Cognitive Psychology Exam 1
cognitive psychology - ANS-- refers to all processes by which sensory input is transmitted,
reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used
innate knowledge - ANS-- belief that humans are born already possessing knowledge about the
world
- emphasized by Aristotle
- nature
tabula rasa - ANS-- blank slate; everything we know, think, feel, and all behaviors are learned
after birth
- emphasized by Plato
- nurture
structuralism - ANS-- Wilhelm Wundt
- the belief that consciousness can be broken into elements of sensation and perception
consciousness - ANS-- the awareness people have about outside world and their perceptions,
images, memories, and feelings
introspection - ANS-- Wilhelm Wundt and Structuralism
- subjective observation of one's own experience
- bad method
savings curve - ANS-- Herman Ebbinghaus
- shows that memory drops rapidly for the first 2 days after initial learning, then levels off
functionalism - ANS-- William James
- interest in how the mind adapts to function in an individuals environment
- James was heavily influenced by Darwin's origin of species
behaviorism - ANS-- John B. Watson
- believed that psychology should focus on only observable behaviors and their reactions to
stimuli in the environment
- also known as the S.R. approach
- heavily influenced by Pavlov
operational definition - ANS-- B.F. Skinner
- precise definition that specifies exactly how a researcher will conceptualize and measure a
concept
gestalt psychology - ANS-- Wolfgang Kohler
, - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
- study perceptual illusions
Frederic Bartlett's research on memory - ANS-- disagreed with Ebbinghaus's use of nonsense
syllables and carefully controlled research settings - instead used meaningful stories in research
- found that people make systematic errors when trying to recall
- argued that memory is an active and structured process
information processing - ANS-- mental processes are similar to that of a computer
- information progresses through the cognitive system in a series of stages, one step at a time
sensory memory - ANS-- stores sensory information with reasonable accuracy
- first stop for information
- short duration (2 seconds)
- relatively large capacity
- two sections: iconic = visual information, echoic = auditory information
short-term memory - ANS-- small capacity
- 7 +/- 2 units of information
- short duration
- approximately 30 seconds without rehearsal
- actively transform and manipulate information
long-term memory - ANS-- unlimited capacity and duration
Freud's unconscious - ANS-- part of the psychoanalytic theory
- processes that operate outside of the conscious awareness and drive motivation
cognitive neuroscience - ANS-- goal is to match brain structures with specific cognitive tasks
- first person in field: Paul Baroka (Baroka's area = speech production)
artificial intelligence - ANS-- attempts to generate computer models that stimulate cognitive
processes
computer stimulation - ANS-- attempts to take human limitations into account
- must show same number and type of errors as humans
serial processing - ANS-- system must complete one step before moving onto the next
operation
- hearing
parallel processing - ANS-- brain can process numerous operations simultaneously (efficient)
- vision
cognitive psychology - ANS-- refers to all processes by which sensory input is transmitted,
reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used
innate knowledge - ANS-- belief that humans are born already possessing knowledge about the
world
- emphasized by Aristotle
- nature
tabula rasa - ANS-- blank slate; everything we know, think, feel, and all behaviors are learned
after birth
- emphasized by Plato
- nurture
structuralism - ANS-- Wilhelm Wundt
- the belief that consciousness can be broken into elements of sensation and perception
consciousness - ANS-- the awareness people have about outside world and their perceptions,
images, memories, and feelings
introspection - ANS-- Wilhelm Wundt and Structuralism
- subjective observation of one's own experience
- bad method
savings curve - ANS-- Herman Ebbinghaus
- shows that memory drops rapidly for the first 2 days after initial learning, then levels off
functionalism - ANS-- William James
- interest in how the mind adapts to function in an individuals environment
- James was heavily influenced by Darwin's origin of species
behaviorism - ANS-- John B. Watson
- believed that psychology should focus on only observable behaviors and their reactions to
stimuli in the environment
- also known as the S.R. approach
- heavily influenced by Pavlov
operational definition - ANS-- B.F. Skinner
- precise definition that specifies exactly how a researcher will conceptualize and measure a
concept
gestalt psychology - ANS-- Wolfgang Kohler
, - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
- study perceptual illusions
Frederic Bartlett's research on memory - ANS-- disagreed with Ebbinghaus's use of nonsense
syllables and carefully controlled research settings - instead used meaningful stories in research
- found that people make systematic errors when trying to recall
- argued that memory is an active and structured process
information processing - ANS-- mental processes are similar to that of a computer
- information progresses through the cognitive system in a series of stages, one step at a time
sensory memory - ANS-- stores sensory information with reasonable accuracy
- first stop for information
- short duration (2 seconds)
- relatively large capacity
- two sections: iconic = visual information, echoic = auditory information
short-term memory - ANS-- small capacity
- 7 +/- 2 units of information
- short duration
- approximately 30 seconds without rehearsal
- actively transform and manipulate information
long-term memory - ANS-- unlimited capacity and duration
Freud's unconscious - ANS-- part of the psychoanalytic theory
- processes that operate outside of the conscious awareness and drive motivation
cognitive neuroscience - ANS-- goal is to match brain structures with specific cognitive tasks
- first person in field: Paul Baroka (Baroka's area = speech production)
artificial intelligence - ANS-- attempts to generate computer models that stimulate cognitive
processes
computer stimulation - ANS-- attempts to take human limitations into account
- must show same number and type of errors as humans
serial processing - ANS-- system must complete one step before moving onto the next
operation
- hearing
parallel processing - ANS-- brain can process numerous operations simultaneously (efficient)
- vision
