Lecture 1 - Recording on 04 March 2025

Objectives

1. Demonstrate how cognitive psychologists can use experiments to
isolate cognitive processes.

2. Explain what is meant for a process model of cognition, and a
cognitive architecture.

3. Define and provide examples of four important principles of
cognitive processing

-               Data-driven vs conceptually-driven processes

-              Automatic vs controlled processes

-              Conscious vs unconscious processes

-              Cognitive representations

1.      Demonstrate how cognitive psychologists can use experiments to isolate cognitive processes.

How do you study thought?

Assumptions of cognitive psychology

- A thought is made up of a series of processes.

- Thought takes time.

- Thought happens in the brain (Aristotle thought thinking happened in the heart)

- Thoughts lead to behaviour

- Actions – button presses, reaching, eye movements, speaking, choices
- Decisions
- Response Time/Accuracy
- Neural Responses - Brain activity

Measurement in Cognitive Psychology

We can measure, and that will give us clues to what’s happening in the brain

·       Importance of measuring observable behaviours to infer cognitive processes

·       Techniques include:

o   Response time measurements (e.g., tasks by Donders)

o   Observing behavioural responses to stimuli

o   Brain activity analysis (neuroscientific methods)

Donders’ Method of Subtraction

Task 1

-              Press a button when you see a light.

-              Measure response time.

Task 2

-              Press one key if the light is on the left, and another key if the light is on the right.

-              Measure response time

2.      Explain what is meant for a process model of cognition, and a
cognitive architecture.

Information Processing Approach (old version)
• Any task consists of a number of stages
• Stages are completed in order
• Information passes from one stage to another

-              Sequential stages

-              Independent and non-overlapping stages of processing

-              One stage finishes before the next begins

Updating the information processing approach
1.Multiple processes can run in parallel
2.Information can flow in both directions
3.Modern models are based on networks, not
individual structures

Cognitive architecture in Psychology
A model of how various cognitive processes interact.

• Perception

-              Senses

-              Objects

-              Imagery

• Attention
• Memory

-              Episodic (events)

-              Semantic (knowledge)

• Language
• Decision-Making
• Problem-solving

3.      Define and provide examples of four important
principles of cognitive processing

Data-driven (bottom-up) vs. Conceptually-driven (top—down)
Processes

·       Data-driven processes (bottom-up)

o   Depend on external data (sensory input)

o   Require the brain to construct meaning from the information available

o   Example: Recognizing a cow in a poorly defined image

·       Conceptually driven processes (top-down)

o   Informed by prior knowledge and experiences

o   Influence perception by guiding attention to relevant features

o   Example: Recognizing the cow after being informed or thinking contextually (Memory changes how your perceptional system works) Intelligent adults have great conceptional systems.

Examples
In perception – our eyes know where to look
In attention – stimulus driven events capture attention
- our goals can direct attention
In memory – easier to remember information that fits into our schema
In language – misheard song lyrics

Automatic vs controlled processes

Automatic vs. controlled processes
Controlled: Sometimes thought takes work (effortful)
Automatic: Sometimes thought just “happens”
• Automatic processes happen easily, quickly, and without intention

·       Automatic processes

o   Operate quickly and effortlessly without conscious intention

o   Fundaments of learned skills (e.g., reading words, riding a bicycle)

o   Example: Difficulty suppressing reading when attempting not to read words on a screen

·       Controlled processes

o   Require attention and cognitive effort

o   Activation of conscious thought (e.g., solving complex math problems)

o   Necessary for tasks that are not yet well-learned or require active engagement

Conscious vs unconscious processes

Cognitive representations