PSYC18 Lesson 1 Flashcards
is the school of thought which is interested in how people mentally represent and process information.
Cognitive Psychology
Include topics such as ________, __________, ________, _______, __________, _______, and ___________.
memory
concept formation
attention
reasoningproblem solving
judgment
problem solving
language
Historically, psychology has always been (a few exceptions) cognitively oriented except for the brief period between the ______’s and _____’s.
This was a time when ________ was highly influential and interests in cognitive topics were low
1930 and 1950
behaviorism
The study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and think about information
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Psychology Is…
Reasoning
Problem Solving
Decision Making
Language
Memory
Attention
Perception
German-American Psychologist and Father of Cognitive Psychology
Ulrich Neisser
He characterized people as _________ ________-_________ __________ whose mental operations might be described in ____________
dynamic information processing systemscomputational terms.
refers to all processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used.
cognition
cognition is concerned with these processes even when they operate in the absence of relevant ________, as in images and hallucinations..
stimulation
Cognitive psychology assumes that people are designed to ___________ rather than other design assumptions (grow, learn, be socialized, etc.).
It embraces the use of the _________
process information
scientific method
Cognitive psychology explicitly acknowledges the existence of internal mental states unlike ________________.
It also rejects__________ as a valid method of investigation.
behaviorist psychology
introspection
Cognitive explanations identify __________ giving rise to behavior.
computational processes
Cognitive psychology highlights the mind as a _________________.
computer analogy
Think of cognitive explanations of the behavior as identifying the _________ of a computer. Knowing the _______ of a computer would help you understand and predict the computer’s behavior
software
Cognitive psychology try to understand the computational processes involved in __________,_________,________,_______ and _____________
perceiving, storing, remembering, analyzing, and interpreting information.
What differences exist between humans and computers?
Physical nature: Humans are carbon-based whereas computers are Silicon-based.
Reproductive process. Only human beings reproduce.
Experience: Only humans actually feel pain, emotions etc. although computers can simulate it.
Consciousness: Only human are aware of themselves as an agent in the world (free-will)
What ways are humans and computers similar?
Most of the similarities address the processing of information.
Both Minds and computers…
* Input information
* Output information
* Access information
* Store information
* Retrieve information
* Analyze information
The __________ denies that people are computers, only that people and computers both process information.
Cognitive Approach
Philosophical Antecedents
Rationalist
Empiricist
Acquire knowledge through thinking and logical analysis
Rationalist
Acquire knowledge via empirical evidence
Empiricist
- dualism between a material body and immaterial mind or soul
- mechanistic explanations for the body’s functions
- highest functions of consciousness, will and reasoning, were nonmechanistic
Rationalism (Plato):
René Descartes (1596–1650)
integrating algebra and geometry: numerical relationships of algebraic equations are expressed visually through the use of a coordinate graphing system (cartesian coordinates)
Analytic Geometry
An antecedent lead by John Locke (1632–1704)— An English philosopher who theorized that the human mind was a tabula rasa at birth, and that all human knowledge comes through experience
Empiricism (Aristotle)
Proposes the Two domains of reality: _________ and ________
noumenal world is indirectly “knowable” by the senses, but can it be scientifically studied?
Immanuel Kant 1724-1804
noumenal and phenomenal
Psychology as science
- It can be described spatially
- It is not too transient to observe/measure
- It can be manipulated experimentally
- It can be described mathematically
Psychological Antecedents: the two “Fathers” of Psychology?
William James (1842– 1910)
Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949)
Explains, What are the elementary contents (structures) of the human mind?
Structuralism
Explains, How and why does the mind work?
Functionalism
A Harvard professor who established American psychology “Functionalism”
1890 textbook The Principles of Psychology
William James (1842– 1910)Philosophy of pragmatism
William James (1842– 1910)
An American comparative psychologist who studied with James and went on to become the country’s bestknown psychologist after James’s death.
Became famous for his studies of trial-anderror learning and formulation of the law of effect, and his studies with Woodworth on the transfer of training.
Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949)
Assertion that when certain stimulus-response are followed by pleasure, they are strengthened, while responses followed by annoyance or pain tend to be “stamped out.
Law of Effect
Explains, How can events or ideas become associated in the mind?
Associationism
Explains, What is the relation between behavior and environment?
Behaviorism
The ________ Psychology states - Cognitions should play an active role in psychology (Wertheimer, Kohler)
Gestalt
BACKGROUND/History of Cognition
A. History of Computing
B. Intellectual History
He proposed an Analytical Engine, The Analytical Engine was to have had a memory store and a central processing unit. It would select from alternative actions contingent on its previous actions.
Charles Babbage (1828 to 1839)
Invented the principle of the modern computer.
He described an abstract digital computing machine consisting of a limitless memory and a scanner that moves back and forth through the memory, symbol by symbol, reading what it finds and writing further
Created the ______ test for deciding whether computers think
Alan Turing (1912-1954)
Author of the landmark 1948 paper A Mathematical Theory of Communication which developed information theory
Information Theory involves the quantification of information (the signal contained thousands of bits of information)
He is credited with founding both digital computers and digital circuit design theory in 1937.
Claude Shannon (1916-2001)
Swiss Psychologist and a founder of cognitive development in the 1920s
His work focused on child’s interactions with the environment
Jean Piaget (1996 – 1980)
Challenged Behaviorist assumptions by examining internal mental process
These processes were called Intervening Variables
For ____, these variables were mainly ________ (needs)
For _____ they were mainly __________ (mental maps)
Edward Tolman and Clark Hull
physiological (needs)
cognitive variables
People involved in History of Computing
Charles Babbage (1828 to 1839)
Alan Turing (1912-1954)
Claude Shannon (1916-2001)
People involved in Intellectual History
Jean Piaget (1996 – 1980)
Edward Tolman and Clark Hull
Carl Rogers and Donald Hebb
List of people involved in Founding of Cognitive Psychology
Herbert Simon and Allen Newell
George Miller
Jerome Bruner
Leon Festinger
Hebb (again!)
Both challenged radical behaviorism and psychoanalysis.
_______ emphasized the importance of internal conscious processes and its role on behavior.
________ contributed to the rise of cognitive interests with his book The Organization of Behavior which encouraged an interest both biological explanations and cognitive processes.
Carl Rogers and Donald Hebb
Were founding fathers of several of today’s important scientific domains, including artificial Intelligence, information processing, decisionmaking, problem-solving,
Herbert Simon and Allen Newell
Princeton Professor whose ideas are fundamental to cognitive psychology.
Presented his research on short-term memory its capacity.
George Miller
Considered central in the cognitive approach to thinking and learning.
Jerome Bruner
_________ is an active process where learners construct new ideas
_________ (schema, models) provides meaning and organization to experiences.
Learning
Cognitive structure
Noted that ideas that one may have might be compatible with or incompatible with one another.
Leon Festinger
One of the major accomplishments of all of Psychology
When ideas are incompatible, a state of ____________ exists that motivates a person to change beliefs or behavior.
cognitive dissonance
Continued to discuss physiology and behavioral phenomena and cognitive processes. He was also encouraged by the possibility of using computer models for studying cognitive processes.
Hebb (again!)
A ___________ occurred and increased interest in the study of mental processes (cognitions)
cognitive revolution
pioneered in Neuroscience and studied on learning and memory
Karl Spencer Lashley (1890–1959)
Founder of computer science, mathematician, philosopher, Broke German Enigma code in WWII
Alan Turing
Gifted mathematician
wrote first computer program – calculated sequence of Bernoulli numbers or rational numbers
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace
the idea that computers can only do what humans tell them to do, and cannot create anything original
The Lovelace Objection
Research Methods
- Controlled experiments
- Psychobiological research
- Self reports
- Case studies
- Naturalistic observation
- Computer simulations and artificial intelligence
__________ the independent variable: The “cause”
Manipulate
________ the dependent variable: The “effect”
Measure
_________ all other variables: Prevent confounds
Control
Typical Independent Variables
- Characteristics of the situation
- Characteristics of the task
- Characteristics of participants
Presence vs. absence of a stimulus
Characteristics of the situation
Reading vs. listening to words for comprehension
Characteristics of the task
Age differences
Characteristics of participants
Typical Dependent Variables
Percent correct/error rate
Reaction time (milliseconds)
Accuracy of mental processing
Percent correct/error rate
Speed of mental processing
Reaction time (milliseconds)
Cannot infer causation
Nature of relationship: Positive correlation or Negative correlation
Strength of relationship: Determined by size of “ r ”
Correlational Studies
An examination of the relationship between confidence and accuracy of eyewitnesses
What do you think the relationship is?
NOT a strong positive correlation!
Psychobiological Studies
- Postmortem studies
- Brain-damaged individuals and their deficits
- Monitor a participant doing a cognitive task
Examine cortex of dyslexics after death
Postmortem studies
Study amnesiacs with hippocampus damage
Brain-damaged individuals and their deficits
Measure brain activity while a participant is reciting a poem
Monitor a participant doing a cognitive task
An individual’ s own account of cognitive processes
Verbal protocol, diary study
Self-reports
In-depth studies of individuals
Case studies
