COGNITIVE PSYCHGNITI

a ‘black box’ that could not be

- the branch of psychology that explores
researched objectively.
the operation of mental processes related
to perceiving, attending, thinking,
George Miller- introduced an
language, and memory, mainly through
experimental method for studying
inferences from behavior” (American
memory in 1956.
Psychological Association, 2020).

Information processing- all

- concerned with how we process
encompassing approach for
information.
understanding mental or cognitive
processing. processing was introduced in
Renaissance period (between
the 70s. This enabled cognitive
1400 and 1700) period when studying
psychologists to formulate models to
the brain using ‘scientific’ methodology
represent, for example, how attention,
began.
perception and memory might operate.

René Descartes- pondered over

Cognitive information processing
the philosophical approach of ‘dualism’
models are derived by collating
to understand the difference between
participant scores from cognitive-related
mind and body.
tasks.

Dualism implicated that the mind can

• these cognitive-related tasks must be
exist independently of the body.
controlled such that they test the same
Monism described the mind and body
aspect of cognition under the same
as coexisting.
conditions.
The development of cognitive
psychology- was a reaction to the focus
• The average performance of each
on overt behavior advocated by
group is known as a normative
Behaviorism. For behaviorists, such
score.
brain functions was encapsulated in
 When the released positrons are detected
Mental imagery is considered to by this scanner, a spatial image is
be a series of pictures in the mind’s eye created.
without input from the outside world. Functional magnetic
• uses visual representations resonance imaging (fMRI)-
Changes of blood oxygenation and flow
When cognitive neuroscience are indicators of neural activity. Active
was initially conceived its remit was to areas in the brain consume more oxygen
study the involvement of physical brain and it is this that fMRI detects and
mechanisms during cognitive images.
processing. Event related functional
magnetic resonance imaging
Different scanning techniques (efMRI)
commonly used by cognitive A measure known as BOLD (blood
neuroscientists: oxygen level-dependent) is used to
Single unit recording- The detect the amount of deoxyhaemoglobin
activity of a single neuron can be studied in the capillaries and veins of the brain.
through the insertion of a micro- This provides a measure of the amount
electrode into the brain. This is very of oxygen used (OEF: oxygen extraction
sensitive and can pick up the activity in fraction) by areas active in the brain.
a single cell. This measure provides information
Event related potentials regarding areas active during specific
(ERPs)- Many electrodes are placed in cognitive tasking.
several areas on the scalp. These record
brain activity while the individual is Magnetic encephalography
performing a cognitive task. The (MEG)
recordings are averaged to produce a Electrical activity of neurons generates a
single continuous waveform. magnetic field. It is this magnetic field
Positron emission that is measured by sensors called
tomography (PET)- This magnetometers. This is then translated
indirectly measures neural activity by into images of structure and function.
using radioactive substances that release
atomic particles known as positrons.
[Link] processing its own specific stimuli
lation.. independently of other modules.
(repetitive..transcranial..ma • Modules process stimuli within
gnetic stimulation: rTMS) their own domain but can be in direct
Magnetic pulses are applied to the brain. communication with closely linked
A non-invasive coil is placed against the modules.
head which delivers an electric current. • Domain specificity- how the
When this is repeated in quick modules function; they are receptive to
succession it is known as rTMS. This specific types of stimui.
helps to stimulate areas of the brain
where applied. Jerry Fodor- introduced the notion
of cognitive modules as a way of
Event-related potentials understanding how the mind works in
(ERPs) from relation to language.
Electroencephalography
(EEG) Cognitive neuropsychology
EEG is often used as part of a 'bio-pack' limitations:
for undergraduate biological and • The idea that a dissociation of
cognitive laboratory experiments. An performance can be traced to an area of
averaged single waveform can be brain damage might be rather simplistic
recorded from a series of electrodes • Differences in performance across
placed on the scalp. ERPs are produced cognitive tasks can be a consequence of
from EEG recordings, which can varying levels of task difficulty rather
provide useful information about than one module not functioning as well
reaction times. as another
• Double Dissociation-
Cognitive..Neuropsychology- Researchers compare performance on
developed the concept of modularity. two tasks across two different
Modularity-‘the orchestrated activity individuals with different types of brain
of multiple cognitive processors damage.
(modules)’ (Ellis and Young,1988).
There are different modules, each The British Psychological Society
(BPS) has highlighted areas which
cognitive psychologists should study.
• four core-areas: perception, memory, Leonardo da Vinci- drew the
thinking and language; anatomy of the human brain.
• sub-areas: attention, learning, problem-
solving and communication. Thomas Willis- outlined the brain’s
structure in his text, ‘Anatomy of the
The Beginnings of Cognitive Brain’ in 1664 (Based on the
Psychology understanding of the circulatory system
• Cognitive Psychology by examined by William Harvey.
Ulric Neisser published in
1967- considered to mark the official Plasticity- demonstrates how the
onset of the ‘cognitive revolution’. brain can reconfigure itself for function.
• George Miller and Jerome (other parts of the brain can cover up for
Bruner credited for the beginning of the damaged area’s functions).
cognitive research.
• Eric Lenneberg- observed that
there is a timeframe when the brain
shows particular resilience and
COG PSYCH 2:Cognition in the plasticity.

Brain: The Anatomy and

• Language acquisition occurs before the
Mechanisms the Brain
brain becomes fully lateralised for
Cognitive neuroscience studies
function at about the age of 12 years.
how the brain and other aspects of the
nervous system are linked to cognitive
Notion of modularity- helped to
processing and, ultimately, to behavior.
understand that there are areas of brain
localisation.
• Brain- the organ in our bodies that
most directly controls our thoughts,
Structure of the Human Brain
emotions, and motivations
The brain has three major regions:
• is reactive as well as directive.
forebrain, midbrain, and
• Localization of function
hindbrain
refers to the specific areas of the brain
Forebrain- generally, the farthest
that control specific skills or behaviors.
forward,toward what becomes the face.
Midbrain-next in line and aggression (stimulation of the
Hindbrain-is generally farthest from amygdala commonly results in fear).
the forebrain, near the back of the neck.
Hippocampus
• essential in memory formation
• comes from the Greek word for
“seahorse,” its approximate shape
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Thalamus- relays incoming sensory
information through groups of neurons
that project to the appropriate region in
the cortex.
- also helps in the control of sleep and
waking
• Schizophrenia

Hypothalamus-from Greek hypo-,

“under”; located at the base of the
cerebral cortex is the outer layer forebrain, beneath the thalamus
of the cerebral hemisphere. - regulates behavior related to species
• plays a vital role in our thinking and survival: fighting, feeding, fleeing, and
other mental processes. mating.

basal ganglia (singular: ganglion) The Midbrain

• collections of neurons crucial to motor • helps to control eye movement and
function coordination
• dysfunction of the basal ganglia can • the most indispensable of these
result in motor deficits. (Parkinson’s structures is the reticular activating
disease and Huntington’s disease). system (RAS) or Reticular Formation.

Septum-involved in anger and fear • a network of neurons essential to

• Amygdala- plays an important role regulating consciousness, including
in emotion as well, especially in anger sleep; wakefulness; arousal; attention to
some extent; and vital functions, such as The frontal lobe is responsible for
heartbeat and breathing. motor processing and higher cognitive
functions like reasoning, problem-
• Brainstem-connects the forebrain to solving, planning, and judgment.
the spinal cord.
The prefrontal cortex, at the front
• Comprised of the hindbrain, thalamus, of the frontal lobe, is involved in
midbrain, and hypothalamus. complex motor control and integrating
information over time.
The Hindbrain
• comprises the medulla oblongata, the The primary motor cortex,
pons, and the cerebellum located in the frontal lobe, controls
movement planning and execution,
• Medulla oblongata- controls especially for delayed responses.
heart activity and largely controls
breathing, swallowing, and digestion. parietal lobe- located at the upper
back portion of the brain, is associated
- the hindbrain is evolutionarily the with somatosensory processing.
oldest and most primitive part of the
brain.
- midbrain is a relatively newer
addition to the brain in evolutionary
terms.
- the forebrain is the most recent
evolutionary addition to the brain.

Karl Spencer Lashley- the father

of neuropsychology.
• found that implantations of crudely
built electrodes in apparently identical COG PSYCH 3: ATTENTION
locations in the brain yielded different AND PERCEPTION
results and vice versa. William James- Babies’ world=
“blooming, buzzing confusion” (baby is
bombarded with stimuli from its experiences to use in the present. As a
surrounding world). process: the dynamic mechanisms
• process of sensation- starting point to associated with storing, retaining, and
understanding the world is very much at retrieving information experience.
the basic level of processing
information. Common Operations
Encoding: transforming sensory data
Attention is the process of into a mental representation
selectively focusing on stimuli at the Storage: retaining encoded
expense of other stimuli. information in memory
Retrieval: accessing encoded
Perception the set of processes by information stored in memory.
which we recognize, organize, and make
sense of the sensations we receive from Recall
environmental stimuli. producing a fact, a word, or other item
from memory.
uses two types of information: sensory requires expressive knowledge
derived and experiential (laid down as Serial recall: Remembering items in
memories). the exact order
William James presented
• introduced the idea that we have a Free recall: Remembering items in
stream of consciousness’(our thoughts any order.
and reactions to events are experienced Cued recall: a hint or cue is given
as a continuous flow). to help remember previously learned
• the processing of information is reliant information.
on two types of attention – active and
passive. Implicit Memory
operates unconsciously and influences
CHAPTER 4 MEMORY AND thoughts and behaviors without
LEARNING intentional effort. priming: is the
facilitation of your ability to utilize
Memory- the means by which we missing information.
draw our information from our past
priming effect: when prior
exposure influences performance
without conscious awareness.

procedural memory: the

process of retrieving information
necessary to perform learned skills.