Cognitive Psychology Notes

Key Findings

  • Misconceptions in cognition:

    • Visual system not always effective in detecting large changes.

    • Early talent does not guarantee expertise later in life.

  • Critical thinking is essential for interpreting data and overcoming biases.

  • Students learn to think like cognitive psychologists through experimentation and theory-building.

Descriptive Research

  • Study observed the effect of picking up pennies on exam grades, showing a positive correlation.

  • Limitations: Correlation does not imply causation.

Perception Goals

  • Objects recognition: determining what and where they are along with their motion.

  • Visual and light processing: the brain constructs a 3D representation based on 2D input from the retina.

Gestalt Principles

  1. Similarity

  2. Proximity

  3. Good continuation

  4. Closure

  • Contextual cues and contrast help the visual system identify objects effectively.

Object Recognition Models

  • Template Models: Store visual patterns for comparison (limited by the number of templates needed).

  • Feature Models: Use operable parts (features) to identify objects, yet require extensive lists of features.

  • Structural Models: Analyze object shapes and spatial relations.

Face Recognition

  • Prosopagnosia: inability to recognize familiar faces indicates separate processing pathways.

  • Bruce and Young Model outlines distinct stages in facial recognition.

Long-Term Memory

  • Types:

    • Declarative: Episodic (autobiographical) and semantic (general knowledge).

    • Procedural: Skills learned over time (e.g., riding a bike).

  • Memory capacity is vast but retrieval can be challenging.

Memory Processes

  • Encoding: Initial learning process (strategies include repetition and organization).

  • Retrieval: Accessing stored information.