The document provides an introduction to cognitive psychology. It discusses that cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes, including attention, learning, memory, language, and emotions. It notes that cognitive psychology informs other areas of psychology and has real-world applications in areas like attention while driving, improving learning techniques, and designing understandable text. The document also summarizes common frameworks for explaining cognition, such as the information processing approach, production systems, semantic networks, and connectionism.

1. Introduction to Cognitve Psychology

2. Introduction
Psychology
The study of mental processes and behaviors.

3. Introduction
Cogntitive Psychology
The study of mental processes
Attention
Learning
Memory
Language
Emotions

4. Introduction
Cognitive Psychology
Social
Clinical
Developmental
Forensic
…
…
Work from Cognitive Psychology has informed and influenced
virtually all other areas of Psychology

5. Introduction
• Example: Perception

6. Introduction
• Example: Perception

7. Introduction
• Example: Attention
• With all the sophisticated systems we miss a lot of
information.

8. Introduction
• Example: Memory

9. Introduction
• Example: Language
The boat is manned by the old (persons).

10. Introduction
• Cognitive Psychology
• „The study of mental processes (functions)“
• mental functions
• Things one can do with one’s mind, e.g.
• Attention
• Learning
• Memory
• Language
• Emotions
• …

11. Introduction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognition is the process by which the sensory input is
transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered,
and used (Neisser, 1967)

12. Introduction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognition is the process by which the sensory input is
transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered,
and used (Neisser, 1967)
K K k

13. Introduction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognition is the process by which the sensory input is
transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered,
and used (Neisser, 1967)

14. Introduction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognition is the process by which the sensory input is
transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered,
and used (Neisser, 1967) “K”
This is hand-
writing

15. Introduction
• Cognitive Psychology
• is the study of internal mental processes such as attention,
memory, language,…
• is it just “science stuff” or is there any real world application
to it?*

16. Introduction
• Examples of real world applications
• Research into Attention: Phoning while driving (Divided
Attention)

17. Introduction
• Examples of real world applications
• Research into Long term memory & Learning: New
instruction and learning techniques; Improving quality of
eyewitness testimonies

18. Introduction
• Examples of real world applications
• Research into Language: How to write texts which are easy to
understand

19. Introduction
• Examples of real world applications
• Research into Perception & Short term memory:
Improvements in human-computer interaction

20. Introduction - Summary
Lecture Topic Chapters
1 Introduction & History 1, 2
2 Perception 4
3 Attention 5
4 Short Term Memory 6
5 Long Term Memory and Learning 7
6 Language (Part 1) 9
7 Language (Part 2) 9
8 Problem solving & Expertise 11, 12
9 Creativity & Emotions 13, 14
10 Decision making & social cognition 10, 18
Chapters refer to Gobet et al., Foundations of Cognitive Psychology.

21. Introduction
Any questions?

22. Experimentation

23. Experimentation
• Typical experimental method
• computer based stimulus presentation and response
recording
• Example: Psychophysics
+

24. Experimentation
• Sternberg‘s classic experiment
• Saul Sternberg (1966)
• how do we access contents of short-term memory?
• memory set, e.g.: 7 3 9 2
• Serial?
• 7 => 3 => 9 => 2. Prediction for increasing set?
• response times (RTs) should increase
• Parallel?
• [7 3 9 2]. Prediction for increasing set?
• response times (RTs) should stay constant

25. Experimentation
• Demonstration: Sternberg‘s classic experiment
+
7 3 5 1
5
1 7
4
9 1 7 3
3

26. Experimentation
• Sternberg‘s classic experiment
- Search is serial
- Search is exhaustive

27. Experimentation
• Sternberg‘s classic experiment
• Mental Chronometry: Using response times to infer on the
organisation of mental processes

28. Experimentation
• Further experimental methods
• learning word lists
• recall & recognition
• problem solving
• number of moves required

29. Experimentation
Any questions?
Think again, and:
Please write down one question you
have about experimentation

30. Frameworks for explaining cognition

31. Frameworks
• Frameworks for explaining cognition
– Information processing approach
– Computer analogy
– Flowcharts
– Production systems
– Semantic Networks
– Connectionism

32. Frameworks
• Information processing approach
Perception
perception and
analysis of external
stimuli
Response
Selection
decision process:
which response is
required by the
stimulus
Motor
Execution
respond by
moving finger
(press key)
Example: speeded
2-choice response
task
Lor R
Cognitive processing Stages:

33. Frameworks
• Information processing approach
Perception
Response
Selection
Motor
Execution
Input Processing Output

34. Frameworks
• Information processing approach
Example taken from: Pashler (1994). Dual-task interference in simple tasks: Data and
Theory. Psychological Bulletin, 116 (2), p.220ff

35. Frameworks
• Frameworks for explaining cognition
– Information processing approach
– Production systems
– Semantic Networks
– Connectionism

36. Frameworks
• Productions
• A production has two parts
• Condition
• Action
• Whenever the condition is satisfied, the action is
executed
IF the traffic light is red, THEN stop the car
• Conditions are tests on the contents of working
memory (short-term memory)

37. Frameworks
• Productions
Example taken from: Meyer & Kieras (1997). A computational theory of executive
cognitive processes and multiple-task performance: Part1. Basic Mechanisms.
Psychological Review, 104 (1), p. 3ff.

38. Frameworks
• Productions
• Used to simulate
• rule-like behavior, e.g.
• simulation of children’s subtraction errors
• performance in choice-response tasks
• procedural memory
• learning

39. Frameworks
• Frameworks for explaining cognition
– Information processing approach
– Production systems
– Semantic Networks
– Connectionism

40. Frameworks
• Semantic Networks
• Contain nodes and links
• Nodes stand for concepts
• Links stand for relationships between concepts
• Links are labelled

41. Frameworks
• Semantic Networks: Priming Experiment
+
animal
fish
chair
dog
Task: Is the
target (e.g. ‘fish’)
a word or a non-
word (e.g. ‘xbyp’)
Finding: If the prime is
related (animal – fish),
response times are faster
than when the prime is
unrelated (chair – dog).
= “priming effect”

42. Frameworks
• Semantic Networks: Spreading of Activation
time
Explanation of priming effect: The prime
(animal) already activates the target
(fish), so that the target can be identified
more quickly on its occurrence.
(shaded in very
light blue)

43. Frameworks
• Semantic Networks
• Capture associative property of memory
• Can use spreading activation
• e.g. priming experiments
• Memory can be searched following links
• c.f. tip of the tongue phenomenon
Tip of the tongue: Activation
not strong enough for recall,
but strong enough to feel that
it “is there”.

44. Frameworks
• Frameworks for explaining cognition
– Information processing approach
– Production systems
– Semantic Networks
– Connectionism

45. Frameworks
• Connectionism
• Artificial neural networks, consisting of
• nodes (units, “neurons”)
• links (connections between nodes, “axons”)
nodes nodes
links Nodes and links have activation
- typically between -1 and +1
- links can be excitatory (activation > 0)
- links can be inhibitory (activation < 0)
- activations are updated in parallel
- activation of links also called ‘weight’

46. Frameworks
• Connectionism: Example artificial neural network
1.44
(1 x .03) + (1.3 x 0.5) + (0.8 x 0.9) = 1.44

47. Frameworks
• Connectionism: Another example

48. Frameworks: Summary
• Information processing approach
• computer analogy; symbolic approach
• Production systems
• if-then rules
• Semantic Networks
• spreading activation in networks, priming
• Connectionism
• complex learning, perception

49. Frameworks: Summary
• purpose of these frameworks
• efficiently describe (i.e. summarize) data
• allow generalizations
• predict
• understand the underlying principles of how the mind works
• not necessarily biological plausibility
• Today, all frameworks co-exist
• each has its advantages and disadvantages

50. Frameworks
Any questions?