Chapter 2: Cognition

Week 2

Is it possible to create cognition?

Cognition is the study os us: how we think

Cognition uses measurement and observation to test hypothesis… claim, prediction

Cognition studies how animals work, not how they should work

WHY do we need Cognition?

Intuition overestimation

• Hindsight bias

• Overconfidence

• Tendency to perceive patterns in random events

We cannot rely solely on intuition and common sense

• leads us to overestimate our intuition

• and make errors because we are error prone

Why is it a science?

1. Way of evaluating explanations

2. A way of making observations about the word

3. A way of interpreting observations about the world

Clever Hans - Expectancy Effect

Mr. von Osten (math teacher)

• Intellectual ability of his horse

• Arithmetic

• Add fractions, give values of german coins

• Method: lifted foot once, twice

About Clever Hans and his Expectancy Effect 

Horse “could do math”, he learned to read people’s body langauge (leaning in  to look at his hoof and slight change in facial expression when the right answer was announced) and he would then lift his hoof 

The art of looking

• Horse race question

  • All 4 of a horse’s hooves are off the ground at the same time during a gallop

• Painting showed the front and rear legs extended and backwards 

• To prove scientifically… 

  • Cali governor Stanford hired Muybridge to photograph a horse in fast motion (1878)

The Scientific Method

The process of testing ideas about the world

• Setting up situations that test our ideas 

  • if the data don’t fit our ideas, then our ideas are modified and tested again

• Making careful, organized observations

• Analyzing whether the data fit our ideas

How do we support claims scientifically?

1. Seek evidence to support or disprove a claim 

2. Scientific word for a claim is..

HYPOTHESIS!

• any falsifiable prediction about new facts from a theory 

• testable prediction 

What is Scientific Attitude?

• Empirical approach 

  • data 

• Curios skepticism 

  • how and why 

• Humility 

  • aware of error-proneness 

Good Scientific Theory

• FALSIFIABILITY

  • precise predictions 

  • evidence to confirm or contradict the theory 

• THE LAW OF PARSIMONY 

  • the principle that all else being equal, the simplest theory is the best

  • reliance on the fewest and simplest possible assumptions  

Why does a claim need to be falsifiable?

Vagueness cannot be falsifiable, meaning it cannot be TESTED, meaning it cannot be considered in the realm of science 

General Principles of Research 

• Measurement problem

• to measure phenomena accurately, we develop observable definition

1. Operational definitions: give a numerical value to variables; its operation

2. Specifics the procedures used to measure something 

3. Gives a numerical value 

How do we conduct research?

Research design!!!

• many methods 

• REPLICABLE, following the same procedures 

• what happens and under what circumstances does it seem to occur?

  • we try to choose the best procedure 

  • each method has advantages and disadvantages 

Importance of Replicable Results 

• Testing of hypotheses must be repeated 

• Report their methods

  • could repeat the study to confirm or contradict the validity of the findings

• Replicable results can be obtained

  • following the same procedures

Which of the 3 research designs?

• Description

  • case study 

  • survey 

  • naturalistic observation  

• Correlation 

• Experimentation 

Research Strategies: Description 

Descriptive research is systematic, objective observation of people 

• Goal is to provide a clear, accurate picture of people’s behavioris, thoughts, and attributes 

Descriptive Research

• Case History (Study): A thorough observation and description of an individual usually in an unusual condition or circumstance 

• Ex: The case of Phineas Gage 

The case of Phineas Gage (1848) 

Tragic and bizarre accident 

• 13lbs steel rod impaled

• landed 80 feet away

• Personality change

• taught about the prefrontal cortex of the brain

Second type of Descriptive Research

SURVEY!!!

• Study of the prevalence of certain beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors 

• based on people’s responses to specific questions 

Third type of Descriptive Research

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION!!!

• careful monitoring and examination under natural circumstances 

• example: Dr. Jane Goodall’s long-term observation of chimpanzees in the forest 

  • recording their social organization and biological functioning 

What are limitations of Observations/Case studies?

• May not help us really predict behavior in the future 

• doesn’t help us undercover the underlying mechanisms behind the behavior most likely 

• unable to control behavior to test specific questions 

Correlation: The Measure 

Correlations range from -1.00 to 1.00 
the CLOSER to -1.00 or 1.00, the stronger the relation between two variables 
Remember: Correlation does not equal causation

A study of married couples showed that the longer they had been married, the more similar their opinions on social and political issues were. 
CORRELATION… POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE?

POSITIVE because when X increases, Y increases too
X: Time married
Y: Opinion similarity  

An intelligence test was given to all the children in an orphanage, The results showed that the longer the children had lived in the orphanage, the lower their IQ scores 
CORRELATION: POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE?

NEGATIVE because when X increases, Y decreases
X: time living in orphanage
Y: IQ level

Science is a way of making…

Observations

What is an experiment?

A technique for establishing the causal relationships between variables

Key ingredients: Manipulation and Control

Tools of experimental control

• Holding constant

  • ensuring that the two groups are treated identically expect for the manipulation

• Random assignement

  • ensuring that each subject has an equal chance of being assigned to each group