COGS100 Week 1 Review

Cognitive Science

The interdisciplinary study of the mind, using various disciplinary means to understand its nature and functions.

Behaviorism

A psychological approach that focuses on observable behaviors and disregards inner mental processes.

Psychological Behaviorism

The view that psychology should focus solely on observable behavior and not on mental states or inner experiences.

The Cognitive Turn

A shift in psychology that emphasizes cognitive processes, moving away from behaviorist approaches.

Representation

Mental entities that stand for or symbolize objects, events, or situations in the external world.

Information-Processing Model

A cognitive framework that likens the human mind to a computer, processing information through various stages.

Consciousness

The state of being aware of and able to think about one’s own existence, thoughts, and surroundings.

Mind-Body Dualism

The philosophical viewpoint that mind and body are distinct and separable substances.

Eliminative Materialism

The theory that common-sense psychological concepts like beliefs and desires do not exist and will eventually be eliminated from our understanding of the mind.

Emergent Cognition

The concept that cognitive processes arise from complex interactions within systems beyond the brain.

Social Cognition

The processes by which people understand and make sense of others in social contexts.

Nonhuman Minds

The study of cognitive processes in nonhuman species and artificial agents.

Conditioning

A learning process in which behaviors are modified through reinforcement or punishment.

Positive Reinforcement

The process of strengthening a behavior by providing a rewarding consequence.

Objective Behavior

Actions that can be observed and measured by multiple observers.

Subjective Experience

An individual’s personal perspective or internal experience, often not directly observable.

Cognitive Science's Origin

Cognitive Science emerged in the 1950s as a reaction against behaviorism, focusing on understanding mental processes.

Quantifying Representations

The idea of measuring and systematically studying mental representations to develop a science of the mind.

Empirical Inquiry

The process of studying something using evidence and observation according to the scientific method.