as possible
  • Report their experiences with the least amount of interpretation possible
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7
Q

What are two limits of introspection?

A
  • Some thoughts are unconscious
  • The testability of claims is often unattainable
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8
Q

What is the focus of functionalism?

A

Understanding the function of the mind rather than its structure

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9
Q

What is the focus of behaviourism?

A

How behaviour changes in response to various stimuli

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10
Q

What was the central tenant of behaviourism?

A

Responses to stimuli (behaviour) are learned through association, rewards, and punishment (classical and operant conditioning)

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11
Q

What is a limit of behaviourism?

A

Behaviour is guided by the interpretation of a situation, not the objective situation itself

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12
Q

Which aspect of behaviour is often misunderstood when behaviourists focus only on the objective situation?

A

The reasoning behind the behaviour

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13
Q

What model of study did Immanual Kant propose?

A

The Transcendental Method

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14
Q

What is involved in the transcendental method of study?

A

Begin with observable facts and work backwards to infer the best explanation

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15
Q

Which method of study was the intellectual foundation of the cognitive revolution?

A

Transcendental Method

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16
Q

What did Ulric Neisser contribute to cognitive psychology?

A
  • Wrote a book called “cognitive psychology”, giving the field its name
  • often referred to as the father of cognitive psychology
17
Q

What did Edward Tolman argue about learning?

A

Argued that learning involved the acquisition of new knowledge rather than simply a change in behaviour

18
Q

Which theory did Noah Chomsky argue against?

A

Skinner’s theory of Behaviourism and language acquisition

19
Q

According to Chomsky, what does Skinner’s theory fail to explain?

A

The creativity and flexibility of language

20
Q

What did Gestalt psychologists argue about understanding behaviours, ideas, and perceptions?

A

Behaviours, ideas, and perceptions can only be understood as part of a “whole”, rather than element-by-element

21
Q

Which central theme of modern cognitive psychology did Gestalt psychology influence?

A

That perceivers shape their own experience

22
Q

What did Fredric Bartlett claim about the influence of people’s experiences?

A

That we shape and organize our own experiences into mental frameworks known as schemas

23
Q

What was Donald Broadbent’s contribution to cognitive psychology?

A

One of the earliest researchers to use the language of computer science in explaining human cognition

24
Q

What is cognitive neuroscience?

A

The study of the mental functioning of humans through close study of the brain and nervous system

25
What is clinical neuropsychology?
The study of the brain trough cases of damage or illness to/of the brain
26
What are neuroimaging techniques?
Non-invasive methods for examining the structure and activation patterns of a living brain
27
What are the three central assumptions of cognitive psychology?
- Mental processes exist - People are active information processors - Mental processes can be studies scientifically
28
What is the most common measure of behaviour in cognitive psychology?
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