LU2: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Mental Representation (Visual Perception)
Sematic Network/Propositional Network
Spreading Activation Theory
Originated in the process of creating a computer program that would stimulate human memory search
Key Assumptions: When a concept if being processed, its node is activated to a certain level (activation spreads out in every direction of the network, lessening at weaker links and strengthening at stronger ones)
Features
If the activation is strong enough, it will be attended to
Frequently used links have greater strength, activation travels faster between 2 nodes
The weaker the distance between items/greater the number of irrelevant paths, the weaker the spread
Assumptions
Activation released from a concept node continues as long as the node is in use
Activation decreases over time/when other activities intervenes, unless something (such as repetition) occurs to strengthen it
The greater the number of concepts stimulated, the less activation available for each one
When activation at a particular node derives from more
than one source, activation becomes cumulative until it reaches a threshold
Scripts
Definition: Simple, well-structured sequence of events
Idea of scripts = to network theory of spreading activation
Purpose
To identify objects, parts and characteristics
To track moving objects, to navigate, search, reach appropriately
To identify properties of imaged objects, which allows us to retrieve information from memory
(Kosslyn, 1990)
Memory retrieval, problem solving, producing descriptions, mental practice, motivational states, daydreaming and association
Cognition
Processes by which sensory input
Cognitive Capabilities
Cognitio (Latin) – to acquire knowledge through the exercise of mental powers (i.e. the mental process of knowing)
Elaborated
Stored
Reduced
Recovered
Transformed
Used
Pre Scientific Experimentation
Cognitive psychologists seek explanations for all functions introspection suggests our MIND carry out
MIND
Introspection–to understand what goes on in the MIND
How we think
How we think about thinking
Learning
Language
Problem solving
Reasoning
Perception
Imagery
Store
Utilize
Obtain
Perception
Attention
Sensation
Representation
Memory
Day by day
Concepts
Proposition
Rules
Analogy
Single entity or group of entities
Statement about the world
Specify relationships between proposition
Comparison between similar situation
Information processing
Auditory
Perceptual Illussions
The Psychological Approach
Task of Cognitive Psychologist
Emphasis on the study of internal mental operations
Computer is the metaphor for MIND
Mental functioning = representation & computation
Cognitive Architecture
Developing theoretical framework to explain the workings of the brain
Devising experiments whose results serve to illuminate that framework
IP model = Computer model
STM (Short term memory)
LTM (Long Term Memory)
SR(Sensory register)
Declarative Knowledge
Procedural Knowledge
Episodic memory
Semantic memory
Implicit memory
Knowing (what)
General knowledge about concepts abstracted from experience
Concept
An idea about something that provides a means of understanding the world (mental representation)
The mark of having mastered a concept is the ability to categorize objects or events of a domain
Often single concept may be captured in a single word
Each concept relates to other concept
Derived from specific instances
Categories
Category =A set of objects that ‘belong’ together (i.e. coherence)
A concept that functions to organize or point out aspects of equivalence among other concepts
A class of similar things
Enables prediction
Examples
Seafood
Fishes (category)
Shellfish (category)
Crab(concept)
Lobster(concept)
Oily Fish (category)
White Fish ( category)
Haddock(concept)
Cod (concept)
Salmon(concept)
Trout(concept)
Visual
Memory
Types of Information in memory
Episodic
Procedural
Semantic/Propositional network
Abstract and general knowledge about facts and concepts
Contains events that we have experienced personally
Information related to the performance of various skills
Representation of Concepts
Introspection
Empirical inquiry method
Representation of Propositions
An expression of the relationship between concepts
A thought that is in some sense complete
Truth value
Unit of meaning, can be either true or false
Propositional representations
Entities not yet converted into ordinary language but translatable in such language when we need them
Hypothesis
That propositions are comprised of meaningful concept/ relation combinations not yet transformed into language
Meanings/ propositions rather than the precise language are easy to remember
Propositional / Semantic Networks
Thought rests on the mental representation of propositions
Hypothesis - that meanings and links are stored in propositional, sematic network
Categories: Experimental Evidence
Perceptual categories: Perceptual Domain of Color
Segmentation of color spectrum varied arbitrarily from language to language
20 different languages
Findings
What different color categories perceived?
What marked boundaries between one category to another?
Basic color terms followed by 320 color chips in color spectrum
Human beings perceive 11 basic color categories (disconfirmation of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)
Categorization using hierarchy
Basic level (Most distinctive)
Subordinate level (Highest detail)
Superordinate level (less detail)
Categorization based on free sorting (not based on family resemblance principle)
Findings
When people confront the world, they face two sorts of categories
The ones already constructed (employed by culture, experiences)
The ones they must construct for themselves both early in their development and later on
Category Loss
Difficulty in recognizing and describing something (animate or inanimate) which used to be recognizable and describable
Due to injury to a particular part of the brain resulting in loss of categorization ability
Agnosia
Prosopagnosia
Can perceive objects within the category they have lost but can't identify them
Loss of ability to categorize or recognize faces
Recap
Our concept and categories are stored in our brain
Human construct categories from instances, and these categories result in concept
Human acquire concepts and engage in the process of categorization
Concepts and categories are intimately connected
Concept = representations we have of the totality of a category
Mental Imagery
Mind's eye
Mental images = visual respresentation
What do people use imagery for (Kosslyn,1990)
memory retrieval
problem solving
producing descriptions
Mental respresentation of stimuli that are not physically present
Scientific experiments
Mental rotation (Shepard & Metzler,1971)
Image scanning (Kosslyn,Ball,Reiser -1978)
Turning imagined objects in the mind's eye as if looking at real object 
To investigate the time it takes to scan between 2 locations on a mental image
What cognitve processes do we engage in when we approach a problem with intention of solving it?
Problem solving
the situation people face when they want something but do not know right away what to do to get it (Newell & Simon,1972)
Problem solving involves
An initial states - current state
Goal state
Path for reaching the goal
Types of problems
Comprehension
Transformation
Arrangement
What makes a problem difficult
Difficulty can be measured by
the length of time it takes to arrive at a solution
whether it is finally solved
Difficulty depends on the interaction of problem solver with the task environment
Memory
Role of memory
Research
How we think
How we learn
How we reason
How we solve problems
How we communicate
How we represent the world
Insights
How we store
How we retain
how we access
How we adapt to
How we use information
Pyschological Approach
Emphasis on the study of internal mental operations
Theoretical Contributions
Modal memory model (Atkinson & Shriffin,1968)
Tulving's model (Tulving, 1972)
Cognitive Information Processing
Ip model = computer model
SR (sensory register) = input devices
STM (shor-term memory) = central processing unit
LTM (long-term memory) = hard drive storage
The Modal memory model (Atkinson & Shriffin,1968)
Memory system
Permanent, structural feature
Control processes (readily modified or preprogrammed)
Multistore model
Coding
Refers to the way information is represented
Types of coding
Visual coding
Phonological coding
Semantic coding
The Sensory Store
Records information coming from all senses
Purpose = to store information with reasonable accuracy just long enough for some of it to be selected for further processing in working memory
Short Term/Working Memory
Retains information briefly (30 seconds)
Receives input from sensory memory and long-term memory
Functions
repository for brief storage
manipulates information as it is being stored
uses the information to perform various tasks
Long Term Memory (LTM)
Store large amounts of information for indefinite periods of time
Information from STM constantly being transferred
(depends on individual engagement process)
Elaboration
Mnemonic devices
Rehearsal
involves linking to already stored associations
memory strategy
Recall
Recognition
We may forget for various reasons
Failure to encode
Interference
Failure to retrieve
Tulving's Model (Tulving, 1972)
Categorizes memory according to type remembered
Declarative Memory
Semantic Memory
Episodic Memory
Procedural
Knowledge contained with learned skills or modifiable cognitive operations
a network of concepts/propositions
Occurrences of events
Implications on learning
Organize new information into meaningful chunks
Students to be encouraged to use both verbal and imagery coding
Encourage deeper processing through elaboration
Learning increases when students make meaning
Encoding and retrieval are interconnected.
Successful retrieval depends on meaningful encoding process
information sought during retrieval was never learned in the first place
inability to access previously learned information
other events or information got in the way of effective retrieval
involves a set of pre-generated stimuli presented to learners for a decision or judgment
learners retrieve previously stored information without cues or hints to help them remember
the distances are embodies in mental images in the same way as in one's actual visual perception of pictures
what goes on in the brain as one sees with one's mind's eyes correspond directly to what goes on when one sees with one;s actual eyes
through a process analogous to actually operating on a physical object
mental practice
motivational states
daydreaming and association
Mechanism for Concept & Category Formation
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The ability to categorize is innate in human
Basic types of categories
Sensory input
Abstraction
Perceptual categories
Conceptual categories
Taste
Sound
Emotions: Fear, Anger, Joy
Other kinds of abstraction
Intelligence Vs Stupidity
Democracy Vs Dictatorialship
Melodic Vs Atonal
Categorization: Human Cognition
The base on which human cognition rests
Depends on memory
Sorting
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Approaches
The 'Feature' Approach
The 'Prototype' Approach
The 'Exemplar" Approach
Categories based on our experiences and memory of category members
Categories by specifying characteristics of a category that are both necessary
Categories based on representations formed of 'average' values for the feature
additional resource
Cognitive psychology has increased researchers’ understanding on how the brain works and enables psychologists to find new approaches to assisting people with psychological difficulties
People having issues with their mental processes can consult with a cognitive psychologist, who may help to find ways to overcome the difficulties
Cognitive psychology is a fast expanding field that continues to increase our knowledge on the various effects that mental processes to our health and daily lives
The study of cognitive psychology emphasised on how human process information and thinking patterns can lead to psychological distress, causing new treatment approaches to develop.