Cognitive Psychology Study Guide
cognitive psychology (Ans- the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mind
Mind (Ans- 1) creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning
2) a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve our goals
Cognition (Ans- the mental processes such as perception, attention, memory, etc.
reaction time (Ans- how long it takes to respond to presentation of a stimulus; pioneered by Donders
simple reaction time (Ans- press a button upon presentation of a stimulus
choice reaction time (Ans- push one of two buttons depending on a feature of the stimulus
savings method (Ans- implemented by subtracting the number of trials needed to learn a list after a delay from the number of trials it took to learn a list the first time
structuralism (Ans- overall experience is determined by combining basic elements of experience called sensations; strove to create a 'periodic table of the mind' 1 / 3
analytic introspection (Ans- a technique in which trained participants describe their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli
behaviorism (Ans- proposes that observable behavior, not consciousness, is the main object of study in psychology; rejects introspection as a method; pioneered by John Watson
classical conditioning (Ans- pairing one stimulus with another, previously neutral, stimulus causes changes in the response to the neutral stimulus; e.g. Pavlov's dog experiments
operant conditioning (Ans- focuses on how behavior is strengthened by the presentation of positive reinforcers, or the withdrawal of negative reinforcers; developed by B.F. Skinner
cognitive map (Ans- the mental conception of a spatial layout; used by Tolman to explain rat-maze results
information-processing approach (Ans- traces the sequence of mental operations involved in cognition
cognitive revolution (Ans- a shift in psychology from the behaviorist's stimulus-response relationships to an approach whose main thrust was to understand the operation of the mind
artificial intelligence (Ans- 'making a machine behave in ways that would be called intelligent if a human were so behaving' (John McCarthy's definition) 2 / 3
logic theorist (Ans- computer program devised by Alan Newell and Herbert Simon that was able to solve logic problems
behavioral approach (Ans- studying the mind by measuring a person's behavior and explaining this behavior in behavioral terms
physiological approach (Ans- studying the mind by measuring the physiological and behavioral responses, and explaining behavior in physiological terms
memory consolidation (Ans- process by which experiences or information that has entered the memory system becomes strengthened so it is resistant to interference caused by trauma or other events
Model (Ans- in cognitive psychology, a representation of the workings of the mind; often presented as interconnected boxes that each represent the operation of specific mental functions
cognitive neuroscience (Ans- field involved in studying the neural basis of cognition
Neurons (Ans- cells that are specialized to receive and transmit information in the nervous system
nerve net (Ans- a network of continuously interconnected nerve fibers (as contrasted with neural networks, in which fibers are connected by synapses)
- / 3