Cognitive
Psychology
Semestral Goals
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of well established theories in cognitive
01 psychology as well as an appreciation for the complexity of cognitive process
Appreciate research and theories of cognition from diverse fields of studying
02 including neuroscience neuropsychology evolutionary psychology and behavioral
economics
Acquire understanding of research methods in cognitive psychology and ability to
03 critically evaluate research.
Apply the use of traditional design in cognitive psychology; Apply research in
04 cognitive psychology to everyday events and challenges
Knowledge on how human cognition works from attention sensation perception
05 action language process problem and thinking to learning and memory
Cognitive
Psychology:
Studying the
Mind
What is the Mind?
Problem
01 Memory 02
Solver
The mind as
involved in The mind as
memory problem solver
03 Decision Maker
The mind as used Normal Functioning 04
to make decisions
A healthy mind associated
or consider
with normal functioning; a
possibilities
non functioning mind with
abnormal functioning
05 Valuable Intelligence 06
The mind as
valuable and Used to describe those who
something to be are particularly intelligent or
used creative
What is the Mind?
Mental Operational Process;
Processes/Cognition How it operates:
The mind creates and The mind is a system
controls mental that creates
functions such as representations of the
perception, attention, world so that we can
memory, emotions, act within it to achieve
language, deciding, our goals
thinking, and reasoning
Reflects the mind’s
Reflects mind’s central importance for
role in determining functioning and
mental abilities survival
Cognitive Psychology:
Is the study of mental
processes, which includes
determining the
characteristics and properties
of the mind and how it
operates
The Development of Cognitive Psychology
● Studying the Mind: Early Works
● Abandoning the Study of the Mind: Behaviorism
● Rebirth of the Study of the Mind: Paradigm Shifts
● Evolution of Cognitive Psychology
Early Works in Cognitive Psychology
Abandoning the Study of the Mind: Behaviorism
● Watson’s Behaviorism
● Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
Rebirth of the Study of the Mind: Paradigm Shifts
● 1950’s- recognized as the beginning of the cognitive
revolution
Paradigm- a system of ideas that dominate science at a
particular time
Scientific Revolution- a shift from one paradigm to
another
Rebirth of the Study of the Mind: Paradigm Shifts
● Late 1940’s- the first digital computers were developed
● 1950’s- researchers became interested in describing how
well the mind can deal with incoming information
● 1955- first use of the term artificial intelligence- “making
machine behave in ways that would be called intelligent if
a human were so behaving
The Evolution of Cognitive Psychology