Instructor Manual: Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026, 9798214143385; Chapter 1:
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Instructor Manual
Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026,
9798214143385; Chapter 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter......................................................................2
Learning Objectives.......................................................................................................2
Key Terms.....................................................................................................................2
What’s New in This Chapter........................................................................................4
Chapter Outline.............................................................................................................4
Discussion Questions....................................................................................................7
Additional Activities and Assignments.........................................................................9
Additional Resources..................................................................................................10
External Videos or Playlist......................................................................................................................10
Internet Resources....................................................................................................................................10
Primary Sources....................................................................................................................................... 10
Appendix.....................................................................................................................11
Generic Rubrics....................................................................................................................................... 11
Standard Writing Rubric.......................................................................................................................... 11
Standard Discussion Rubric.....................................................................................................................13
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 1
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026, 9798214143385; Chapter 1:
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
PURPOSE AND PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHAPTER
The chapter aims to introduce cognitive psychology to students and discuss how scientists have attained
their current understanding. Understanding cognition and mental processes in everyday life is also
explored. The chapter begins with a summary of early research in cognitive psychology. Then, it provides
students with an overview of the behaviorist period when the study of the mind was abandoned. The
chapter next describes the paradigm shift in psychology that ushered in the study of cognition and the
establishment of the cognitive perspective on behavior. It also explains how new technologies are driving
and strengthening recent research.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1-1: Explain how cognitive psychology is relevant to everyday experience.
1-2: Describe the mind and cognition.
1-3: Understand early approaches to studying the mind, including structuralism and analytic
introspection.
1-4: Explain why behaviorism was skeptical of the mind.
1-5: Explain how it is possible to study the inner workings of the mind when the mind is not directly
observable.
1-6: Describe the history and relevance of the cognitive revolution.
1-7: Identify connections between digital computers and the human mind.
1-8: Apply concepts from the end of the chapter to improve study techniques.
[return to top]
KEY TERMS
Analytic introspection: A procedure used by early psychologists in which trained participants
described their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli.
Artificial intelligence: The ability of a computer to perform tasks usually associated with human
intelligence.
Behaviorism: Founded by John B. Watson, this approach states that observable behavior provides the
only valid data for psychology. A consequence of this idea is that psychologists do not consider
consciousness and unobservable mental processes worthy of study.
Brain imaging: Techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) result in images
of the brain that represent brain activity. In cognitive psychology, activity is measured in response to
specific cognitive tasks.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 2
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026, 9798214143385; Chapter 1:
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Choice reaction time: Time to respond to one of two or more stimuli. For example, in the Donders
experiment, subjects had to give one response to one stimulus and a different response to another
stimulus.
Classical conditioning: A procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a
response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response.
Cognition: The mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem-
solving, reasoning, and decision making.
Cognitive map: Mental conception of a spatial layout.
Cognitive psychology: The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mental
processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem-solving, reasoning, and decision
making. In short, cognitive psychology is concerned with the scientific study of the mind and mental
processes.
Cognitive revolution: A shift in psychology, beginning in the 1950s, from the behaviorist approach
to an approach in which the main thrust was to explain behavior in terms of the mind. One of the
outcomes of the cognitive revolution was the introduction of the information-processing approach to
studying the mind.
Electrophysiology: Techniques used to measure electrical responses of the nervous system.
Information-processing approach: Developed in the 1950s, this approach describes the mind as
processing information through a sequence of stages.
Mind: A system that creates mental representations of the world and controls mental functions such as
perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning.
Neuropsychology: The study of the functioning of the nervous system, including behavioral effects of
brain damage in humans.
Operant conditioning: A type of conditioning championed by B.F. Skinner, which focuses on
strengthening behavior by presenting positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval, or withdrawal
of negative reinforcers, such as a shock or social rejection.
Paradigm: A system of ideas that guide thinking in a particular field.
Paradigm shift: A shift in thinking from one paradigm to another.
Reaction time: The time it takes to respond to a stimulus. It is calculated by measuring the time
between the stimulus presentation and reaction.
Savings: Ebbinghaus’s measurement to determine the strength of memory left from initial learning.
Higher savings indicate greater memory.
Savings curve: A plot of savings vs. time after original learning.
Scientific revolution: The change in scientific thought when a paradigm shift occurs.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 3
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026, 9798214143385; Chapter 1:
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Simple reaction time: Reacting to the presence or absence of a single stimulus (as opposed to having
to choose between several stimuli before responding).
Structuralism: An approach to psychology that explains perception as the sum of small elementary
units called sensations.
[return to top]
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The following elements are improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
For the first time, cover art connects to an introductory example, providing continuity for the text
overview.
The history of the term computer and the transition from human to digital computers are
presented.
Virtual reality and augmented reality are presented as tools for studying cognition and the mind.
[return to top]
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The following outline organizes activities (including any existing discussion questions in PowerPoints or
other supplements) and assessments by chapter (and, therefore, by topic) so that you can see how all the
content relates to the topics covered in the text.
1. Cognitive Psychology: Studying the Mind (LO 1.1, 1.2)
a. What Is the Mind? Like other psychological concepts, the mind, such as intelligence or
emotion, can be thought of in several ways. Two definitions are commonly used to
discuss it. One involves types of cognition—mental processes such as perception,
attention, and memory. The other is more functional; the mind enables us to act and
achieve goals. Notably, the cognitions referred to in the first definition play important
roles in acting to achieve goals (the second one). Cognitive psychology is the study of
mental processes, determining the characteristics and properties of the mind and how it
operates.
2. Studying the Mind: Early Work in Cognitive Psychology (LO 1.2): In the 1800s, ideas about the
mind were dominated by the belief that studying the mind was impossible. One reason for this
belief was that the mind could not study itself, but there were other reasons, including the idea
that the properties of the mind cannot be measured.
a. Donders’s Pioneering Experiment: How Long Does It Take to Make a Decision? Donders
was interested in determining how long it takes a person to decide. He measured simple
reaction time (responding to a single stimulus) and choice reaction time, which is the
time it takes to respond to a specific stimulus when two are presented.
b. Wundt’s Psychology Laboratory: Structuralism and Analytic Introspection. Wilhelm
Wundt founded the first laboratory of scientific psychology at the University of Leipzig
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 4
accessible website, in whole or in part.
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Instructor Manual
Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026,
9798214143385; Chapter 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose and Perspective of the Chapter......................................................................2
Learning Objectives.......................................................................................................2
Key Terms.....................................................................................................................2
What’s New in This Chapter........................................................................................4
Chapter Outline.............................................................................................................4
Discussion Questions....................................................................................................7
Additional Activities and Assignments.........................................................................9
Additional Resources..................................................................................................10
External Videos or Playlist......................................................................................................................10
Internet Resources....................................................................................................................................10
Primary Sources....................................................................................................................................... 10
Appendix.....................................................................................................................11
Generic Rubrics....................................................................................................................................... 11
Standard Writing Rubric.......................................................................................................................... 11
Standard Discussion Rubric.....................................................................................................................13
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 1
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026, 9798214143385; Chapter 1:
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
PURPOSE AND PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHAPTER
The chapter aims to introduce cognitive psychology to students and discuss how scientists have attained
their current understanding. Understanding cognition and mental processes in everyday life is also
explored. The chapter begins with a summary of early research in cognitive psychology. Then, it provides
students with an overview of the behaviorist period when the study of the mind was abandoned. The
chapter next describes the paradigm shift in psychology that ushered in the study of cognition and the
establishment of the cognitive perspective on behavior. It also explains how new technologies are driving
and strengthening recent research.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1-1: Explain how cognitive psychology is relevant to everyday experience.
1-2: Describe the mind and cognition.
1-3: Understand early approaches to studying the mind, including structuralism and analytic
introspection.
1-4: Explain why behaviorism was skeptical of the mind.
1-5: Explain how it is possible to study the inner workings of the mind when the mind is not directly
observable.
1-6: Describe the history and relevance of the cognitive revolution.
1-7: Identify connections between digital computers and the human mind.
1-8: Apply concepts from the end of the chapter to improve study techniques.
[return to top]
KEY TERMS
Analytic introspection: A procedure used by early psychologists in which trained participants
described their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli.
Artificial intelligence: The ability of a computer to perform tasks usually associated with human
intelligence.
Behaviorism: Founded by John B. Watson, this approach states that observable behavior provides the
only valid data for psychology. A consequence of this idea is that psychologists do not consider
consciousness and unobservable mental processes worthy of study.
Brain imaging: Techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) result in images
of the brain that represent brain activity. In cognitive psychology, activity is measured in response to
specific cognitive tasks.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 2
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026, 9798214143385; Chapter 1:
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Choice reaction time: Time to respond to one of two or more stimuli. For example, in the Donders
experiment, subjects had to give one response to one stimulus and a different response to another
stimulus.
Classical conditioning: A procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a
response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response.
Cognition: The mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem-
solving, reasoning, and decision making.
Cognitive map: Mental conception of a spatial layout.
Cognitive psychology: The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mental
processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem-solving, reasoning, and decision
making. In short, cognitive psychology is concerned with the scientific study of the mind and mental
processes.
Cognitive revolution: A shift in psychology, beginning in the 1950s, from the behaviorist approach
to an approach in which the main thrust was to explain behavior in terms of the mind. One of the
outcomes of the cognitive revolution was the introduction of the information-processing approach to
studying the mind.
Electrophysiology: Techniques used to measure electrical responses of the nervous system.
Information-processing approach: Developed in the 1950s, this approach describes the mind as
processing information through a sequence of stages.
Mind: A system that creates mental representations of the world and controls mental functions such as
perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning.
Neuropsychology: The study of the functioning of the nervous system, including behavioral effects of
brain damage in humans.
Operant conditioning: A type of conditioning championed by B.F. Skinner, which focuses on
strengthening behavior by presenting positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval, or withdrawal
of negative reinforcers, such as a shock or social rejection.
Paradigm: A system of ideas that guide thinking in a particular field.
Paradigm shift: A shift in thinking from one paradigm to another.
Reaction time: The time it takes to respond to a stimulus. It is calculated by measuring the time
between the stimulus presentation and reaction.
Savings: Ebbinghaus’s measurement to determine the strength of memory left from initial learning.
Higher savings indicate greater memory.
Savings curve: A plot of savings vs. time after original learning.
Scientific revolution: The change in scientific thought when a paradigm shift occurs.
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 3
accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Instructor Manual: Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience, 2026, 9798214143385; Chapter 1:
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Simple reaction time: Reacting to the presence or absence of a single stimulus (as opposed to having
to choose between several stimuli before responding).
Structuralism: An approach to psychology that explains perception as the sum of small elementary
units called sensations.
[return to top]
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The following elements are improvements in this chapter from the previous edition:
For the first time, cover art connects to an introductory example, providing continuity for the text
overview.
The history of the term computer and the transition from human to digital computers are
presented.
Virtual reality and augmented reality are presented as tools for studying cognition and the mind.
[return to top]
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The following outline organizes activities (including any existing discussion questions in PowerPoints or
other supplements) and assessments by chapter (and, therefore, by topic) so that you can see how all the
content relates to the topics covered in the text.
1. Cognitive Psychology: Studying the Mind (LO 1.1, 1.2)
a. What Is the Mind? Like other psychological concepts, the mind, such as intelligence or
emotion, can be thought of in several ways. Two definitions are commonly used to
discuss it. One involves types of cognition—mental processes such as perception,
attention, and memory. The other is more functional; the mind enables us to act and
achieve goals. Notably, the cognitions referred to in the first definition play important
roles in acting to achieve goals (the second one). Cognitive psychology is the study of
mental processes, determining the characteristics and properties of the mind and how it
operates.
2. Studying the Mind: Early Work in Cognitive Psychology (LO 1.2): In the 1800s, ideas about the
mind were dominated by the belief that studying the mind was impossible. One reason for this
belief was that the mind could not study itself, but there were other reasons, including the idea
that the properties of the mind cannot be measured.
a. Donders’s Pioneering Experiment: How Long Does It Take to Make a Decision? Donders
was interested in determining how long it takes a person to decide. He measured simple
reaction time (responding to a single stimulus) and choice reaction time, which is the
time it takes to respond to a specific stimulus when two are presented.
b. Wundt’s Psychology Laboratory: Structuralism and Analytic Introspection. Wilhelm
Wundt founded the first laboratory of scientific psychology at the University of Leipzig
© 2026 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly 4
accessible website, in whole or in part.
