Cognitive Pyschology
E. Bruce Gldstein
4th Edition
Chapter 1
Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study
of the mind.
Cognitive Psychology: Studying the Mind
The mind creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory,
emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning. This definition reflects the mind’s
central role in determining our various mental abilities
The mind is a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to
achieve our goals.
The first one indicates different types of cognition—the mental processes, such as
perception, attention, and memory, that are what the mind does. The second definition
indicates something about how the mind operates (it creates representations) and its function
(it enables us to act and to achieve goals).
STUDYING THE MIND: EARLY WORK IN COGNITIVE
PSYCHOLOGY
Franciscus Donders, who in 1868, 11 years before the founding of the first laboratory of
scientific psychology, did one of the first experiments that today would be called a cognitive
psychology experiment.
DONDERS’S PIONEERING EXPERIMENT: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO
MAKE A DECISION?
Donders was interested in determining how long it takes for a person to make a decision. He
determined this by measuring reaction time—how long it takes to respond to presentation
of a stimulus.
He measured simple reaction time by asking his subjects to push a button as rapidly as
possible when they saw a light go on (Figure 1.2a). He measured choice reaction time by
using two lights and asking his subjects to push the left button when they saw the left light
go on and the right button when they saw the right light go on
WUNDT’S PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY: STRUC
TURALISM AND ANALYTIC INTROSPECTION
According to structuralism, our overall experience is determined by combining basic
elements of experience the structuralists called sensations. (WUNDT)
, analytic introspection, a technique in which trained subjects described their experiences
and thought processes in response to stimuli. Analytic introspection required extensive
training because the subjects’ goal was to describe their experience in terms of elementary
mental elements.
EBBINGHAUS’S MEMORY EXPERIMENT: WHAT IS THE TIME COURSE OF
FORGET TING?
Ebbinghaus was interested in determining the nature of memory and forgetting—
specifically, how rapidly information that is learned is lost over time.
Ebbinghaus used a measure called savings, calculated as follows, to determine how much
was forgotten after a particular delay: Savings = (Original time to learn the list) – (Time to
relearn the list after the delay).
savings curve, shows that memory drops rapidly for the first 2 days after the initial learning
and then levels off. This curve was important because it demonstrated that memory could be
quantified and that functions like the savings curve could be used to describe a property of
the mind—in this case, the ability to retain information.
WILLIAM JAMES’S PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY
As impressive as the accuracy of James’s observations, so too was the range of cognitive
topics he considered, which included thinking, consciousness, attention, memory,
perception, imagination, and reasoning.
Abandoning the Study of the Mind
WATSON FOUNDS BEHAVIORISM
Watson’s ideas are associated with classical conditioning—how pairing one stimulus (such
as the loud noise presented to Albert) with another, previously neutral stimulus (such as the
rat) causes changes in the response to the neutral stimulus. Watson’s inspiration for his
experiment was Ivan Pavlov’s research, begun in the 1890s, that demonstrated classical
conditioning in dogs.
Watson used classical conditioning to argue that behavior can be analyzed without any
reference to the mind.
SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING
Skinner introduced operant conditioning, which focused on how behavior is strengthened
by the presentation of positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval (or withdrawal of
negative reinforcers, such as a shock or social rejection).
Skinner was not interested in what was happening in the mind, but focused solely on
determining how behavior was controlled by stimuli (Skinner, 1938).
SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE REEMERGENCE
E. Bruce Gldstein
4th Edition
Chapter 1
Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study
of the mind.
Cognitive Psychology: Studying the Mind
The mind creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory,
emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning. This definition reflects the mind’s
central role in determining our various mental abilities
The mind is a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to
achieve our goals.
The first one indicates different types of cognition—the mental processes, such as
perception, attention, and memory, that are what the mind does. The second definition
indicates something about how the mind operates (it creates representations) and its function
(it enables us to act and to achieve goals).
STUDYING THE MIND: EARLY WORK IN COGNITIVE
PSYCHOLOGY
Franciscus Donders, who in 1868, 11 years before the founding of the first laboratory of
scientific psychology, did one of the first experiments that today would be called a cognitive
psychology experiment.
DONDERS’S PIONEERING EXPERIMENT: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO
MAKE A DECISION?
Donders was interested in determining how long it takes for a person to make a decision. He
determined this by measuring reaction time—how long it takes to respond to presentation
of a stimulus.
He measured simple reaction time by asking his subjects to push a button as rapidly as
possible when they saw a light go on (Figure 1.2a). He measured choice reaction time by
using two lights and asking his subjects to push the left button when they saw the left light
go on and the right button when they saw the right light go on
WUNDT’S PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY: STRUC
TURALISM AND ANALYTIC INTROSPECTION
According to structuralism, our overall experience is determined by combining basic
elements of experience the structuralists called sensations. (WUNDT)
, analytic introspection, a technique in which trained subjects described their experiences
and thought processes in response to stimuli. Analytic introspection required extensive
training because the subjects’ goal was to describe their experience in terms of elementary
mental elements.
EBBINGHAUS’S MEMORY EXPERIMENT: WHAT IS THE TIME COURSE OF
FORGET TING?
Ebbinghaus was interested in determining the nature of memory and forgetting—
specifically, how rapidly information that is learned is lost over time.
Ebbinghaus used a measure called savings, calculated as follows, to determine how much
was forgotten after a particular delay: Savings = (Original time to learn the list) – (Time to
relearn the list after the delay).
savings curve, shows that memory drops rapidly for the first 2 days after the initial learning
and then levels off. This curve was important because it demonstrated that memory could be
quantified and that functions like the savings curve could be used to describe a property of
the mind—in this case, the ability to retain information.
WILLIAM JAMES’S PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY
As impressive as the accuracy of James’s observations, so too was the range of cognitive
topics he considered, which included thinking, consciousness, attention, memory,
perception, imagination, and reasoning.
Abandoning the Study of the Mind
WATSON FOUNDS BEHAVIORISM
Watson’s ideas are associated with classical conditioning—how pairing one stimulus (such
as the loud noise presented to Albert) with another, previously neutral stimulus (such as the
rat) causes changes in the response to the neutral stimulus. Watson’s inspiration for his
experiment was Ivan Pavlov’s research, begun in the 1890s, that demonstrated classical
conditioning in dogs.
Watson used classical conditioning to argue that behavior can be analyzed without any
reference to the mind.
SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING
Skinner introduced operant conditioning, which focused on how behavior is strengthened
by the presentation of positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval (or withdrawal of
negative reinforcers, such as a shock or social rejection).
Skinner was not interested in what was happening in the mind, but focused solely on
determining how behavior was controlled by stimuli (Skinner, 1938).
SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE REEMERGENCE
