PYC3703
COGNITION
Contents
PYC3703 ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
COGNITION ........................................................................................................................................................ 1
chapter 1:........................................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY .................................................................................................. 3
ABANDONING THE STUDY OF THE MIND ...................................................................................................... 5
THE REBIRTH OF THE STUDY OF THE MIND................................................................................................... 6
MODERN RESEARCH IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ........................................................................................ 7
APPLYING DONDERS’ SUBTRACTION METHOD ............................................................................................. 8
chapter 2:........................................................................................................................................................... 9
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE............................................................................................................................... 9
NEURONS: COMMUNICATION AND REPRESENTATION ................................................................................ 9
ORGANIZATION: NEUROPSYCHOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 12
ORGANIZATION: BRAIN IMAGING ............................................................................................................... 13
NEURAL NETWORKS .................................................................................................................................... 14
FROM CORRELATION TO CAUSATION ......................................................................................................... 15
chapter 3:......................................................................................................................................................... 16
PERCEPTION..................................................................................................................................................... 16
NATURE OF PERCEPTION ............................................................................................................................. 16
WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO DESIGN A PERCEIVING MACHINE? .................................................................. 16
INFO FOR HUMAN PERCEPTION .................................................................................................................. 16
CONCEPTIONS OF OBJECT PERCEPTION ...................................................................................................... 17
NEURONS AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................ 18
INTERACTION BETWEEN PERCEIVING AND TAKING ACTION ...................................................................... 19
ROLE OF CULTURE IN PERCEPTION ............................................................................................................. 20
chapter 5:......................................................................................................................................................... 21
SHORT-TERM AND WORKING MEMORY ......................................................................................................... 21
MODAL MODEL OF MEMORY ...................................................................................................................... 21
SENSORY MEMORY...................................................................................................................................... 21
SHORT-TERM MEMORY ............................................................................................................................... 22
WORKING MEMORY .................................................................................................................................... 22
WORKING MEMORY AND THE BRAIN ......................................................................................................... 24
1
, STRESS AND WORKING MEMORY ............................................................................................................... 25
chapter 6:......................................................................................................................................................... 26
LONG-TERM MEMORY: STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................... 26
COMPARING STM AND LTM PROCESSES ..................................................................................................... 26
EPISODIC AND SEMANTIC MEMORY ........................................................................................................... 28
PROCEDURAL MEMORY, PRIMING AND CONDITIONING ............................................................................ 29
IMAGINING THE FUTURE ............................................................................................................................. 30
chapter 7:......................................................................................................................................................... 31
LONG-TERM MEMORY: ENCODING, RETRIEVAL AND CONSOLIDATION ......................................................... 31
ENCODING: GETTING INFO INTO LTM ......................................................................................................... 31
RETRIEVAL: GETTING INFO OUT OF MEMORY ............................................................................................ 33
CONSOLIDATION: LIFE HISTORY OF MEMORIES.......................................................................................... 34
EFFECTIVE STUDYING .................................................................................................................................. 36
chapter 8:......................................................................................................................................................... 38
EVERYDAY MEMORY AND MEMORY ERRORS ................................................................................................. 38
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY (AM): WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN MY LIFE ................................................. 38
MEMORY FOR “EXCEPTIONAL” EVENTS ...................................................................................................... 39
THE CONSTRUCTIVE NATURE OF MEMORY ................................................................................................ 41
MEMORY CAN BE MODIFIED / CREATED BY SUGGESTION ......................................................................... 42
WHY DO PEOPLE MAKE ERRORS IN EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY?.................................................................. 43
FLAWED MEMORY SYSTEM: ........................................................................................................................ 45
chapter 12:....................................................................................................................................................... 46
PROBLEM SOLVING (PS) .................................................................................................................................. 46
GESTALT APPROACH: PROBLEM SOLVING AS REPRESENTATION AND RESTRUCTURING ........................... 46
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH: PS AS A SEARCH PROCESS......................................................... 47
USING ANALOGIES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS ................................................................................................... 48
HOW EXPERTS SOLVE PROBLEMS ............................................................................................................... 48
CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING ..................................................................................................................... 49
chapter 13:....................................................................................................................................................... 51
JUDGEMENT, REASONING, AND DECISIONS ................................................................................................... 51
MAKING JUDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 51
DEDUCTIVE REASONING: SYLLOGISMS AND LOGIC .................................................................................... 53
DECISION MAKING: CHOOSING AMONG ALTERNATIVES ............................................................................ 55
DUAL SYSTEMS APPROACH TO THINKING ................................................................................................... 57
2
, chapter 1:
INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The mind is:
involved in memory
a problem-solver
used to make decisions
associated with normal functioning
valuable
intelligent and creative
cognition:
the mind creates and controls mental function such as
perception
attention
memory
emotions
language
deciding
thinking
reasoning
how the mind operates:
mind is a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve
our goals
Studying the mind: early work in cognitive psychology
1800s – ideas that it was not possible to study the mind
reason: not possible for the mind to study itself
there are properties of the mind that cannot be measured
term “cognitive psychology” – 1967
summary of early pioneers in cognitive psychology
Person Date Procedure Results and Conclusions Contribution
Donders 1868 Simple reaction time vs Choice reaction takes 100 First cognitive
choice reaction time milliseconds longer; psychology
therefore, it takes 100 experiment
milliseconds to make a
decision
Wundt 1879 Analytic introspection No reliable results Established the first
laboratory od
scientific psychology
Ebbinghaus 1885 Savings method to Forgetting occurs rapidly in Quantitative
measure forgetting the first 1 – 2 days after measurement of
original learning mental processes
3
, James 1890 No experiments; reported Descriptions of a wide range First psychology
observations of his own of experiences textbook; some of
experience his observations are
still valid today
1868: Donders’ experiment: How long does it take to make a decision?
one of the first cognitive psychology experiments
illustrates: mental responses cannot be measured directly, but must be inferred from behaviour
1879: Wundt’s psychology laboratory: Structuralism and analytic introspection
analytical introspection: technique in which trained participants describe their sensations, feelings
and thought process in response to stimuli
1885: Ebbinghaus’ memory experiment: What is the time course of forgetting?
nature of memory and forgetting
how information is lost over time
used a quantitative method
smaller savings = more forgetting
both Ebbinghaus & Donders: measured behaviour to determine a property of the mind
4
COGNITION
Contents
PYC3703 ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
COGNITION ........................................................................................................................................................ 1
chapter 1:........................................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY .................................................................................................. 3
ABANDONING THE STUDY OF THE MIND ...................................................................................................... 5
THE REBIRTH OF THE STUDY OF THE MIND................................................................................................... 6
MODERN RESEARCH IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ........................................................................................ 7
APPLYING DONDERS’ SUBTRACTION METHOD ............................................................................................. 8
chapter 2:........................................................................................................................................................... 9
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE............................................................................................................................... 9
NEURONS: COMMUNICATION AND REPRESENTATION ................................................................................ 9
ORGANIZATION: NEUROPSYCHOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 12
ORGANIZATION: BRAIN IMAGING ............................................................................................................... 13
NEURAL NETWORKS .................................................................................................................................... 14
FROM CORRELATION TO CAUSATION ......................................................................................................... 15
chapter 3:......................................................................................................................................................... 16
PERCEPTION..................................................................................................................................................... 16
NATURE OF PERCEPTION ............................................................................................................................. 16
WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO DESIGN A PERCEIVING MACHINE? .................................................................. 16
INFO FOR HUMAN PERCEPTION .................................................................................................................. 16
CONCEPTIONS OF OBJECT PERCEPTION ...................................................................................................... 17
NEURONS AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................ 18
INTERACTION BETWEEN PERCEIVING AND TAKING ACTION ...................................................................... 19
ROLE OF CULTURE IN PERCEPTION ............................................................................................................. 20
chapter 5:......................................................................................................................................................... 21
SHORT-TERM AND WORKING MEMORY ......................................................................................................... 21
MODAL MODEL OF MEMORY ...................................................................................................................... 21
SENSORY MEMORY...................................................................................................................................... 21
SHORT-TERM MEMORY ............................................................................................................................... 22
WORKING MEMORY .................................................................................................................................... 22
WORKING MEMORY AND THE BRAIN ......................................................................................................... 24
1
, STRESS AND WORKING MEMORY ............................................................................................................... 25
chapter 6:......................................................................................................................................................... 26
LONG-TERM MEMORY: STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................... 26
COMPARING STM AND LTM PROCESSES ..................................................................................................... 26
EPISODIC AND SEMANTIC MEMORY ........................................................................................................... 28
PROCEDURAL MEMORY, PRIMING AND CONDITIONING ............................................................................ 29
IMAGINING THE FUTURE ............................................................................................................................. 30
chapter 7:......................................................................................................................................................... 31
LONG-TERM MEMORY: ENCODING, RETRIEVAL AND CONSOLIDATION ......................................................... 31
ENCODING: GETTING INFO INTO LTM ......................................................................................................... 31
RETRIEVAL: GETTING INFO OUT OF MEMORY ............................................................................................ 33
CONSOLIDATION: LIFE HISTORY OF MEMORIES.......................................................................................... 34
EFFECTIVE STUDYING .................................................................................................................................. 36
chapter 8:......................................................................................................................................................... 38
EVERYDAY MEMORY AND MEMORY ERRORS ................................................................................................. 38
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY (AM): WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN MY LIFE ................................................. 38
MEMORY FOR “EXCEPTIONAL” EVENTS ...................................................................................................... 39
THE CONSTRUCTIVE NATURE OF MEMORY ................................................................................................ 41
MEMORY CAN BE MODIFIED / CREATED BY SUGGESTION ......................................................................... 42
WHY DO PEOPLE MAKE ERRORS IN EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY?.................................................................. 43
FLAWED MEMORY SYSTEM: ........................................................................................................................ 45
chapter 12:....................................................................................................................................................... 46
PROBLEM SOLVING (PS) .................................................................................................................................. 46
GESTALT APPROACH: PROBLEM SOLVING AS REPRESENTATION AND RESTRUCTURING ........................... 46
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH: PS AS A SEARCH PROCESS......................................................... 47
USING ANALOGIES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS ................................................................................................... 48
HOW EXPERTS SOLVE PROBLEMS ............................................................................................................... 48
CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING ..................................................................................................................... 49
chapter 13:....................................................................................................................................................... 51
JUDGEMENT, REASONING, AND DECISIONS ................................................................................................... 51
MAKING JUDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 51
DEDUCTIVE REASONING: SYLLOGISMS AND LOGIC .................................................................................... 53
DECISION MAKING: CHOOSING AMONG ALTERNATIVES ............................................................................ 55
DUAL SYSTEMS APPROACH TO THINKING ................................................................................................... 57
2
, chapter 1:
INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The mind is:
involved in memory
a problem-solver
used to make decisions
associated with normal functioning
valuable
intelligent and creative
cognition:
the mind creates and controls mental function such as
perception
attention
memory
emotions
language
deciding
thinking
reasoning
how the mind operates:
mind is a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve
our goals
Studying the mind: early work in cognitive psychology
1800s – ideas that it was not possible to study the mind
reason: not possible for the mind to study itself
there are properties of the mind that cannot be measured
term “cognitive psychology” – 1967
summary of early pioneers in cognitive psychology
Person Date Procedure Results and Conclusions Contribution
Donders 1868 Simple reaction time vs Choice reaction takes 100 First cognitive
choice reaction time milliseconds longer; psychology
therefore, it takes 100 experiment
milliseconds to make a
decision
Wundt 1879 Analytic introspection No reliable results Established the first
laboratory od
scientific psychology
Ebbinghaus 1885 Savings method to Forgetting occurs rapidly in Quantitative
measure forgetting the first 1 – 2 days after measurement of
original learning mental processes
3
, James 1890 No experiments; reported Descriptions of a wide range First psychology
observations of his own of experiences textbook; some of
experience his observations are
still valid today
1868: Donders’ experiment: How long does it take to make a decision?
one of the first cognitive psychology experiments
illustrates: mental responses cannot be measured directly, but must be inferred from behaviour
1879: Wundt’s psychology laboratory: Structuralism and analytic introspection
analytical introspection: technique in which trained participants describe their sensations, feelings
and thought process in response to stimuli
1885: Ebbinghaus’ memory experiment: What is the time course of forgetting?
nature of memory and forgetting
how information is lost over time
used a quantitative method
smaller savings = more forgetting
both Ebbinghaus & Donders: measured behaviour to determine a property of the mind
4
