Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Chapter 1

Questions to Consider • 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 • Challenges of the Field • History of the Field • Modern Approaches to Studying the Mind • Strategies for Successful Learning

Cognition and Cognitive Psychology • Cognition • The mental processes that are involved in perception, attention, memory, problem solving, reasoning, and making decisions • Cognitive Psychology • Branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of cognition

Challenges of Cognitive Ψ • 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 • Stroop effect • 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 • 1st cognitive psychology experiment, 1868 • Franciscus Donders, Dutch physiologist • Used mental chronometry • What is mental chronometry? • What are 2 ways to measure reaction time? • ____________ • ____________ • Mental processes are ____________ from behavior

History of Cognitive Ψ • 1st cognitive psychology experiment, 1868 • Franciscus Donders, Dutch physiologist • Used mental chronometry • Measures time-course of cognitive processes • Measured reaction time: time b/w presentation of stimulus and person’s response to that stimulus • Simple reaction time • Choice reaction time (push one of two buttons in response to a stimulus) • Inferred mental process of perception • 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

Helmholtz’s Unconscious Inference • 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

Ebbinghaus • 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 • 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

Ebbinghaus • Learned lists of nonsense syllables (e.g., DAX, QEH) • Why nonsense syllables? • Did not want actual words to influence his ability to memorize or recall certain words • 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 • 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

Wilhelm Wundt • 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 • John Watson and Behaviorism • 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 • Studied operant conditioning: believe reinforcements, not free will, determined behavior • Published book on verbal behavior that claimed language developed through imitation and reinforcement

Noam Chomsky, linguist • Disagreed with Skinner, and believed language development was inborn and held across cultures • Defended his theory with • 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 • 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 • Behavioral Approach • 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 • 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 • 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 • Perception and Sensory Memory • 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 • 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

Working Memory • 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 • Recognize the term s-y-l-l-a-b-u-s and that activates some concept in memory

Long-Term Memory • Have to store what is being said for later use • Memory Distortion • Forgetting, Misremember information • Trying to think of a person’s last name • Autobiographical Memory • Research focuses on how we remember information about ourselves, our personal past

Knowledge Representation • Mental representations are representations of your stored knowledge, and you access them when necessary • Language • 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

Problem Solving • Involves operating within constraints (such as time) and reaching a goal from a starting state that is nowhere near the goal • Decision Making • If I miss a class will it affect my grade? • How much time should I spend studying?

Cognitive Science • Cognitive Science • 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 • Elaborate • Organize • Associate • Take breaks • Matching learning and testing conditions

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology