PSYC 2230 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Cognitive Psychology, Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning
19 Dec 2017
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Introduction to Cognitive
Psychology- Chapter 1
Cognitive Psychology: Studying the Mind
-Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of the mind
-The mind creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory,
emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning
-The mind creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve our goals
-In the 1800s it was seen as impossible for the mind to study itself and can simply not be
pressured
-DONDERS' first cognitive psychology experiments was to determine how long it takes a
person to make a decision using simple reaction time and choice reaction time. We learned
that mental responses cannot be measured directly, but must be inferred from behaviour
-WUNDT - believed that our overall experience is determined by combining basic elements of
experience the structuralists called sensations (Structuralism)
-WUNDT used analytic introspection, which is when trained subjects describe their
experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli
-EBBINGHAUS studied memory by memorizing a list of syllables, delaying (time without
memorizing), and then relearning the list
-EBBINGHAUS discovered using a calculated measure called savings, he concluded that he
relearned the list more rapidly after he had already memorized it once
-JAMES wrote the first psychology textbook using observations of the operations of his own
mind
Abondoning the Study of the Mind
-Watson became dissatisfied with analytic introspection because it produced extremely
variable results from person to person and the results are hard to verify because they were
interpreted in terms of invisible inner mental processes
-Behaviourism- Watson wanted to restrict psychology to behavioural data
-Classical Conditioning- pairing one stimulus with another, previously neutral stimulus
causes changes in the response to the neutral stimulus
-SKINNER- Operant Conditioning- Behaviour is strengthened by positive reinforcers or
withdrawal of negative reinforcers
-TOLMAN- Cognitive Map- A conception inside the mind of the layout of a place
The Rebirth of the Study of the Mind
-Information-processing Approach- Like a computer, the mind receives information, stores
the information in the memory, before it is processed, resulting in an output
Modern Research in Cognitive Psychology
-BEILOCK experimented that choking occurs because adding pressure to a situation causes
the person to worry, using up working memory capacity- where memories are stored as it is
being manipulated
-BEILOCK the advantage of the high working memory subjects decreased in the high pressure
situation, while low memory subjects increased
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Cognitive psychology is the scienti c study of the mind. The mind creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning. The mind creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve our goals. In the 1800s it was seen as impossible for the mind to study itself and can simply not be pressured. Donders" rst cognitive psychology experiments was to determine how long it takes a person to make a decision using simple reaction time and choice reaction time. We learned that mental responses cannot be measured directly, but must be inferred from behaviour. Wundt - believed that our overall experience is determined by combining basic elements of experience the structuralists called sensations (structuralism) Wundt used analytic introspection, which is when trained subjects describe their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli.
