Methods in Cognitive Science

1
Methods in Cognitive Science

• Each field can be distinguished by the types of
  methods it uses to address the questions of
  Cognition.
• Methods may seem secondary to theories but they
  are at least equivalent in importance with
  respect to the progress of science.

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Psychology

• Experimentation
• Controlled lab studies
• Naturalistic observation
• Examples
• Learning recall rate (e.g., cramming vs. spaced
  studying)
• Rotating mental images
• Chunking of information

3
Linguistics

• Establish grammars of languages
• Test grammaticality intuitions
• Explore large linguistic corpora for data on
  acquisition of syntactic rules
• Observe patterns of speech errors
• Look across languages for common patterns

4
Neuroscience

• Use animals to explore basic mechanism of
  information processing and localization of
  function
• Use PET, MRI, or other techniques to view brain
  activity in humans as they process information
• Study individuals with brain damage

5
Computer Science

• Build computational models based on psychological
  or neurological theories and evaluate their
  computational viability
• Compare different types of algorithms (software)
  as well as different hardware implementations to
  human performance

6
Philosophy

• Analyze the coherence of explanatory systems
• Internal logic of theories
• Raise potential difficulties and consequences of
  specific approaches
• e.g., neuroscience ? reductionism
• info. processing ? thought

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Why is studying the mind important?

• Scientifically challenging
• Improving education
• Predicting human behavior (e.g., for economic
  theories)
• Information processing in the modern world
• Productivity enhancement
• Interfaces expert systems