Introduction To Applied Cognitive Psychology

Front 1

What did early cognitive psychologists focus on?

Back 1

Methodology
Basic cognitive processes
Theory building

Front 2

Who is the father of experimental psychology?

Back 2

Wilhelm Wundt

Front 3

What did Galton, 1883, research?

Back 3

Mental imagery.
Used a questionnaire to investigate the strength and nature of mental imagery.

Front 4

Who studied operant conditioning in 1914?

Back 4

Thorndike

Front 5

What conclusions did Ebbinghaus reach regarding memory?

Back 5

Frequent reps can fix mental associations more firmly in memory

Distributing learning trials over time is more effective in memorizing nonsense syllables than massing practice into a single session.

Continuing to practice material after the learning criterion has been reached enhances retention.

Front 6

Bartlett argued that cognitive research should have relevance to the real world. What did his research have an impact on?

Back 6

His research on memory (for stories and pictures) had direct real-life applications,
e.g., on the testimony of courtroom witnesses

Front 7

How did world wars influence cognitive psychology?

Back 7

Training and man-machine interaction
visual and auditory displays, control tools, and systems.

Front 8

How did Human factors psychology influence cognitive psychology?

Back 8

Human factors psychology - understanding the cognitive capabilities and limitations of human operators (eg., pilots)

Front 9

What is signal detection theory?

Back 9

Detection theory, or signal detection theory, is a means to quantify the ability to discern between information-bearing patterns (called stimulus in humans, signal in machines) and random patterns that distract from the information (called noise, consisting of background stimuli and random activity of the detection machine and of the nervous system of the operator). In the field of electronics, the separation of such patterns from a disguising background is referred to as signal recovery.[1]

Front 10

Donald Broadbent studied attention. What did he find out?

Back 10

His dichotic listening experiments demonstrated the limitations of human attention

Front 11

Which computer did Alan Turing create and what did it do?

Back 11

His “Colossus” computer helped break the German “Enigma” codes during WW II.

Analogy between computers and human minds(Hardware: brain; Software: mind)

Thinking can be described in terms of algorithmic manipulation of some information

These ideas gave rise to the information processing paradigm in psychology – cognitive psychology and Artificial intelligence.

Front 12

How did the cognitive revolution challenge behaviourism?

Back 12

Eg, evidence of
Learning without responding
Learning without reinforcement
Cognitive maps

Front 13

What did the cognitive revolution say about syntax? (Noam Chomsky)

Back 13

Work on syntax.

Behaviorists can not explain how children can produce novel sentences they never heard

Infinite number of sentences we can produce can not be learned by reinforcement – there must be a cognitive algorithmic structure in our mind underlying language

Front 14

What did Jerry Fodor come up with?

Back 14

Modularity of mind

Front 15

What research methods are used in cognitive psych?

Back 15

-behavioural experiments
-imaging studies
-computational modelling
-neurobiological

Front 16

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Lab experiments?

Back 16

Advantages:
Ease of admin, scoring, analysis.
High probability of making valid causal inferences
Weaknesses:
Ecological validity may be an issue
Generalising results beyond lab conditions problematic.

Differences between real life behaviour and behaviour under lab conditions.

Front 17

What are the strengths and weaknesses of psychobiological research? (studies on human or animal brains)

Back 17

Strengths:
Hard evidence of cognitive functions. Relate them to physiological activity
Clinically useful, eg., treatment of cognitive deficits.
Weaknesses:
May require specific subjects and equipment that may be difficult to get or too expensive for most researchers.
Use of abnormal or animal brains limits generalizability of findings to normal human populations.

Front 18

What are the strengths and weaknesses of self reports?

Back 18

Strengths:
Access to introspective insights from participants’ own views
Weaknesses:
Can only report processes occuring at the conscious level
Data gathering process may influence cognitive process being reported
Discrepancies between actual cognition and recollections

Front 19

What are the strengths and weaknesses of case studies?

Back 19

Strengths:
Rich detailed information. Especially useful in lesion studies.
Weaknesses:
Small, non-representative samples may limit generalizability to population.

Front 20

What are the strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation?

Back 20

Strengths:
Access to rich contextual data
Weaknesses:
Poor experimental control
Presence of observer may influence behaviour of participants.

Front 21

What are the strengths and weaknesses of computer simulations and artificial intelligence?

Back 21

Simulate human cognitive performance on various tasks
AI- make computers demonstrate intelligent cognitive performance (may not resemble human cognitive performance)
Strengths:
Exploration of wide range of possibilities for modelling cognition
Allows clear testing on hypothesis and predicted outcomes
Practical applications, eg., robots working in dangerous situations.
Weaknesses:
Limitations imposed by hardware and software
Distinctions between human intelligence and machine intelligence

Front 22

How is basic research different to applied research?

Back 22

Basic research often leads to immediate application while applied research often leads to basic findings.

E.g. memory studies versus eyewitness testimony research