COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY TRIAL-AND-ERROR

Study of the mind We rely on our cognition to solve problems

but sometimes we refer to our insights.
COGNITION
Sudden bursts of insights give us Aha!
Term that describes the processes and
Moments.
complexes of knowledge itself.
Typical Problem-Solving works in the
Our thoughts, perspectives, and expectations
FRONTAL LOBE.
Knowing, remembering, understanding,
Aha! Moments work in the RIGHT
communicating, learning.
TEMPORAL LOBE (involved in recognition).
COGNITION WORKS LIKE A COMPUTER
Just because something feels right
and THE BRAIN IS NOW ALWAYS
doesn’t mean it’s truly correct.
LOGICAL.
CONFIRMATION BIAS
MAKES US TRULY HUMAN AND OUR
INDIVIDUALITY. We often look for and favor evidence that
favors our own ideas and avoid contradiction.
“You think, therefore you are.” - Rene
Descartes BELIEF PERSEVERANCE
CONCEPT Might cling to initial conception despite proof
of contrast.
Mental grouping of similar objects, people,
ideas or events. Our cognition often leads us astray as it is
functionally fixed to keep using the same
Simplify our thinking in such a fundamental
approach in solving the problem and
way it becomes automatic or natural.
refuse new approaches and insights.
PROTOTYPE
Mental Set – predisposes how we think.
Mental image or pinnacle example of a certain
AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC
thing.
A mental shortcut relying on psychologically
Concepts and Prototypes speed up our
salient or easily imagined examples rather
thinking but can also box our thinking leading
than actual odds or factual information.
to PREJUDICE.
FRAMING
OUR COGNITION WORKS TO OUR
BENEFIT THROUGH OUR ABILITY TO How an issue is posed or presented – can
SOLVE PROBLEMS. significantly affect decisions and judgements.
PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGISTS oppose
BEHAVIORISTS
ALGORITHMS
TWO BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COGNITIVE
Logical, methodical, step-by-step procedure
PSYCHOLOGISTS
that eventually guarantees a solution but it
may be slow to work through. 1. Mental processes can and should be
studied scientifically.
HEURISTICS
2. Mental representation guides
Simple strategy that allows us to solve behavior.
problems faster (shortcuts) though more
error-prone than algorithm.
Additional Information Needing Further
Research
MSM or Multi-Store Model by Glanzer and
Cunitz (1966)
Schema Theory
Cognitive structure that provided an idea on
how information is stored and clustered.
Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer’s The Effect
of Language Use on Memory (1974)
The Hawthorne Effect
“How We Make Snap Judgements” by Amos
Tvesky and Daniel Kahneman (1970).
 MAJOR SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN - Not associated with a single
PSYCHOLOGY dominant theorist. (John Dewey,
James Rowland Angell, Harvey
Carr).
GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY
- We experience things as unified
wholes.
- From Germany and Austria, 19th
Century.
- Formed in response to
Structuralism.
- You must look at the whole of
existence.
- The whole is greater than the sum
of its parts.

When Psychology first emerged as a separate BEHAVIORISM

science from Biology and Philosophy, the
- Became dominant in the 1950s.
debate on how to describe and explain the
- John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov,
human mind and behavior began.
B.F. Skinner
Major Schools of Thought  Major Theories - All behavior can be explained by
environmental rather than internal
Before, psychologists only chose one school causes.
of thought and stuck to it exclusively. Now - Focuses on OBSERVABLE
psychologists have an eclectic outlook, getting BEHAVIOR.
inspiration or combining several schools of - Classical and Operant
thought for their studies. Conditioning.
- Behavioral training, Token
Economics, Aversion Therapy.
STRUCTURALISM AND FUNCTIONALISM
PSYCHOANALYTIC SCHOOL OF
STRUCTURALISM THOUGHT
- First School of Thought - Psychoanalysis
- Breaking down mental processes - Sigmund Freud
into the most basic components. - Emphasized the influence of the
- INTROSPECTION - analyze the unconscious mind in behavior.
inner processes of the human - ID, EGO, SUPEREGO
mind. o The interaction of the three
- Wilhelm Wundt (Father of leads to complex human
Psychology) behavior.
- Edward Titchener - Very controversial and influential.
- Anna Freud, Carl Jung, Erik
FUNCTIONALISM
Erikson.
- Formed as a reaction to the
THE HUMANISTIC SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
theories of Structuralism.
- Influenced heavily by William - Developed in response to
James. Psychoanalysis and Behaviorism.
- Mind’s functions and adaptations.
 - Focused on Individual Free Will,
Personal Thought, Self-
Actualization.
- Emphasis on helping people
achieve and fulfill their potential.
- Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers
- Positive Psychology.
COGNITIVE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
- Studies mental processes.
- Related to other disciplines
(Neuroscience, Philosophy,
Linguistics).
- Jean Piaget  Stages of
Cognitive Development

COGNITIVE PSYCH MISC. INFORMATION

OTHER DEFINITION
The study of how people perceive,
learn, remember, and think about information.

THE COGNITIVE REVOLUTION

- Started in Harvard.
- The start of the modern scientific
study of the mind.
- We can’t see, smell, touch and feel
the mental processes, hence it
cannot be easily measured.
- Experimental Psychology.
- Linguistics, Computer Science,
Neuroscience.