Chapter 1
Introduction to
Cognitive Psychology
Instructor: Samiya Ashraf
• Psychology of mental processes, study
of understanding & knowing
• A more precise definition of cognitive
psychology is, the study of the way in
Definition of which the brain processes
information
Cognitive • Concerns the way we take in information
Psychology from the outside world, how we make
sense of that information & what use we
make of it
• Cognition is a broad umbrella term,
which includes many component
processes
Stages of Cognitive Processing
Approaches To The Study of Cognition
Historical Perspectives
The First Cognitive Psychologists
• The scientific study of psychology began towards the end of the nineteenth century
• Cognitive psychology made slow progress in
the early years due to the growing influence
of behaviorism, an approach which
constrained psychologists to the investigation
of externally observable behaviors
• 1913: Watson maintained that psychologists
should
The Rise & • Consider only events that were
Fall Of observable, such as the stimulus
presented and any consequent behavioral
Behaviorism response to that stimulus
• Not concern themselves with processes
such as thought and other inner mental
processes which could not be observed in
a scientific manner
• Behaviorists completely disregarded the
cognitive processes underlying the responses
they were studying
Gestalt &
Schema Theories
• Gastalt psychologists realized
that proper understanding of
human cognition could only be
achieved by investigating the
mental processes & their work
helped to lay the foundations of
modern cognitive psychology
• Gastalt group proposed the idea
that we contribute something to
our perceptual input from our
own knowledge and experience
Schema Theory
• Schema Theory proposed by Bartlett (1932) was another
early attempt to provide a plausible explanation for a
person’s ability to make sense of their perceptual input
• schema theory proposes that all new perceptual input is
analyzed by comparing it with items which are already in
our memory store, such as shapes and sounds which are
familiar from past experience
• These items are referred to as ‘schemas’
• Schema and Gestalt theory had a major influence on the
development of cognitive psychology, by emphasizing the
role played by inner mental processes and stored
knowledge, rather than considering only stimulus and
response
Top-down & Bottom-up Processing
• 1967: Inspired by the schema theory, Neisser identified two main types of input
processing
Scope of Cognitive
Psychology
Scope of Cognitive Psychology
Application of Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Neuroscience
& Neuropsychology
Structure & Function of Brain
A Side View Of The Brain Showing Main Lobes
Structure & Function of Brain
• The nervous system, including the brain, is composed of neurons that
communicate with each other via synapses. Neurons transmit signals by
releasing neurotransmitters across these synapses
Hebb's Theory
• Hebb's theory proposes that when two adjacent neurons are fired
simultaneously, the connection between them is strengthened
• This process is analogous to "wearing a path" through repeated activation,
making future signal transmission easier
• Hebb suggested that groups of interconnected neurons, called cell
assemblies, represent specific patterns of input or stimuli. With repeated
exposure to a stimulus, the synaptic connections within a cell assembly
become stronger, forming a lasting memory
Neurons & Their Connecting Synapses
Short-Term and Long-Term Memory
• Hebb's theory also explains the difference between short-term and long-term
memory
• Temporary activation of a cell assembly underlies short-term memory, while
repeated firing leads to permanent changes in synaptic connections, forming long-
term memories
• Over the years, various studies have provided evidence supporting Hebb's theory.
For instance, experiments on living tissue have shown that neurons undergo lasting
changes in response to frequent firing, known as long-term potentiation (LTP)
• Additionally, research on animals has demonstrated that environmental stimulation
influences the growth of synaptic connections in the brain
• Modern brain-imaging techniques, such as PET scans, have confirmed that
memory storage and retrieval coincide with the activation of neural networks spread
throughout the brain