Lecture 1 & 2
Information processing
Cognition involves mental processes such as perception, attention, memory and decision
making → how we take in, interpret and use information.
How does our brain process information? By receiving sensory input, filtering it through
attention, holding it in working memory, and connecting it to long-term memory for
meaning and action.
Brief history
Behaviorism: anti-mentalistic (‘black box’) → only observable behaviour is measured.
● Classical conditioning (Pavlov): learning by association.
● Operant / instrumental conditioning (Skinner): reinforcement training - the brain
learns to repeat behaviours that get a reward.
● Environmental variables control behaviour: rewards and punishments in the
environment shape behaviour.
Nowadays: we want to understand the mind and the brain. The brain is regarded as
actively processing and predicting information.
Information processing model
● Input comes from our senses. Sensory signals are converted into
electrical activity in the brain; once inside, the information is further
used, processed and stored.
● The brain is seen as working the same way a computer processes
information (a computer codes, stores and uses information, and
produces output).
● The model suggests information flows in straight steps from input to
output.
,But in reality, many processes happen at the same time and influence each other:
Sensory processing = detecting signals from the environment through our sensory organs
(eyes, ears).
● These signals are converted into electrical pulses the brain can understand.
● From there, information is passed to different parts of the brain - the primary
sensory areas (visual cortex, auditory cortex) - and on to higher levels of
processing.
Perception = not only receiving sensory input, but also making sense of it.
Bottom-up perception:
The process begins with what enters your senses; the brain then gradually builds
meaning from these pieces.
Sensory input is gated by attentional systems: the brain cannot process everything
at once, so attention acts as a filter.
Bottom-up: stimuli capture attention and reach awareness (e.g. bright colours).
Top-down perception:
, Starts with what you already know, expect or assume, and uses that knowledge to
interpret sensory input.
The brain uses stored knowledge, past experiences and context to guide input →
this helps recognize patterns quickly without analysing every detail.
Top-down: goals and expectations guide attention (e.g. looking for a friend in a
crowd).
Attention:
We are constantly bombarded with sensory input (sounds, sights).
Only the things we attend to enter conscious awareness.
Attention works like a filter / flashlight: it lets relevant information in and filters out
irrelevant noise.
Two main ways attention works:
● Bottom-up attention (automatic attentional capture): salient, novel or surprising
input grabs attention automatically (e.g. sirens, a loud bang).
● Top-down attention (intentional, goal-oriented): you deliberately choose where to
focus, but it costs mental effort (cognitive control). Attention needs to be
monitored and you need to stay focused to sustain it.
Other factors that influence attention
Motivation: determines if and how much cognitive control (effort) is invested. If you care a
lot → you pay more attention.
(Working) memory and learning: influence cognitive decisions and allow for shortcuts
(e.g. you spot a familiar face in a crowd more easily).
Attentional domains
Domain Description
Selective attention Filters out irrelevant information
Divided attention Sharing your attention across more than one activity at a time
,Switching attention Being able to attend to a task right after attending to a different one
Sustained / vigilant attention Maintaining selective attention for a prolonged period
Sustained attention requires continuous mental effort, because the brain naturally tends
to get distracted and drift towards easier, more rewarding or more stimulating activities.
● It is not passive: it is an active process requiring continuous cognitive effort.
● It is influenced by motivation: if you care about the outcome, it is easier to maintain
attention.
Examples: writing an essay, reading an academic paper, listening to a lecture.
Cognitive control (effort)
The brain's management system - a mental steering wheel that keeps your brain on track
while working towards your goals.
● Helps you stay focused on what you want to do, even when your brain wants to get
distracted or do something easier.
● Allows you to override automatic / impulsive reactions and attend to what is
important for your current goal.
● Is needed for optimizing attention allocation (e.g. selective attention).
● Helps with things like switching languages, controlling emotions, checking social
media while studying, calming down before responding to an upsetting email, and
stopping yourself from doing something automatic that doesn't fit your goal.
Motivation
The internal drive that energizes and directs behaviour, including cognitive effort. It
powers / determines how much attention and cognitive control we invest.
Motivation often stems from reward:
● Extrinsic reward: external outcomes (e.g. studying for a good grade).
● Intrinsic reward: internal satisfaction (e.g. studying to learn the material).
, ● Negative reward: avoiding undesirable outcomes (e.g. studying to avoid failing the
course).
Engagement: How much, how often and how deeply a person is invested in an action.
Closely related to attention and motivation.
Behavioural metrics perspective: observable interactions - how much and how
long (e.g. time spent on a website).
Cognitive-emotional perspective: how the user feels while doing the task.
UX (user experience): does it feel fun / exciting?
Usability: how easy and efficient is it?
High engagement (flow): being absorbed in a task, 'in a bubble' - all cognitive,
physiological and emotional resources dedicated to the same goal.
Memory: How the brain stores, uses and retains information. Essential for learning,
decision making, attention and engagement.
Working memory (WM): a mental sketchpad that holds information briefly so we can use
it immediately.
● Content in WM affects what we notice and understand (e.g. when hungry, food is
kept in WM → you notice a restaurant sign).
● This is why perception is active: it is influenced by what is in our WM.
● Limitations: low capacity, easily overloaded.
Long-term memory (LTM): the storage system.
● Stores past experiences, skills, information and habits.
● Helps interpret new information more quickly (e.g. having seen one series, you can
predict the flow of another).
Learning = The process by which we acquire knowledge and skills through experience and
practice.
● Associative / reinforcement learning: rewards and punishments; behaviour
shaped by consequences.
, ● Implicit learning: not conscious, vs. explicit learning: requires mental effort, often
with formal instructions.
Emotion = A brief, multicomponent affective response that influences perception,
decision making, attention and motivation.
● Plays a central role in engagement → we invest more effort in tasks that evoke
strong feelings.
Attention economy = Everything is competing for our limited attention; customer
attention is the currency.
Lecture 3 - 02/09
Recap last lecture
How does our brain process
information?
Sensory processing
Input to the senses is coded into
electrical signals and processed
further in the brain, from the
primary sensory cortices onwards.
Sensation = getting the information into the system
● Sensory organs detect information.
● Attention is needed to become consciously aware of the situation.
● We are not consciously aware of all sensory input (e.g. when focused on a lecture,
you don't notice someone passing by in the hallway).
Perception / cognition = processes beyond sensation: making sense of sensation
Information processing
Cognition involves mental processes such as perception, attention, memory and decision
making → how we take in, interpret and use information.
How does our brain process information? By receiving sensory input, filtering it through
attention, holding it in working memory, and connecting it to long-term memory for
meaning and action.
Brief history
Behaviorism: anti-mentalistic (‘black box’) → only observable behaviour is measured.
● Classical conditioning (Pavlov): learning by association.
● Operant / instrumental conditioning (Skinner): reinforcement training - the brain
learns to repeat behaviours that get a reward.
● Environmental variables control behaviour: rewards and punishments in the
environment shape behaviour.
Nowadays: we want to understand the mind and the brain. The brain is regarded as
actively processing and predicting information.
Information processing model
● Input comes from our senses. Sensory signals are converted into
electrical activity in the brain; once inside, the information is further
used, processed and stored.
● The brain is seen as working the same way a computer processes
information (a computer codes, stores and uses information, and
produces output).
● The model suggests information flows in straight steps from input to
output.
,But in reality, many processes happen at the same time and influence each other:
Sensory processing = detecting signals from the environment through our sensory organs
(eyes, ears).
● These signals are converted into electrical pulses the brain can understand.
● From there, information is passed to different parts of the brain - the primary
sensory areas (visual cortex, auditory cortex) - and on to higher levels of
processing.
Perception = not only receiving sensory input, but also making sense of it.
Bottom-up perception:
The process begins with what enters your senses; the brain then gradually builds
meaning from these pieces.
Sensory input is gated by attentional systems: the brain cannot process everything
at once, so attention acts as a filter.
Bottom-up: stimuli capture attention and reach awareness (e.g. bright colours).
Top-down perception:
, Starts with what you already know, expect or assume, and uses that knowledge to
interpret sensory input.
The brain uses stored knowledge, past experiences and context to guide input →
this helps recognize patterns quickly without analysing every detail.
Top-down: goals and expectations guide attention (e.g. looking for a friend in a
crowd).
Attention:
We are constantly bombarded with sensory input (sounds, sights).
Only the things we attend to enter conscious awareness.
Attention works like a filter / flashlight: it lets relevant information in and filters out
irrelevant noise.
Two main ways attention works:
● Bottom-up attention (automatic attentional capture): salient, novel or surprising
input grabs attention automatically (e.g. sirens, a loud bang).
● Top-down attention (intentional, goal-oriented): you deliberately choose where to
focus, but it costs mental effort (cognitive control). Attention needs to be
monitored and you need to stay focused to sustain it.
Other factors that influence attention
Motivation: determines if and how much cognitive control (effort) is invested. If you care a
lot → you pay more attention.
(Working) memory and learning: influence cognitive decisions and allow for shortcuts
(e.g. you spot a familiar face in a crowd more easily).
Attentional domains
Domain Description
Selective attention Filters out irrelevant information
Divided attention Sharing your attention across more than one activity at a time
,Switching attention Being able to attend to a task right after attending to a different one
Sustained / vigilant attention Maintaining selective attention for a prolonged period
Sustained attention requires continuous mental effort, because the brain naturally tends
to get distracted and drift towards easier, more rewarding or more stimulating activities.
● It is not passive: it is an active process requiring continuous cognitive effort.
● It is influenced by motivation: if you care about the outcome, it is easier to maintain
attention.
Examples: writing an essay, reading an academic paper, listening to a lecture.
Cognitive control (effort)
The brain's management system - a mental steering wheel that keeps your brain on track
while working towards your goals.
● Helps you stay focused on what you want to do, even when your brain wants to get
distracted or do something easier.
● Allows you to override automatic / impulsive reactions and attend to what is
important for your current goal.
● Is needed for optimizing attention allocation (e.g. selective attention).
● Helps with things like switching languages, controlling emotions, checking social
media while studying, calming down before responding to an upsetting email, and
stopping yourself from doing something automatic that doesn't fit your goal.
Motivation
The internal drive that energizes and directs behaviour, including cognitive effort. It
powers / determines how much attention and cognitive control we invest.
Motivation often stems from reward:
● Extrinsic reward: external outcomes (e.g. studying for a good grade).
● Intrinsic reward: internal satisfaction (e.g. studying to learn the material).
, ● Negative reward: avoiding undesirable outcomes (e.g. studying to avoid failing the
course).
Engagement: How much, how often and how deeply a person is invested in an action.
Closely related to attention and motivation.
Behavioural metrics perspective: observable interactions - how much and how
long (e.g. time spent on a website).
Cognitive-emotional perspective: how the user feels while doing the task.
UX (user experience): does it feel fun / exciting?
Usability: how easy and efficient is it?
High engagement (flow): being absorbed in a task, 'in a bubble' - all cognitive,
physiological and emotional resources dedicated to the same goal.
Memory: How the brain stores, uses and retains information. Essential for learning,
decision making, attention and engagement.
Working memory (WM): a mental sketchpad that holds information briefly so we can use
it immediately.
● Content in WM affects what we notice and understand (e.g. when hungry, food is
kept in WM → you notice a restaurant sign).
● This is why perception is active: it is influenced by what is in our WM.
● Limitations: low capacity, easily overloaded.
Long-term memory (LTM): the storage system.
● Stores past experiences, skills, information and habits.
● Helps interpret new information more quickly (e.g. having seen one series, you can
predict the flow of another).
Learning = The process by which we acquire knowledge and skills through experience and
practice.
● Associative / reinforcement learning: rewards and punishments; behaviour
shaped by consequences.
, ● Implicit learning: not conscious, vs. explicit learning: requires mental effort, often
with formal instructions.
Emotion = A brief, multicomponent affective response that influences perception,
decision making, attention and motivation.
● Plays a central role in engagement → we invest more effort in tasks that evoke
strong feelings.
Attention economy = Everything is competing for our limited attention; customer
attention is the currency.
Lecture 3 - 02/09
Recap last lecture
How does our brain process
information?
Sensory processing
Input to the senses is coded into
electrical signals and processed
further in the brain, from the
primary sensory cortices onwards.
Sensation = getting the information into the system
● Sensory organs detect information.
● Attention is needed to become consciously aware of the situation.
● We are not consciously aware of all sensory input (e.g. when focused on a lecture,
you don't notice someone passing by in the hallway).
Perception / cognition = processes beyond sensation: making sense of sensation
