Cognitive Psychology, 2nd Ed.

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Cognitive Psychology, 2nd Ed.

• Chapter 1

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Defining Cognitive Psychology

• The study of human mental processes and their
  role in thinking, feeling, and behaving.
• Experimentation versus mathematical models and
  computer simulations.
• Information processingthe mind is analogous to
  the software of a computer and the brain to its
  hardware.

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Information processing

• Information as a reduction of uncertainty (h
  log2N).
• Meaning, not information in the mathematical
  sense, is the focus of human mental life.

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Defining Cognitive Science

• The study of the relationships among and
  integration of cognitive psychology, biology,
  anthropology, computer science, linguistics, and
  philosophy.
• These disciplines bring different methodologies
  to common questions.

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Core Concepts

• Mental representation
• Stages of processing
• Serial versus parallel processing
• Hierarchical systems
• Cognitive architecture
• Memory stores
• Consciousness

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Mental representation

• An unobservable internal code for information.
• Mental images are one kind of mental
  representation.
• Other kinds are unconscious and abstract.
• Provide the basis for all cognitive abilities and
  knowledge about the world.

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Stages of processing

• Processes modify mental representations in a
  series of stages.
• Encoding, storage, and retrieval are stages of
  processing in memory, for example.

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Serial versus Parallel Processing

• At a given stage of processing, cognitive
  operations may be either serial or parallel.
• Simultaneous operations are parallel not serial.
• Is retrieval from memory serial or parallel?

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Hierarchical Systems

• Mind as a hierarchy of component parts analogous
  to bodily systems.
• Nervous system divides into peripheral and
  central branch. Peripheral divides into
  autonomic and sensory, etc.
• Mind divides into perception, memory, and motor
  output. Memory divides into sensory, short-term,
  and long-term. Long-term divides into
  declarative and nondeclarative.

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Consciousness

• Self-knowledgeknowledge of self in addition to
  knowledge of objects, events, and ideas external
  to self.
• Informational accesscapacity to be become aware
  of and able to report on mental representations
  and processes.
• Sentiencecapacity for raw sensations, feelings,
  and subjective experience.

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Research Methods

• Behavioral measuresreaction time and proportion
  of errors.
• Verbal protocolsconcurrent, think aloud
  protocols or other verbal reports.
• Physiological measuresEEG, ERP, PET, fMRI.

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Method of Subtraction

• Used to isolate the properties of a single stage
  of processing.
• Assumption of pure insertion
• Control-Stages 1 and 2
• Experimental-Stages 1, 2, and 3
• Adding 3 does not affect 1 and 2

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Strong Theories of Cognition

• Account for a large number phenomena with as few
  assumptions as possible.
• Are based on ecologically valid experiments.
• Are based on converging evidence including
  behavioral, verbal reports, physiological, and
  mathematical models/computer simulations.

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Cognitive Architectures

• Symbolic models
• Design of digital computer
• Symbolic representations
• Local representations
• Serial processing

• Connectionist models
• Structure of brain
• Associations among simple units
• Distributed representations
• Parallel processing

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