Michael Smith only
Breeuna09
ch1_intro_cogpsych_sp17.ppt Psychology ???
Cognition
Amanda Clevinger, M.A.
Brief Intro to Cognitive Psychology
Brief Intro to Cognitive Psychology
Much of cognitive psychology is the study of stuff we take for granted.
This is especially true bc cognitive processes are covert
This is reflected by the youth of CP
as a field: Neisser's (1967) Cognitive
Psychology coined the name...
For example….
What characterizes cognitive psychology?
Mental processes underlying
“basic” behaviors
Data-driven, empirical approach
Called "information-processing”
psychology
Cognition happens in STAGES. We trace the flow of information through the stages & infer
the processes involved (not directly measured).
Mental structures and processes
support the way we think
Measurable time course of processing
Errors are not random
Basic Assumptions of Cognitive Psychology
1800s:
Focus- inner workings of the mind
Donders-Decision processes
reaction-time experiments
Simple vs choice RT= decision time
Wundt’s atoms of the mind…
Experience determined by combining basic elements
*Analytic introspection*
Ebbinghaus’ memory research…
Time course of forgetting; recall of words lists
Some (very little) History
*
Donders- noticed it took longer to make a decision between 2 options then to press 1 option as fast as possible, determined that decision processes took time.
Wundt- self reports and introspection, became interested in thoughts --- participants described their subject responses to stimuli. --- describe what you hear when a 5-chord note is played on the piano. Interested in whether heard all at once or separate notes.
Ebbinghaus- word lists tested retention and rehersal
Crushed under the boots of behaviorism...
In Skinner’s
(& Watson’s) view,
psychological
science should
focus on overt
behavior, not
hidden mental
processes…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMnhyGozLyE
*
Chomsky’s penetrating critique
of Skinner…all behaviors are not a
result of reinforcement
Emergence of AI and the computer
metaphor of the mind…
Advances in cognitive neuroscience…
Advances in neural (PDP) modeling…
A Cognitive Revolution in the late 50s…
*
Chomsky wrote response to skinners book where he stated that children learned to talk in response to rewarded encourgment from parents.
Chomsky said – can’t be kids say things they have never heard before.
Skinner--- kids learn to talk by using operant conditioning
Chomsky said
“what about novel
sentences?”…
explain THAT with
operant conditioning!
The demise of behaviorism…..
=
I hate
Daddy
Wait a minute… the era
of behaviorism ended
in the sixties?
What the heck???
*
Principal Research Areas of Cognitive Psychology
Perception
Cognitive Neuroscience
Artificial Intelligence
Pattern Recognition
Attention
Language
Thinking and Concept Formation
Cognitive Development
Imagery
Memory
Human Intelligence
Cognitive Psychology
Studies have shown that eyewitness testimony is usually accurate, especially with highly stressful (i.e., memorable) events.
True or False?
False. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously
unreliable, particularly when people are in
highly aroused states. To date there have been 330 exonerations (see the Innocence Project)
because they were factually innocent.
We use only about 10% of our brain.
True or False?
False. We use all our brain, all the time. Even small brain lesions can result in significant
cognitive impairment.
You can move your focus of (visual) attention without moving your eyes.
True or False?
True. Overt shifts of attention (involving eye
movements) and covert shifts of attention
(without eye movements) often work together,
but they can be separated, and have different
neural underpinnings.
Someone who learns something while drunk will later remember it better while drunk than while sober.
True or False?
True. State dependent learning demonstrates
the importance of context in the formation and retrieval of episodic memories.
Controlled studies have found that "cramming" for an exam is as effective as distributing the studying over time.
True or False?
False. Distributed practice results in better
long-term memory than massed practice.
Studies of divided attention have shown
that driving does not generally suffer during hands free cell-phone use.
True or False?
False. Studies show that cell phones
significantly interfere with driving. In fact,
people are more impaired when driving and talking on a cell phones even hands free
than when driving drunk.
Recent evidence supports some of the claims of Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) advocates.
True or False?
False. In controlled “double-blind” studies, no systematic evidence has been obtained for ESP.
Memory aids do not really improve memory.
True or False?
False. Mnemonic techniques work. They
organize information, make it less
susceptible to forgetting, and
provide useful retrieval cues.
Backwards messages hidden in music can influence our behavior.
True or False?
eslaF -- There is no evidence that this
information is processed, let alone influences our behavior.
Some of our memories are retrieved as mental images.
True or False?
True. Brain-imaging studies show that the areas that are active when seeing a picture
of an object are also active when
remembering that object.
Speed reading techniques can dramatically
improve reading speed without sacrificing
comprehension.
True or False?
False. Human performance shows a
speed-accuracy tradeoff -- going faster reduces
accuracy. However, good old-fashioned
practice can improve the efficiency of reading.
Information can be stored in long-term memory even if you never attend to it.
True or False?
False. Attention is necessary for the creation
of long-term memories. Information that falls outside of attention is lost.
Advertising using subliminal perception is
effective.
True or False?
False. Effects of subliminal perception are, at
best, minimal. There is little evidence that
stimuli presented “below threshold”
influence attitudes, beliefs, or choices.
(subliminal priming does effect immediate decisions)
There is no basis for the claim that eating
carrots will help your night vision.
True or False?
False. Rods use the photopigment rhodopsin
(made of vitamin A, found in carrots).
People with vitamin A deficiency have poor night vision (corrected by vitamin supplements).
An infant’s ability to discriminate between the phonemes of language is actually better than that of adults.
True or False?
True. As language develops, infants lose the
ability to discriminate or produce phonemes that are not in their language.
Evidence supports the idea that memories are stored one-memory-to-a-neuron.
True or False?
False. Memories are distributed over thousands of neurons. The idea of “grandmother cells” has been generally disavowed.
There is no limit on how much information can be stored in long-term memory.
True or False?
True. No one has ever filled up long-term
memory. There are limits on what is initially stored (attention), but once stored, memories may be permanent.
People are always biased.
True or False?
True. Expectations and memories color the
way that we perceive and remember the world.
This process accounts
for many individual differences between people.
With enough practice, you can do two
things simultaneously as well as doing each thing by itself.
True or False?
True. Under certain conditions, people can
do two things (e.g., playing piano and
reading a novel) perfectly. This is called “perfect timesharing.”
See you next time!
