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Chapter 1

Terms in this set (62)

Cognitive Psychology
the scientific study of the mental operations that support the acquisition and use of knowledge
"hidden" processes that help us represent and use information
When was the 1st cognitive psychology test?
1976
mind definition 1:
-the mind creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning.
-central role in determining our various mental abilities
mind definition 2:
-the mind is a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve our goals.
-reflects the mind's importance for functioning and survival, and also provides the beginnings of a description of how the mind achieves these ends
blank state philosophy
tabula rosa
Donders (1868)
-who conducted the first cognitive psychology experiment
-interested in determining how long it takes for a person to make a decision
-response time (rt)
-
reaction time (RT)
the time between the presentation of the stimulus and the behavioral response
-how long it takes to respond to a presentation of a stimulus
Donder's Simple Reaction Time Task
The steps that occur in the simple reaction: presenting the stimulus (the light) causes a mental response (perceiving the light), which leads to a behavioral response (pushing the button). The reaction time (dashed line) is the time between the presentation of the stimulus and the behavioral response
-asking his subjects to push a button as rapidly as possible when they saw a light go off
Donder's Choice Reaction Time Task
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
Donder's Results
-the choice reaction time added decisions by requiring subjects to decide whether the left or right light was lit up, then which button to choose. -the difference in reaction time between the simple and choice conditions would indicate how long it takes to make the decision that led to pushing the correct button-Because the choice reaction time took one-tenth of a second longer than simple reaction time, Donders concluded that the decision-making process took one-tenth of a second
-decision making isn't instant; mental objectives take time
-mental responses cannot be measured directly, but must be inferred from behavior
Wilhelm Wundt
-father of experimental psychology
-founded the first scientific psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany (1879)
-structuralism
structuralism
-explained perception as the adding up of small units called sensations
-our overall experience is determined by combining basic elements of experience, the structuralists called sensations
cognition
the mental processes, such as perception ,attention, and memory, that are what the mind does
analytic introspection
a technique in which trained subjects described their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli.
-it is no longer used
Phenomenlogical method
learning humans thoughts and experiences by asking them what they are thinking and feeling
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