Cognitive Psychology: An Overview

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

• Cognitive psychology studies how people acquire, store, transform, use, and communicate information.
• It focuses on mental processes like perception, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making.
• Cognition means "knowing" and includes mental processes involved in thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Core Cognitive Processes

• Attention is ability to focus on specific stimuli while ignoring others
• Perception is interpretation of sensory information from the environment
• Memory involves encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
• Problem-solving is used for finding solutions to complex issues
• Reasoning forms conclusions from available information
• Concept formation categorizes and organizes knowledge
• Decision-making requires choosing between different options based on available information

Characteristics of Cognitive Processes

• Cognitive processes work together
• They actively process and transform information
• They optimize information use
• The brain prioritizes positive over negative stimuli
• They are studied through experiments and brain imaging

Research Methods in Cognitive Psychology

• Experimental Design: Hypothesis testing forms a prediction and tests it through controlled studies
• The independent variable (IV) is the factor that is manipulated.
• The dependent variable (DV) is the outcome that is measured
• Introspection examines one's own thoughts and feelings
• Naturalistic observation observes behavior in real-world settings
• Controlled observation studies behavior in a controlled environment
• Clinical interviews involves asking participants open-ended questions about their cognition
• Experiments conducts controlled tests to examine cognitive functions
• Brain imaging uses technologies (fMRI, EEG, PET) to observe brain activity

History of Cognitive Psychology

• Ancient Greece: Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle explored how the mind works
• 17th-19th Century: Empiricism (knowledge from experience) and Nativism (innate knowledge) emerged
• Late 19th Century: Psychology became a scientific discipline with experimental psychology
• 20th Century: The cognitive revolution led to modern theories on memory, problem-solving, and AI

Current Trends in Cognitive Psychology

• Brain Scanning Technology: Advanced imaging techniques help understand how the brain produces thoughts
• Bayesian Probability Models: Mathematical models predict cognitive processes using probability-based reasoning
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Machines simulate human cognitive functions like learning and problem-solving
• Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Research: Collaboration helps understand conditions like brain tumors and mental disorders

Factors That Affect Cognition

• Age influences cognitive abilities
• Rest and sleep: Sleep deprivation negatively affects attention and memory
• Cultural background: Social and environmental factors shape cognitive development

Definition of Cognitive Psychology

• Cognitive Psychology studies how people perceive, learn, remember, and think
• It examines mental processes such as how people perceive shapes, why some facts are remembered while others are forgotten, and how language is learned

Philosophical Antecedents of Psychology

• Plato (428-348 B.C.) and the theory of Rationalism: Reality exists in abstract forms, not in the objects we perceive; logical analysis is the path to knowledge
• Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) and the theory of Empiricism: Knowledge is based on sensory experiences; observation and experience are the only ways to understand truth
• René Descartes (1596-1650) and Rationalism, Cartesian Dualism: The mind (thoughts, emotions) and body (physical substance) interact to form behavior
• John Locke (1632-1704) with Empiricism, Tabula Rasa: Humans are born as a "blank slate" without innate knowledge; learning comes from experience

Psychological Antecedents of Cognitive Psychology

• Structuralism's Goal: Analyze the structure of the mind using introspection Method, championed by Key Figures Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener
• Functionalism Goal: Study how the mind works rather than its content using introspection, observation, and experiment Method, with William James as a Key Figure
• Behaviorism Goals: Focus on observable behavior and avoid speculation about mental processes using animal experiments and conditioning, with John Watson and B F Skinner as Key Figures.
• Gestalt Psychology Goals: Study psychological phenomena as whole experiences rather than separate parts using experiments and observations, with Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler as Key Figures

Emergence of Cognitive Psychology

• Cognitive psychology developed as a reaction against behaviorism,
• Karl Lashley (1890-1958) argued that behaviorism couldn't explain complex activities and cognitive processes are dynamic
• Noam Chomsky criticized behaviorism's explanation of language learning, and claimed humans have an innate cognitive structure for language
• Alan Turing developed the first computers, comparing the brain to computer hardware and mind to software that lead to the information processing model in cognitive psychology

Key Theories in Cognitive Psychology

• Information Processing Theory states that the mind functions like a computer, processing, storing, and retrieving information
• Cognitive Neuroscience studies how brain structures influence cognition using brain imaging techniques
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Cognitive Modeling stimulates human cognitive processes, helping understanding the mind works

Gestalt Psychology

• Founded in the 1920s by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka
• Emphasizes humans perceiving objects and patterns as a whole rather than separate parts, where instead your mind automatically organizes and interprets them as a whole.

Key Figures in Gestalt Psychology

• Max Wertheimer (1880–1943) was the founder of Gestalt Psychology and studied apparent motion, leading to the discovery of the Phi Phenomenon (basis of motion perception in movies).
• Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967) conducted the Insight Learning experiment with chimpanzees
• Kurt Koffka (1886–1941) expanded Gestalt Psychology beyond perception into learning and development, and stressed that learners actively process information rather than just receiving it passively

Gestalt Principles of Perception

• Law of Proximity: Objects close together are perceived as a group, like in the example "Words in a sentence are grouped based on spacing."
• Law of Similarity: Similar objects (shape, color, or form) are perceived as a unit, like for example seeing rows of circles and squares grouped separately
• Law of Closure: The brain fills in missing parts to complete an image, like broken circle still appears as a whole
• Law of Good Continuation: The mind follows continuous lines or patterns rather than abrupt changes
• Law of Pragnanz (Simplicity): Complex images are perceived in the simplest form possible
• Law of Figure/Ground: The brain separates objects from the background

Insight Learning (Wolfgang Köhler's Experiment)

• Learning happens through sudden realization, not trial and error
• Chimpanzee Experiment with chimps using sticks to reach food or stacked boxes to climb up, demonstrating problem-solving by insight rather than reinforcement

Memory

• Memory is an active system that receives, organizes, stores, and retrieves information
• Processes of Memory:
  • Encoding processes sensory input into a usable form
  • Storage holds onto information for a period of time
  • Retrieval accesses stored information

Models of Memory

• Information-Processing Model: Memory is processed in three stages, like a computer
• Levels-of-Processing Model: Deeper meaning-based processing leads to better retention
• Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP) Model: Memory is stored simultaneously across neural networks

Types of Memory

• Sensory Memory is the first stage of memory for brief storage of sensory info
  • Iconic Memory is Visual and lasts a fraction of a second
  • Echoic Memory is Auditory and lasts 2 to 4 seconds
  • Eidetic Imagery is a Photographic memory for recalling detailed images for over 30 seconds
• Short-Term Memory (STM) / Working Memory briefly holds info while in use with:
  • A capacity of having ~7 items (±2)
  • Chunking which groups information into meaningful units to expand STM capacity
  • A duration lasting 12 to 30 seconds (without rehearsal), that is susceptible to interference
  • Uses Maintenance Rehearsal to retain info in STM
  • Long-Term Memory (LTM) is the permanent storage of knowledge/skills
• Types of LTM include:
  • Procedural (Nondeclarative) Memory for skills, habits, and conditioned reflexes. Including:
    • Anterograde Amnesia is when new LTM cannot be formed, but procedural memory remains intact, and is often called implicit memory (unconscious recall)
  • Declarative Memory is knowledge that can be consciously recalled:
    • Semantic Memory is general knowledge
    • Episodic Memory are personal experiences
    • Explicit Memory when memory is consciously known

Memory Retrieval

• Retrieval Cue: A stimulus that aids in recalling information
• Encoding Specificity: Memory is best recalled in the same context as when it was learned
• State-Dependent Learning: Memory is easier to recall in the same emotional/physiological state

Recall vs. Recognition

• Recall: Retrieving info with minimal cues that can be temporary failure, for example Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon
• Serial Position Effect is where first and last items are remembered better
• Recognition: Matching a stimulus to stored knowledge that can include a false positive
• Eyewitness Testimony & Memory Errors in which:
  • Memory is malleable and influenced by post-event information
  • Eyewitness Testimony is not always reliable
• Automatic Encoding & Flashbulb Memories where info enters LTM with little effort where memories can form due to strong emotional impact.

Attention

• Attention is the act of concentrating on specific stimuli while ignoring others

Types of Attention

• Non-Volitional Attention occurs without conscious effort
  • Enforced: an instinct-based attention
  • Spontaneous: Emotion-driven attention
• Volitional Attention requires a conscious effort to focus
  • Implicit: Single act of will
  • Explicit: Repeated effort

Factors Affecting Attention

• External factors (Outside Stimuli):
  • A stimuli's nature refers to effective stimuli attracting more attention
  • Intensity & Size is where bright colors & large objects are more noticeable
  • Contrast, Change & Variety is where unusual stands out
  • Frequent exposure grabs attention
  • Moving objects attract more stimulus
• Internal Factors (Personal Traits & Motivations):
  • Interest and Motives refers to people focus on topics and purposes that interest them
  • Mental Set is referring to preconceived expectations influence focus

Forgetting

• Forgetting is the opposite of remembering
• It occurs when information is not retained in memory
• It is a normal process influenced by age, learning methods, and other factors

The Science of Forgetting

• Hermann Ebbinghaus was the first psychologist to scientifically study forgetting
• He conducted experiments on himself using nonsense syllables to avoid prior knowledge influencing memory
• His research led to the development of the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve
• Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve shows how quickly information is lost after learning
  • Forgetting happens rapidly at first, then slows over time
  • Rehearsal and repetition help retain information longer

Causes of Forgetting

• Encoding Failure Happens when information is never stored in long-term memory (LTM) If data is not encoded properly, it cannot be recalled
• Storage Decay: Even when information is well-encoded, it can still be forgotten as memory weakens over time without rehearsal and is often supported by Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve
• Retrieval Failure: The memory exists, but you cannot access it that can have interference disrupting the memory
  • Proactive Interference an old memories disrupt new memories from being retrieved
  • Retroactive Interference new memories disrupt old memories from being retrieved
• Motivated Forgetting includes consciously or unconsciously altering or forgetting past experiences
  • Repression as a defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-causing thoughts and can be controversial

Memory Distortion & False Memories

• Memory Construction Memories can change over time due to personal expectations, schemas, or environment We may unconsciously alter details when encoding or recalling memories Misinformation Effect is when incorporating misleading details into a memory like imagining meeting Mickey Mouse because their parents told them they did
• Source Amnesia is forgetting the source of a memory.