Memory & Cognition: Chapter 1

What is cognitive psychology and what aspects does it focus on?

• Cognitive psychology is the study of how we use knowledge and it focuses on aspects like perception, attention, memory, language, and problem solving.

Who is Franciscus Donders? What is reaction time? What are some varieties?

• Franciscus Donders performed the first cognitive psychology experiment in 1868 measuring reaction time.

  • Reaction time is how long it takes to respond to a stimulus.

    • Simple reaction time asks participants to indicate a stimulus

    • Choice reaction time asks participants to choose between two stimuli 

How do scientists measure thought?

• self-report, reaction time, blood flow, and electrical activity.

Who is Wilhelm Wundt? What is analytic introspection?

• Wilhelm Wundt is the first psychologist and the first to open a lab in 1879. He was the first to experiment with the experimental method and looked into analytic introspection.

  • Analytic introspection is a self report that asks about thoughts, perceptions, and feelings; similar to training your brain

Who is Edward Titchner? What is structuralism?

• Edward Titchner was a student of Wundt and looked into structuralism in the 1870s.

  • Structuralism: breaking bigger concepts into smaller pieces

Who is Hermann Ebbinghaus? What is the forgettings/savings curve? Why did he use nonsense words?

• Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered the forgetting/savings curve in 1885 and used nonsense words in experiments to keep participants on the same level.

  • Forgetting/Savings Curve (1885): Decline of memory after not using information (memory drops dramatically after 1 hr).

    • Relearning takes less time than learning the first time.

Who is William James? What is functionalism?

• William James is a functionalist who published a textbook in 1890.

  • Functionalism (1870s): universal patterns among humans means that pattern was helpful for survival at one point (pain for danger and learning)

Who is Ivan Pavlov? What is classical conditioning?

• Ivan Pavlov is a physiologist who developed classical conditioning (1890s)

  • Classical conditioning (1890s): forming associations

Who is John Watson? What is Behaviorism?

• John Watson brought about behaviorism in the 1910s.

  • Behaviorism (1910s): observable behavior is the best data because you can’t objectively measure thought.

Who is B.F Skinner? What is operant conditioning?

• B.F Skinner founded operant conditioning in the 1930s.

  • Operant conditioning (1930s): learning based on reward and punishment

Who is Wolfgang Kohler? How did he challenge behaviorism?

• Wolfgang Kohler emphasized the importance of insight through his banana-ceiling-monkey study (1910s). The monkey used boxes to reach the bananas on the ceiling without trial and error, meaning insight was used to make that decision.

Who is Edward Tollman? How did he challenge behaviorism?

Edward Tollman emphasized latent learning, or learning without punishment or reward by putting rats in a maze. Whether there was food at the end or not, the rats learned the layout and created a cognitive map, or map in their head.

Who is Noam Chomsky? How did they challenge behaviorism?

Noam Chomsky was a linguist who challenged behaviorism by claiming that it has no influence on the learning of language (1959).

What is Nativism and what is its view on how we learn language?

Nativism is the idea that mental structures are innate rather than learned. Nativism claims that our brain is a language acquisition device that automatically learns language when exposed.

What is the Cognitive Revolution and how long did it last?

The Cognitive Revolution lasted from 1950-1970 and describes the movement of psychologists from behavior focused to cognition focused.

What is the definition of AI?

AI is problem solving through machines and technology.

What is the information processing approach?

Information Processing Approach (1950s): humans process information in steps like a computer, however our brains multitask while computers perform a series of tasks very quickly.