Cognitive psychology is the study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and think. It has roots in rationalism, empiricism, and their synthesis. Early approaches included structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism. The cognitive revolution incorporated cognitions and mental processes, influenced by developments in computer science. Cognitive psychology uses experimental methods, psychobiological studies, self-reports, case studies, and computer simulations to understand phenomena like attention, problem solving, memory, decision making, language, and reading.

1. Chapter 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

2. Cognitive Psychology Is… The study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and think about information. Problem Solving Attention Memory Decision Making Reading Language

3. Dialectic Progression of Ideas: Hegel Thesis Antithesis flaws/alt idea Synthesis: best of both New Thesis flaws/alt idea

4. Rationalist Logic & reasoning is key Empiricist Experience & observation is key Philosophical Roots

5. Rationalism (Descartes) Empiricism (Locke) Synthesis: Both have a role (Kant)

6. Structuralism (Titchener) Functionalism (James) led to Pragmatists Synthesis: Associationism (Ebbinghaus & Thorndike)

7. Associationism (Thorndike) Behaviorism (Pavlov) Synthesis: Extreme form of Behaviorism took hold. Psychology should study only observable behavior (Watson & Skinner).

8. Behaviorism Dominated until…. Synthesis: Cognitions should play an active role in psychology (Gestalt, Bandura) Less radical Behaviorist Cognitive Map (Tolman)

9. Contributions to Cognitive Psychology Hebb & Lashley emphasize how cognition could be explained by neuroscience. Chompsky’s review of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior: “ reductio ad absurdum ” Development of Computers and Artificial Intelligence These developments led to the “ cognitive revolution ” and increased interest in the study of mental processes (cognitions)

10. Cognitive Methods Experiments Psychobiological studies Self report Case studies Naturalistic Observation Computer Simulations

11. In an Experiment… Random sample of participants Manipulate the Independent Variable Create experimental group Create control group Randomly assign participants Measure the Dependent Variable Same for all groups Control all other variables Prevent confounds

12. Typical Independent Variables Manipulate stimulus materials Compare words to non-words Compare color diagrams to black and white Compare Yes questions to No questions Control how participants process materials Use imagery to study versus repetition Vary speed of presentation of materials

13. Typical Dependent Variables Reaction Time (milliseconds) Mental events take time Accuracy/Error analysis How well the participant does on a task

14. Psychobiological Studies Postmortem studies Examine the cortex of dyslexics after death Brain damaged individuals and their deficits Study amnesiacs with hippocampus damage Monitor a participant doing a cognitive task Measure brain activity while a participant is reciting a poem

15. Self Report Studies Verbal Protocol Participants describe their conscious thoughts while solving a story problem Diary Study Participants keep track of memory failures Naturalistic Observation Monitor decision making of pilots during flights

16. Case Studies Intensive studies of individuals May examine archival records, interviews, direct observation, or participant-observations Creativity of successful individuals The deficits of a neglected child

17. Computers in Research Analogy for human Cognition The sequence of symbol manipulation that underlies thinking The goal: discovery of the programs in humans’ memory Computer simulations of Artificial Intelligence Recreate human processes using computers

18. Underlying Themes Nature vs. Nurture Rationalism vs. Empiricism Structures vs. Processes Domain Generality vs. Domain Specificity Causal Inferences vs. Ecological validity Applied vs. Basic Research Biological vs. Behavioral Methods

19. Key Ideas in Cognitive… Theory Data Data can only be fully explained with theories, and theories are insufficient without data – thus creating the cycle of science.

20. Key Ideas in Cognitive… Cognition is typically adaptive, but errors made can be informative. Example- Spoonerisms: A lack of pies (A pack of lies) It's roaring with pain (It's pouring with rain) Errors can be used to infer how speech production occurs.

21. Key Ideas in Cognitive… Cognitive processes interact with each other and with non-cognitive processes Emotions may affect decisions Working memory capacity contributes to reading speed Perception contributes to memory decisions

22. Key Ideas in Cognitive… Many different methods are used to study cognition Experiments Individual differences Case studies Clinical studies

23. Key Ideas in Cognitive… Basic research often leads to important applications and applied research often contributes to a more basic understanding of cognition Priming is explained by spreading activation in memory, and can also explain why skilled readers may read faster Studying the common errors that 1 st graders make in math class can help us to better understand how humans process mathematical information