INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE John Locke (1632-1704)

PSYCHOLOGY  An English philosopher who theorized

that the human mind was a tabula rasa
Cognitive Psychology at birth, and that all human knowledge
− Is the study of how people perceive, learn, comes through experience.
remember, and think about information. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
− A cognitive psychologist might study how  The phenomenal world is the world
people perceive various shapes, why they we are aware of; this is the world we
remember some facts but forget others, or construct out of the sensations that are
how they learn language. present to our consciousness.
Dialect  The noumenal world consists of
− Is a developmental process where ideas things we seem compelled to believe
evolve over time through a pattern of in, but which we can never know
transformation. (because we lack sense-evidence of it).
Thesis
− A statement of belief. PSYCHOLOGY AS SCIENCE
Antithesis − It can be described spatially
− A statement that counters a previous − It is not too transient to observe/measure
statement of belief. − It can be manipulated experimentally
Synthesis − It can be described mathematically
− Integrates the most credible features of − so Kant provided the question, Helmholtz’
each two (or more) views. mechanistic models and Fechner’s math
Philosophy provided the solutions!
− Is a developmental process where ideas − The younger Wundt would follow
evolve over time through a pattern of these two…
transformation. Structuralism
Physiology − What are the elementary contents
− Seeks a scientific study of life-sustaining (structures) of the human mid?
functions in living matter, primarily Wilhelm Wundt
through empirical (observation-based)  German psychologist
methods.  Introspection
Rationalist － Seeks to understand the structure
− Believes that the route to knowledge is (configuration of elements) of the mind and
through thinking and logical analysis its perceptions by analyzing those
− Does not need any experiments to develop perceptions into their constituent
new knowledge components (affection, attention, memory,
− Would appeal to reason as a source of sensation, etc.)
knowledge or justification. － Eg. Structuralists would analyze this
Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) perception in terms of its constituent colors,
 Dualism between a material body and geometric forms, size relations, and so on.
immaterial mind or soul Functionalism
 Mechanistic explanations for the － Focus on the processes of thought rather
body’s functions tha n on its contents.
 Highest functions of consciousness, － Seeks to understand what people do and
will and reasoning, were non- why they do it.
mechanistic William James
Analytic Geometry  A Harvard professor who established
− Integrating algebra and geometry: the first psychology laboratory in
numerical relationships of algebraic America
equations are expressed visually through  1890 textbook
the use of a coordinate graphing system  The Principles of Psychology
(“cartesian” coordinates)  Philosophy of pragmatism
Empiricist Edward Lee Thorndike
− Believes that we acquire knowledge via  An American comparative
empirical evidence (through experience and psychologist who studied with James.
observation)  Studies the trial-and-error learning
− Would design experiments and conduct and formulation of the law of effect,
studies in which they could observe the and his studies with Woodworth on
behavior and processes of interest to them. the transfer of training.
  Law of Effect -- Thorndike’s EMERGENCE OF COGNITIVE
assertion that when certain PSYCHOLOGY
stimulusresponse are followed
by pleasure, they are In the early 1950’s - Cognitive Revolution
strengthened, while responses － Cognitivism - Is the belief that much of
followed by annoyance or pain human behavior can be understood in terms
tend to be “stamped out.” how people think.
Associationism － A cognitive revolution occurred and
－ Examines how elements of the mind, like increased interest in the study of mental
events or ideas, can become associated with process (cognitions)
one another in the mind to rsult in a form of 1950’s: Development of Computer
learning. － Turing (1950) suggested a test, (Turing test)
－ How can events or ideas become associated by which a computer program would be
in the mind? judged as a successful to the extent that its
 Contiguity -- associating things that output was indistinguishable, by human,
tend to occur together at about the from the output of humans (Cummins &
same time Cummins, 2000)
 Similarity -- associating things with 1956: Artificial Intelligence
similar features or properties － AI is attempt by humans to construct
 Contrast -- associating things that systems that show intelligence and,
show polarities, such as hot/cold, particularly, the intelligentt processing of
light/dark, day/night information.
Herman Ebbinghaus In the early 1960’s
 studied how people learn － Developments in psychobiology, linguistics,
and remember material anthropology, and AI, as wwell as the
through rehearsal, the reactions against behaviorism by many
conscious repetition of mainstream psychologists, converged to
material to be learned create an atmosphere ripe for evolution.
Behaviorism - What is the relation between 1970’s: Concept of Modularity of Mind
behavior and environment? － Jerry Fodor (1973) populaarized the
John Watson concept of the modularity of mind.
－ He believed that psychologists should － He argued that the mind has distinct
concentrate only on the study of observable modules, or special-purpose systems, to
behavior deal with linguistic and, possibly, other
B. F. Skinner kinds of information.
－ Believed that virtually all forms of human － Modularity implies that the processes that
behavior, not just learning, could be are used in one domain of processing, such
explained by behavior emitted in reaction as the linguistic (Fodor, 1973) or the
to the environment perceptual domain (Marr, 1982), operate
－ He believed that operant conditioning could independently of processes in other
explain all forms of human behavior. domains.
Gestalt Psychology
－ We best understand psychological Psychobiology: Karl Spencer Lashley (1890-
phenomena when we view them as 1959)
organized, structured wholes. － “the necessary conclusion that learning just
－ We cannot fully understand behavior when is not possible”
we only break phenomena down into － considered the brain to be an active,
smaller parts. dynamic organizer of behavior.
－ Gestaltists studied insight, seeking to － sought to understand how the
understand the unobservable mental event macroorganization of the human brain
by which someone goes from having no made possible such complex, planned
idea about how to solve a problem to activities as musical performance, game
understanding it fully in what seems a mere playing, and using language.
moment of time.  Mass Action - postulates that certain
types of learning are mediated by the
cerebral cortex as a whole, contrary to
the view that every psychological
function is localized at at specific
place
  Equipotentiality - associated chiefly Analytical Abilities - ascertain
with sensory systems such as vision, whether your ideas are good ones.
related to the finding that some parts  Practical Abilities - are used to
of a system take over the functions implement the ideas and persuade
other parts that have been damaged. others of their value
Alan Turing － Cognition is at the center of intelligence
－ Founder of computer science,  Metacomponents - higher order
mathematician, philosopher executive processes (used to plan,
Ada, COuntess of Lovelace monitor, and evaluate problem solving
－ Daughter of the poet, Byron  Performance Components - lower
 Gifted mathematician order processes used for implementing
 Wrote first computer program - the commands of metacomponents
calculated sequence of Bernouli  Knowledge-Acquisition Components -
numbers the processes used for learning how to
 The Lovelace Objection solve the problems in the first place.
The components are highly
COGNITION AND INTELLIGENCE interdependent.
RESEARCH METHODS
Intelligence
－ Is the capacity to learn from experience, Controlled Laboratory Experiments
using metacognitive processes to enhance － Obtain samples of performance at a
learning, and the ability to adapt to the particular time and place
surrounding environment. It involves: － Manipulate the independent variable - the
 The capacity to learn from experience cause
 The ability to adapt to the surrounding － Measure the dependent variable - the effect
environment － Control all other variables - prevent
Three Cognitive Models of Intelligence confounds
Carroll: Three Stratum Model of Intelligence Correlational Studies
－ Intelligence compromises as a hierarchy of － Cannot infer causation
cognitive abilities comprising three strata － Nature of relationship - negative or positive
 Stratum I - includes many narrow, correlation
specific abilities － Strength of relationship - determined by
 Stratum II - includes various broad size or ‘r’
abilities Psychobiological Research
 Stratum III - is just a single general － investigators study the relationship between
intelligence cognitive performance and cerebral events
－ In the middle stratum are fluid ability and and structures.
crystallized ability － study animal brains and human brains,
 Fluid Ability - is a speed and accuracy using postmortem studies and various
of abstract reasoning, especially for psychobiological measures or imaging
novel problems techniques
 Crystallized Ability - is accumulated  Postmortem Studies - Examine cortex
knowledge and vocabulary of dyslexics after death
Gardner: Theory of Multiple Intelligence  Brain-damaged individuals and their
－ Howard Gardner (1983, 1993b, 1999, 2006) deficits - study amnesiacs with
has proposed a theory of multiple hippocampus damage
intelligences, in which intelligence  Monitor a participant doing cognitive
comprises multiple independent constructs, task - measure brain activity while a
not just a single, unitary construct. participant is reciting a poem
Sternberg: The Triarchic Theory of Self-Reports (Verbal Protocols, Self-Rating,
Intelligence Diaries)
－ Robert Sternberg tends to emphasize the － Obtain participants’ reports of own
extent to which they work together in his cognition in progress or as recollected
triarchic theory of human intelligence. － An individual’s own account of cognitive
－ According to the triarchic theory of human processes
intelligence, intelligence comprises three － Verbal protocol, diary study
aspects:
 Creative Abilities - are used to
generate novel ideas
Case Studies Structure vs. Processes
－ Engage in intensive study of single Thesis/Antithesis: Should we study the
individuals, drawing general conclusions structures (contents, attributes, and products) of
about behavior the human mind? Or should we focus on the
－ In-depth studies of individuals - Genie, processes of human thinking?
Phineas Gage, H.M. Synthesis: We can explore how mental
Naturalistic Observation processes operate on mental structures
－ Observe real-life situations, as in
classrooms, work settings, or homes Applied vs. Basic Research
Simulations Thesis/Antithesis: Should we conduct a
－ Attempt to make computers simulate research into fundamental cognitive processes?
human cognitive performance on various Or should we study ways in which help people
tasks use cognition effectively in practical situations?
－ Researchers program computers to imitate Synthesis: We can combine the two kinds of
a given human function or process. research identically so that basic research leads
AI to applied research, which leads to further basic
－ Attempt to make computers demonstrate research, and so on.
intelligent cognitive performance,
regardless of whether the process resembles
human cognitive processing Biological vs. Behavioral Methods
Thesis/Antithesis: Should we study the brain
FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS IN COGNITIVE and its functioning directly, perhaps even
PSYCHOLOGY scanning the brain while people are performing
1. Empirical data and theories are both cognitive tasks? Or should we study people’s
important—data in cognitive psychology behavior in cognitive tasks, looking at measures
can be fully understood only in the context such as percent correct and reaction time?
of an explanatory theory, and theories are Synthesis: We can try to synthesize biological
empty without empirical data. and behavioral methods so that we understand
2. Cognition is generally adaptive, but not in cognitive phenomena at multiple levels of
all specific instances analysis.
3. Cognitive processes interact with each
other and with non cognitive processes
4. Cognition needs to be studied through a
variety of scientific methods
5. All basic research in cognitive psychology
may lead to applications, and all applied
research may lead to basic understandings

Key Themes in Psychology

Nature vs. Nurture
Thesis/Anti thesis: Which is more influential in
human cognition - nature of nurture?
Synthesis: We can explore how covariations and
interactions in the environment (eg. An
impoverished environment) adversely affect
someone whose genes otherwise might have led
to success in a variety of tasks.

Rationalism vs. Empiricism

Thesis/Antithesis: How should we discover the
truth about ourselves and about the world around
us?
Synthesis: We can combine theory with
empirical methods to learn the most we can
about cognitive phenomena