What is cognitive?

What is Cognitive Psychology?

• Definition: A field of psychology focused on researching and understanding how people think.

  • Areas of focus include:

    • Memory

    • Attention

    • Problem Solving

    • Language

    • Intelligence

    • Higher-level perceptual processes

    • Interaction of thought with emotion

Foundations of Cognitive Psychology

• Information in the World:

  • Contains vast amounts of information from events, stimuli, and interactions perceived by our senses.

  • Information can be:

    • External: Environmental factors.

    • Internal: Thoughts and emotions.

• Information Processing:

  • Humans actively select, process, interpret, and respond to information.

  • Involves:

    • Selective Attention: Filtering out irrelevant data to focus on what is significant based on goals and experiences.

    • Active processing of information, which can change with context or mood.

    • Example: Different interpretations of the same event based on perspectives or state of mind.

• Information Theory: The more unusual or improbable an event, the more information it conveys.

  • Our brains prioritize surprising or different stimuli because they are more informative.

  • Example: Noticing an individual in a superhero costume in a coffee shop among normally dressed people.

Mackworth-Clock Task

• Purpose: Assess people's vigilance in detecting changes in a repetitive task.

  • The task involves a clock with a hand that occasionally skips (makes double jumps).

• Measures:

  • Sustained Attention: How well individuals maintain focus over time.

    • People start strong but accuracy declines over time (vigilance decrease).

  • Cognitive Load: Mentally demanding tasks involving vigilance.

Limitations on Information Processing

• Humans cannot interpret all the information available due to:

  • Time: Inability to process everything in real time.

  • Capacity: Limits on cognitive load (e.g., short-term memory constraints).

  • Complexity: Difficulty increases with the complexity of a task, varies among individuals.

    • Example: Understanding a Spanish conversation differs for fluent speakers versus non-speakers.

  • Interference: Competing tasks or distractions disrupt processing.

Neisser’s Perceptual Cycle

• Explanation: Describes the dynamic nature of perception, cognition, and interaction with the environment.

  • Three Main Components:

    1. Schema: Mental frameworks or expectations guide attention and interpretation of sensory input.

       • Example: A quiet library makes loud noises more noticeable.

    2. Exploration: Individuals seek information to confirm or challenge their schemas.

       • Example: Scanning an empty street for unexpected movements at night.

    3. Object (Available Information): Information gathered informs or modifies schemas.

       • Example: Seeing unexpected people on a street changes the expectation of it being empty.

Evolution of Cognitive Psychology

• Influence of Theoretical Perspectives:

  • Structuralism & Functionalism: Focused on mind interpretation and processes.

  • Behaviorism: Emphasized observable behavior influenced by the environment and past experiences.

  • Humanism: Considered the whole person, including emotions and experiences.

  • Cognitive Psychology: Centered on understanding the mind using insights from:

    • Neuroscience

    • Linguistics

    • Computer Science

The Cognitive Revolution (1950s-1960s)

• Context: Emergence characterized by the rise of information theory and digital computing.

  • Humans viewed as limited-capacity processors.

  • Introduction of Chunking: Grouping information to facilitate processing.

  • Key Figures: Donald Broadbent and George Miller.

  • Model refinement based on evidence rather than rigid prescriptions.

Common Themes in Cognitive Psychology

• Focus on Failures: Studying incorrect language use in children to understand thought processes.

• Unconscious Processes: Many cognitive processes occur without awareness.

• Influence of Past Experiences: Previous experiences and expectations inform new interpretations.

  • Example: Anticipating a hard test may lead to misinterpretation of simple questions as trick questions.

Cognitive Psychology vs. Cognitive Neuroscience

• Cognitive Psychology:

  • Studies mental processes with little emphasis on brain structure.

  • Primarily involves human subjects, often includes neuroimaging.

• Cognitive Neuroscience:

  • Examines how biological processes affect thoughts, memory, learning, and emotions.

  • Greater focus on brain structure and function; may include animal subjects or neuroimaging.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the scope and foundations of cognitive psychology, emphasizing information processing and its limitations.

• Discuss Neisser’s perceptual cycle and its application with concrete examples.

• Illustrate the development of cognitive psychology from previous psychological schools, noting real-world events that shaped its evolution.