Download Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Introduction to Cognitive
Psychology
Chapter 1
Questions to Consider
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How is cognitive psychology
relevant to everyday experience?
Are there practical applications of
cognitive psychology?
How is it possible to study the inner
workings of the mind, when we
can’t really see the mind directly?
What is the field of cognitive
psychology?
Learning Objectives
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Challenges of the Field
History of the Field
Modern Approaches to Studying the
Mind
Strategies for Successful Learning
Cognition and Cognitive Psychology
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Cognition
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The mental processes that are involved
in perception, attention, memory,
problem solving, reasoning, and
making decisions
Cognitive Psychology
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Branch of psychology concerned with
the scientific study of cognition
Challenges of Cognitive Ψ
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Often times, “the processes involved in cognition
are complex and hidden from view”
Take a moment and think about all that is
happening around you (perception, attention,
memory, reasoning)
Complexity examples
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Stroop effect
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Described by J.R. Stroop in 1935
Name of word interferes with naming of the color—
some stimuli influence us even when we don’t want
them to do so
Angela example in text—revisited grandparent’s and
memories of childhood came back
History of Cognitive Ψ
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1st cognitive psychology experiment, 1868
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Franciscus Donders, Dutch physiologist
Used mental chronometry
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What is mental chronometry?
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What are 2 ways to measure reaction time?
 ____________
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____________
Mental processes are ____________ from behavior
History of Cognitive Ψ
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1st cognitive psychology experiment, 1868
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Franciscus Donders, Dutch physiologist
Used mental chronometry
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Measured reaction time: time b/w presentation of
stimulus and person’s response to that stimulus
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Measures time-course of cognitive processes
Simple reaction time
Choice reaction time (push one of two buttons in
response to a stimulus)
Inferred mental process of perception
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Mental response cannot be measured directly, but
can be inferred from behavior (choice reaction time
– simple reaction time = length of time to make a
decision)
All research in cognitive psychology deals with
inferred mental processes
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Helmholtz’s Unconscious Inference
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Helmholtz developed the ophthalmoscope;
proposed theories of object perception, color
vision, and hearing
Theory of unconscious inference: some
perceptions are the result of unconscious
assumptions that we make about the
environment; past experiences with objects
may impact our perceptions
2 sheets of paper exercise
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Ebbinghaus
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Learned lists of nonsense syllables (e.g., DAX, QEH)
Why nonsense syllables?
Repeated lists and noted how many repetitions it
took to repeat the list with no errors; this was
called __________
Waited a period of time and then relearned the list
Computed a savings score
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Savings = [(initial repetitions) – relearning
repetitions]/initial repetitions; then multiply by 100
for a %
Forgetting curve (Figure 1.6)
Measured behavior to infer processes of memory
These early researchers were physiologists,
physicists, and philosophers
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Ebbinghaus
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Learned lists of nonsense syllables (e.g., DAX, QEH)
Why nonsense syllables?
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Repeated lists and noted how many repetitions it
took to repeat the list with no errors; this was
called savings method
Waited a period of time and then relearned the list
Computed a savings score
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Did not want actual words to influence his ability to
memorize or recall certain words
Savings = [(initial repetitions) – relearning
repetitions]/initial repetitions; then multiply by 100
for a %
Forgetting curve (Figure 1.6)
Measured behavior to infer processes of memory
These early researchers were physiologists,
physicists, and philosophers
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Wilhelm Wundt
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1879, founded first laboratory of scientific
psychology at the University of Leipzig, in
order to study the mind scientifically
Carried out reaction-time experiments
Developed analytic introspection
 Procedure used in which trained participants
described their experiences and thought
processes elicited by stimuli presented under
controlled conditions
 Problematic: introspection did not seem to
reveal the structure of thought; results from
different laboratories often disagreed
Decline and Rebirth
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John Watson and Behaviorism
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Developed new approach to psychology by
studying actual behaviors in their own right
and not worrying about consciousness
Argued behavior is observable and objective
Studied impact of stimulus conditions on
behavior (stimulus-response)
Most famous study: Little Albert
B.F. Skinner
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Studied operant conditioning: believe
reinforcements, not free will, determined
behavior
Published book on verbal behavior that claimed
language developed through imitation and
reinforcement
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Noam Chomsky, linguist
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Disagreed with Skinner, and believed language
development was inborn and held across cultures
Defended his theory with
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Children say sentences they have never heard
Incorrect grammar
Realization that to understand complex cognitive
behaviors need to consider how the mind works in
addition to S-R
Rise of the Information Processing Metaphor
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Broadbent’s flow diagram depicted the mind as
processing information in a sequences of stages
Information processing models conceive of cognitive
activities as involving a series of steps, procedures,
or processes that take time (e.g., 1/10 second)
Modern Approaches to Study the Mind
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Behavioral Approach
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Measure behavior and explain cognition in
terms of behavior
e.g., reaction time
Measuring mental rotation exercise (Figure
1.10 and Figure 1.11)
Physiological Approach
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Measure both behavior and physiology and
explain cognition in terms of physiology;
e.g., reaction time and brain wave activity or
brain activation
Davachi experiment Figure 1.12 (words that
were remembered on the memory test had
more brain activity when words were first
exposed
Cognitive Psychology
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Scientific study of mental processes
Simply put “it is the study of thought”
Behavior is examined by cognitive
psychologists the same way that physicists
infer the force of gravity from the behavior of
objects in the world.
Mental Processes: remembering, attention,
producing and understanding language, solving
problems, and making decisions
Thinking is something that is constantly
happening, yet we rarely stop to think about it
Omnipresence of Cognitive Processes
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Perception and Sensory Memory
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Organize and interpret incoming information
(e.g., first lecture)
Sensory memory holds information, like an
information buffer, just long enough to
determine whether it seems worthwhile
Attention
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Set of processes through which you focus on
incoming information
Ability to attend is flexible—can divert (cocktail
party effect, police car)
Attention is also limited
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Working Memory
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Like a mental juggling act: to fully
process and understand facts and
figures, have to repeat material/info
and/or jot it down in your notes
Pattern Recognition and Concept
Representation
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Recognize the term s-y-l-l-a-b-u-s and
that activates some concept in memory
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Long-Term Memory
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Memory Distortion
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Have to store what is being said for later use
Forgetting, Misremember information
Trying to think of a person’s last name
Autobiographical Memory
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Research focuses on how we remember
information about ourselves, our personal past
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Knowledge Representation
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Mental representations are representations of
your stored knowledge, and you access them
when necessary
Language
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Your implicit knowledge of syntax (word
arrangement rules) and semantics (rules for
expressing meaning) allows you to
comprehend instantly what makes sense and
what does not
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Problem Solving
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Involves operating within constraints
(such as time) and reaching a goal
from a starting state that is nowhere
near the goal
Decision Making
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If I miss a class will it affect my grade?
How much time should I spend
studying?
Cognitive Science
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Cognitive Science
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Study of the mind (mental processes)
as carried out by many different
disciplines
Disciplines: cognitive psychology, and
research on the mind within the fields
of computer science, linguistics,
neuroscience, anthropology, artificial
intelligence, and philosophy
(Figure 1.14)
Study Techniques
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Elaborate
Organize
Associate
Take breaks
Matching learning and testing
conditions