How to Study Cognition

Mind-Body Problem

The question of how mental events are related to or caused by physical processes in the body

Dualism

The view that the mind and body are fundamentally different substances

Monism

The view that there is only one basic substance in the world

Physicalism (Materialism)

The position that cognition arises entirely from physical processes in the brain

Idealism

The philosophical view that reality exists only in the mind

Neutral Monism

The belief that a single substance exists that is neither purely mental nor purely physical

René Descartes

A philosopher who proposed that the mind and body are distinct substances that can interact

Pragmatic Materialism

The scientific approach that explains behaviour using physical methods and measurable processes

Brain–Behaviour Problem

The issue that understanding cognition requires more than studying the physical brain alone

Neural Complexity

The human brain contains approximately 86 billion neurons with thousands of connections each

Embodied Cognition

The idea that cognition must be understood within the context of the body and environment

Structuralism

An early approach to psychology focused on studying conscious experience

Wilhelm Wundt

The founder of structuralism and the first experimental psychology laboratory

Edward Titchener

Brought structuralism from Germany to the United States

Introspection

A method in which trained individuals examine and report their conscious experiences

Limitation of Introspection

Introspective reports cannot be objectively measured or easily replicated

Conscious Access Limitation

Introspection can only access mental processes available to conscious awareness

Cortical Blindness

A condition in which individuals lack conscious vision but retain some visual processing ability

Blindsight

The ability of individuals with cortical blindness to respond to visual stimuli without conscious awareness

Think-Aloud Protocol

A method where participants verbally report their thoughts while performing a task

Behaviorism

An approach emphasizing observable stimuli and responses while ignoring mental processes

John Watson

The founder of behaviorism

Stimulus-Response Framework

The behaviorist model that explains behaviour as reactions to external stimuli

Classical Conditioning

Learning through pairing a stimulus with an automatic response

Pavlov’s Dog

A classic demonstration of classical conditioning

Operant Conditioning

Learning in which behaviour is shaped through reward or punishment

B.F. Skinner

A key figure in the development of operant conditioning

Reinforcement Learning

Behaviour modification through consequences such as rewards or punishments

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour

Negative Reinforcement

Removing a stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behaviour

Noam Chomsky

A critic of behaviorism who argued it could not explain novel behaviour

Edward Tolman

A psychologist who demonstrated cognitive processes in animal learning

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs without reinforcement and is not immediately expressed

Cognitive Flexibility

The ability to generate novel and intelligent behaviour without prior conditioning

Algorithm

A defined set of steps that maps inputs to outputs

Function

A relationship between a set of inputs and their corresponding outputs

Alan Turing

A pioneer of computer science who developed the concept of programmable machines

Turing Test

A test assessing whether a computer can exhibit human-like intelligence through conversation

Early Computers

First electrical machines using gears, vacuum tubes, and binary encoding

Cognitive Revolution

A 1950s shift toward explaining cognition using computational models

Information Processing

View of cognition as the transformation of input into output

Mind–Computer Analogy

The mind is compared to software and the brain to hardware

Cognitivism

The approach that studies mental processes through measurable behaviour

Donders’ Experiment

A reaction-time study used to infer stages of mental processing

Reaction Time

The time it takes for a participant to respond to a stimulus

Detection Task

A task requiring a simple response when a stimulus appears

Discrimination Task

A task requiring a response only when a specific stimulus appears

Choice Task

A task requiring different responses depending on the stimulus

Reaction Time Ordering

Detection is fastest, followed by discrimination, then choice

Hypothesis-Driven Research

Research designed to test predictions derived from theory

Phenomenon-Driven Research

Research that begins with an unexpected effect and investigates it further

Stroop Effect

Interference that occurs when the meaning of a word conflicts with its visual colour

Applied Cognitive Psychology

The use of cognitive research findings to solve real-world problems

Signal Detection Theory

A framework for understanding decision-making under uncertainty

Independent Variable

The factor manipulated by the experimenter

Dependent Variable

The measured outcome of an experiment

Threshold

A minimum level of stimulus change that can be detected

Eye Movements

A behavioural measure used to infer cognitive processes

Galvanic Skin Response

A measure of physiological arousal through skin conductivity

Behavioural Variability

Natural differences in behavioural responses across trials or individuals

Sample Size Adjustment

A method for accounting for variability by increasing participant numbers

Cognitive Neuroscience

The study of cognition using both behavioural and brain measurement methods

Behavioural Neuroscience

The study of behaviour in relation to physiological brain processes

Lesion Studies

Research involving damage to neural tissue to observe behavioural effects

Temporary Brain Deactivation

Methods used to temporarily disrupt brain regions to study function

Genetic Manipulation

The use of selectively bred organisms to study cognition

Electrode Implantation

A method for recording activity from individual neurons

Optogenetics

A technique that uses light-activated proteins to control neural activity

Computational Neuroscience

The creation of computer models that simulate brain function or cognitive tasks

Mental Chronometry

The timing of different mental processes