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Lesson 0: What is Cognition? —————————————————————————————————
1. Describe the scope of Cognitive Psychology.
- The scope of cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes involved in thinking
and knowing
- Includes: memory, attention, problem solving, language, intelligence, higher-level
perceptual processes, and the interaction of thought with emotion.
- In practice, this means cognitive psychologists try to explain:
- how you take in information (perception + attention),
- how you keep it available (short-term/working memory),
- how you store it long-term (long-term memory),
- how you use it to communicate (language),
- how you use it to make decisions and solve problems (reasoning/problem solving),
- and how emotions influence or change these processes (for example, anxiety
narrowing attention).
- Example: When you see a traffic light and stop, cognitive psychology asks how did you recognize
colour, how did you remember what red means (in this specific scenario), how did attention and
decision making work together?
2. Explain the foundations of Cognitive Psychology.
- Cognitive Psychology is built on 4 core assumptions:
- World contains info; World is full of signals = sights, sounds, words, symbols, numbers, etc
- Humans select, process interpret, and respond to this info by active processing
- Active Processing = the mind is constantly doing work on incoming info; we select what
we attend to, interpret meaning, combine input with past knowledge, make prediction, fill
in missing info (info is constructer not just received)
- Passive Processing = the mind is like a camera or recorder = info is taken in exactly
as it is with no interpretation or influence from past experiences (HUMANS DON’T WORK
LIKE THIS!!!)
- These process vary across situations and people in such way that 2 people might see the
same event but interpret it differently due to
- Prior knowledge
- Expectations
- Emotional State
- Goals
- Information Theory = the more unusual/improbable an event, the more info it provides
Yana Variya
, Page 2
- Example: Went to mall and got whatever was on the list = very likely = ↓ info; Went to
mall and grabbed items in the list + junk food = unlikely = ↑ info
3. Identify Limitations on information processing.
- Humans cannot process all available information because our cognitive system has limits:
- Time: We must make decisions quickly—no time to analyze everything
- Capacity = Memory and attention have limited space
- Complexity = Some info is too complicated to process fully at once
- Interference = Other thoughts/stimuli complete for attention
- Example: Going to the same class everyday for 1 year and still not noticing the colour of the
painting at the back of the class (because it’s not relevant)
4. Describe Neisser’s Perceptual Cycle and give a concrete example.
- Neisser proposed that perception = continuous cycle involving 3 components:
- Schema: Mental framework based on past experiences/expectations
- Exploration: Actions guided by schema (looking, searching, and expectations)
- Object (Available info): The actual info present in the environment
- Schema directs exploration → samples info from objects → new info modifies schemas (explains
why perception is influenced by expectations)
- Example: Schema = Empty room → Exploration = Scanning the room casually → Object = Notice a
moving shape → Schema updates = Someone/something is here
5. Describe the development of Cognitive Psychology.
- Structuralism = focused on the structure of mind, used introspection
- Introspection = studying the mind by looking inward and reporting one’s own thoughts,
feelings and sensations
- Functionalism = Focuses on what mental processes do (How thinking helps us adapt and survive)
- Behaviourism = Rejected the mind and focused on observed behaviour
- Humanism = focused on the whole person by emphasizing free will, meaning, and personal growth
- Cognitive Psychology = returned to studying mind but with the use of new tools (com. Sci,
linguistics, neuroscience)
6. Describe common themes in cognitive psychology.
- Studying when things go wrong’: errors reveal how cognition normally works
- Example: Illusions, memory failures, attention lapses
- Not all processes are conscious: Many mental processes occur automatically (we are often
unaware of how decisions are made)
- We don’t really know what we went went when the light turned green, we just did without
consciously thinking about it
Yana Variya
‘
, Page 3
- Past experiences and expectations matter: What we notice and how we interpret it depends on
prior knowledge
- Someone who’s been bitten by bees before, might not like honey because it unconsciously
reminds them of that incident
7. Differentiate between Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience.
- Cognitive Psychology = focuses on how the mind works by putting more emphasis on mental
process and little to no emphasis on brain structure (mostly human subjects)
- Example: What does the mind do when I turn the traffic light red → green
- Cognitive Neuroscience = Focuses on how biological processes produce cognition by putting more
emphasis on brain structure/function and see them with Neuro-imaging, animal modals, etc (links
mind to neural mechanisms)
- Example: How does the brain make the mind do that?
Lesson 1: Sensation and Perception —————————————————————————————
1. Explain signal detection theory, including the possible decision outcomes, criterion, and liberal/
conservative bias
- Signal Detection Theory = detecting a stimulus depends on both sensory input and decision
making, not whether the stimulus is present
- Possible decision outcomes:
- Hit = Signal present, correctly detected (Said ball was there and it was there)
- Miss = Signal present, not detected (Said ball was not there while it was)
- False Alarm = Signal was not present, but reported as present (Ball wasn’t there but said it
was)
- Correct Rejection = Signal Absent, Correctly detected (Ball wasn’t there & ball was not
there)
- Criterion = Threshold a person uses to decide whether a signal is present when it is unclear
- Liberal Bias = more likely to say yes, signal present’ which leads to ↑ hits and ↑ false alarms
- Example: Security officer says weapon present’ more easily which leads to ↑ hits and ↑
false alarms (water bottle gets flagged as threat)
- Conservative Bias = More likely to say no, signal absent’ which leads to ↓ false alarms and ↑
misses
- Example: Security officer is less strict about saying weapon present” which leads to ↓
false alarms and ↑ misses (a small knife in a bag is missed)
2. Describe visual search tasks including feature search and conjunctive search tasks
- Visual Search task = how people find a target among distractors
Yana Variya
‘‘ ‘ ‘
, Page 4
- Feature search = target differs by one feature (colour, shape) → Detection = fast and largely
independent of the number distractors ; Also known as the pop-out effect’
- Example: Find 1 red circle amongst 100 yellow circle
- Conjunctive Search = Target different by multiple features (Colour and Shape) → Detection =
slow and requires focused attention
- Example: Find 1 red square amongst 100 yellow and red squares and circles
3. Describe Ganzfeld experiments and what they tell us about sensory adaptation
- Ganzfeld Experiments examine sensory adaptation by exposing participants to a constant,
uniform sensory field
- Sensory receptors are sensitive to change so when stimulus doesn’t change, perception
faces
- It tells us that perception depends on changing sensory input, not constant stimulation
- Example: When you put on clothes, at first we feel them but then after some time we stop
noticing them (due to constant unchanging stimulation)
4. Describe how the different structures of the eye contribute to vision.
- Vision begins when light enters the eye through the cornea which helps focus the light
- Then the light passes through the pupil
- Size of the pupil is controlled by the iris to regulate how much light enters the eye
- Fovea = located centre of the retina and is responsible for sharp detailed vision
- Peripheral Retina = motion detection and low light Vision
5. Describe the role of photoreceptors and how they are distributed on the retina.
- There are 2 main type of photo receptors:
- Rods = Highly sensitive to light and important for night vision and peripheral vision (no
colour detection = black/white vision)
- Cones = Responsible for colour vision and fine detail = function best in day light
- Cones are densely packed in the fovea (first thing light hits after entering the eye) and rods are
more concentrated in the peripheral retina (not much colour detection required)
- Example: Colourly are viewed more clearly when looking directly at something, but movement is
easier to detect in your peripheral vision
6. Describe how information travels from the eye to the visual cortex.
- After reaching the visual cortex, the information splits into 2 pathways:
- The Ventral ( What’) Pathway = from Occipital → Temporal lobe and is responsible for object
recognition = identify faces/objects
- Damage = Visual Agnosia = A person ca see objects fine but cannot identify them
Yana Variya
‘ ‘
Lesson 0: What is Cognition? —————————————————————————————————
1. Describe the scope of Cognitive Psychology.
- The scope of cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes involved in thinking
and knowing
- Includes: memory, attention, problem solving, language, intelligence, higher-level
perceptual processes, and the interaction of thought with emotion.
- In practice, this means cognitive psychologists try to explain:
- how you take in information (perception + attention),
- how you keep it available (short-term/working memory),
- how you store it long-term (long-term memory),
- how you use it to communicate (language),
- how you use it to make decisions and solve problems (reasoning/problem solving),
- and how emotions influence or change these processes (for example, anxiety
narrowing attention).
- Example: When you see a traffic light and stop, cognitive psychology asks how did you recognize
colour, how did you remember what red means (in this specific scenario), how did attention and
decision making work together?
2. Explain the foundations of Cognitive Psychology.
- Cognitive Psychology is built on 4 core assumptions:
- World contains info; World is full of signals = sights, sounds, words, symbols, numbers, etc
- Humans select, process interpret, and respond to this info by active processing
- Active Processing = the mind is constantly doing work on incoming info; we select what
we attend to, interpret meaning, combine input with past knowledge, make prediction, fill
in missing info (info is constructer not just received)
- Passive Processing = the mind is like a camera or recorder = info is taken in exactly
as it is with no interpretation or influence from past experiences (HUMANS DON’T WORK
LIKE THIS!!!)
- These process vary across situations and people in such way that 2 people might see the
same event but interpret it differently due to
- Prior knowledge
- Expectations
- Emotional State
- Goals
- Information Theory = the more unusual/improbable an event, the more info it provides
Yana Variya
, Page 2
- Example: Went to mall and got whatever was on the list = very likely = ↓ info; Went to
mall and grabbed items in the list + junk food = unlikely = ↑ info
3. Identify Limitations on information processing.
- Humans cannot process all available information because our cognitive system has limits:
- Time: We must make decisions quickly—no time to analyze everything
- Capacity = Memory and attention have limited space
- Complexity = Some info is too complicated to process fully at once
- Interference = Other thoughts/stimuli complete for attention
- Example: Going to the same class everyday for 1 year and still not noticing the colour of the
painting at the back of the class (because it’s not relevant)
4. Describe Neisser’s Perceptual Cycle and give a concrete example.
- Neisser proposed that perception = continuous cycle involving 3 components:
- Schema: Mental framework based on past experiences/expectations
- Exploration: Actions guided by schema (looking, searching, and expectations)
- Object (Available info): The actual info present in the environment
- Schema directs exploration → samples info from objects → new info modifies schemas (explains
why perception is influenced by expectations)
- Example: Schema = Empty room → Exploration = Scanning the room casually → Object = Notice a
moving shape → Schema updates = Someone/something is here
5. Describe the development of Cognitive Psychology.
- Structuralism = focused on the structure of mind, used introspection
- Introspection = studying the mind by looking inward and reporting one’s own thoughts,
feelings and sensations
- Functionalism = Focuses on what mental processes do (How thinking helps us adapt and survive)
- Behaviourism = Rejected the mind and focused on observed behaviour
- Humanism = focused on the whole person by emphasizing free will, meaning, and personal growth
- Cognitive Psychology = returned to studying mind but with the use of new tools (com. Sci,
linguistics, neuroscience)
6. Describe common themes in cognitive psychology.
- Studying when things go wrong’: errors reveal how cognition normally works
- Example: Illusions, memory failures, attention lapses
- Not all processes are conscious: Many mental processes occur automatically (we are often
unaware of how decisions are made)
- We don’t really know what we went went when the light turned green, we just did without
consciously thinking about it
Yana Variya
‘
, Page 3
- Past experiences and expectations matter: What we notice and how we interpret it depends on
prior knowledge
- Someone who’s been bitten by bees before, might not like honey because it unconsciously
reminds them of that incident
7. Differentiate between Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience.
- Cognitive Psychology = focuses on how the mind works by putting more emphasis on mental
process and little to no emphasis on brain structure (mostly human subjects)
- Example: What does the mind do when I turn the traffic light red → green
- Cognitive Neuroscience = Focuses on how biological processes produce cognition by putting more
emphasis on brain structure/function and see them with Neuro-imaging, animal modals, etc (links
mind to neural mechanisms)
- Example: How does the brain make the mind do that?
Lesson 1: Sensation and Perception —————————————————————————————
1. Explain signal detection theory, including the possible decision outcomes, criterion, and liberal/
conservative bias
- Signal Detection Theory = detecting a stimulus depends on both sensory input and decision
making, not whether the stimulus is present
- Possible decision outcomes:
- Hit = Signal present, correctly detected (Said ball was there and it was there)
- Miss = Signal present, not detected (Said ball was not there while it was)
- False Alarm = Signal was not present, but reported as present (Ball wasn’t there but said it
was)
- Correct Rejection = Signal Absent, Correctly detected (Ball wasn’t there & ball was not
there)
- Criterion = Threshold a person uses to decide whether a signal is present when it is unclear
- Liberal Bias = more likely to say yes, signal present’ which leads to ↑ hits and ↑ false alarms
- Example: Security officer says weapon present’ more easily which leads to ↑ hits and ↑
false alarms (water bottle gets flagged as threat)
- Conservative Bias = More likely to say no, signal absent’ which leads to ↓ false alarms and ↑
misses
- Example: Security officer is less strict about saying weapon present” which leads to ↓
false alarms and ↑ misses (a small knife in a bag is missed)
2. Describe visual search tasks including feature search and conjunctive search tasks
- Visual Search task = how people find a target among distractors
Yana Variya
‘‘ ‘ ‘
, Page 4
- Feature search = target differs by one feature (colour, shape) → Detection = fast and largely
independent of the number distractors ; Also known as the pop-out effect’
- Example: Find 1 red circle amongst 100 yellow circle
- Conjunctive Search = Target different by multiple features (Colour and Shape) → Detection =
slow and requires focused attention
- Example: Find 1 red square amongst 100 yellow and red squares and circles
3. Describe Ganzfeld experiments and what they tell us about sensory adaptation
- Ganzfeld Experiments examine sensory adaptation by exposing participants to a constant,
uniform sensory field
- Sensory receptors are sensitive to change so when stimulus doesn’t change, perception
faces
- It tells us that perception depends on changing sensory input, not constant stimulation
- Example: When you put on clothes, at first we feel them but then after some time we stop
noticing them (due to constant unchanging stimulation)
4. Describe how the different structures of the eye contribute to vision.
- Vision begins when light enters the eye through the cornea which helps focus the light
- Then the light passes through the pupil
- Size of the pupil is controlled by the iris to regulate how much light enters the eye
- Fovea = located centre of the retina and is responsible for sharp detailed vision
- Peripheral Retina = motion detection and low light Vision
5. Describe the role of photoreceptors and how they are distributed on the retina.
- There are 2 main type of photo receptors:
- Rods = Highly sensitive to light and important for night vision and peripheral vision (no
colour detection = black/white vision)
- Cones = Responsible for colour vision and fine detail = function best in day light
- Cones are densely packed in the fovea (first thing light hits after entering the eye) and rods are
more concentrated in the peripheral retina (not much colour detection required)
- Example: Colourly are viewed more clearly when looking directly at something, but movement is
easier to detect in your peripheral vision
6. Describe how information travels from the eye to the visual cortex.
- After reaching the visual cortex, the information splits into 2 pathways:
- The Ventral ( What’) Pathway = from Occipital → Temporal lobe and is responsible for object
recognition = identify faces/objects
- Damage = Visual Agnosia = A person ca see objects fine but cannot identify them
Yana Variya
‘ ‘
