Cognitive Psychology Chapter 1

Controlled experiments Neuroscientific research Self reports Case studies Naturalistic observation Computer simulations and artificial intelligence

Distinctive Research Methods

Studied mental chronometry, timing difference between simple reaction time and choice reaction time, stated mental responses cannot be measured but inferred

Donders

Read list of nonsense syllables and studied amount of repetitions needed; shorter intervals = fewer repetitions needed

Ebbinghaus

The landmark experiment in which dogs salivate at the sight of the person who feeds them provides an example of a. classically conditioned learning. b. instrumental learning. c. social learning. d. physiological psychology.

a

Stated 2 problems with introspection: - Extremely variable results - Results difficult to verify Lead to study of behavior, not the mind Little Albert Experiment

John Watson

Synthesis of Structuralism and Functionalism, How events become associated in the mind (Ebbinghaus and Thorndike)

Associationism

What is the relation between behavior and environment

Behaviorism

-Pair a neutral event with an event that naturally produces some outcome -After many pairings, the "neutral" event now also produces the outcome

Classical Conditioning

Acquire Knowledge via Emperical Data

Empiricists

Manipulate the independent variable Create experimental group Create control group Randomly assign participants Measure the dependent variable Same for all groups Control all other variables Prevent confounds

Experiments on Human Behavior

How and why does the mind work?

Functionalism

Data gathering Data analysis Theory development Hypothesis formation Hypothesis testing Application to real world

Goals of Research

Stated perceptions are the result of unconscious assumptions, infer much of what we know about the world

Heimholtz

Noted children do not only imitate speech but can innovate, also say things incorrect and have not been rewarded, therefore language must be determined by inborn biological processes

Noam Chomsky

Shape behavior by rewards or punishments Behavior that is rewarded is more likely to be repeated Behavior that is punished is less likely to be repeated

Operant Condition

Acquire knowledge through thinking and logical analysis

Rationalists

Focused on Operant Conditioning Interested in determining the relationship between stimuli and response Argued children learn language through speech imitation and rewards

Skinner

What are the elementary contents of the human mind (Wundt)

Structuralism

Trained rats to find food - Conflicted with behaviorism as the rats created a 'cognitive map', not repeat a learned behavior

Tolman

A rationalist a. uses logical analysis to understand the world and people's relations to it. b. is a follower of Aristotle's empiricist philosophy. c. supports the idea of monism. d. believes that knowledge is acquired through experience and observation.

a

An empiricist a. believes that knowledge is acquired through experience and observation. b. is a follower of Plato's rationalist philosophy. c. supports the idea of mindbody dualism. d. believes that the mind and the body are separate entities.

a

Associationism is a school of psychology, arising from Locke and Aristotle, that examines a. how ideas become associated with each other in the mind. b. the process by which the thoughts of some people associate with the thoughts of others. c. how "nonreal" representative objects become associated with abstract "ideal" objects in the mind. d. observable associations between stimuli and responses.

a

Lequoia decided to conduct her study at the mall. She watched people at the mall for very specific behavior and simply kept track of the number of times the behavior occurred for various groups. This would be an example of a. naturalistic observation b. structuralism c. case study d. selfreport

a

Santiago says that in order to understand cognitive processes we need to look directly at the brain to see how it functions. Ayami disagrees and says that we need to look at how people perform on various cognitive tasks. This disagreement is an example of a. biological versus behavioral methods. b. validity of inferences versus ecological validity. c. nature versus nurture. d. rationalism versus empiricism

a

Skinner's argument included the idea of operant conditioning, which refers to his belief that a. the strengthening or weakening of behavior, depending upon the presence or absence of reinforcement or punishment, explains all human behavior. b. all human behavior can be explained by operant conditioning, involving the strengthening or weakening of behavior, depending only on the presence of punishment. c. human behavior is highly unpredictable and, as a result, only some human behavior can be explained in terms of reinforcementpunishment relationships. d. human behavior cannot be understood without taking into account the purpose of the behavior.

a

This major theme for cognitive psychology is in terms of how we acquire information about cognitive processes. Should we study the brain directly or should we look at performance on cognitive tasks? a. biological versus behavioral methods b. validity of inferences versus ecological validity c. nature versus nurture d. rationalism versus empiricism

a

This part of dialectic thinking is when a counterstatement to previous beliefs emerges. This counterstatement would be called the ___. a. antithesis b. synthesis c. thesis d. pragmatics

a

This technique for studying the brain occurs after the death of the individual, and relates function prior to death to observable brain features after death. a. postmortem b. in vivo c. aspiration lesions d. cryogenic blockade

a

This theme of cognitive psychology deals with how we discover truth about ourselves and the world. Is it through the use of reason and logic or is it through observing and testing what we can sense? a. rationalism versus empiricism b. biological versus behavioral methods c. structures versus processes d. nature versus nurture

a

This type of research is interested in identifying which parts of the brain and what specific brain activity are associated with particular cognitive tasks. a. psychobiological research b. cerebral relational analysis c. structural relational analysis d. biological research

a

When developing this type of computer system, the goal is to have a system that demonstrates intelligent processing of information. a. Artificial Intelligence b. Engineered Intelligence (EI) c. Technologically Engineered Intelligence (TEI) d. Information processing approach

a

Which of the following is a legitimate criticism of Behaviorism? a. The behavioristic principles did not explain language learning well. b. The law of effect did not generalize to humans. c. Classical conditioning only works on animals. d. All of the above are legitimate criticisms.

a

Which of the following is not consistent with the ideas of functionalism? a. the study of the organism independent of its environment b. the study of mental processes c. the study and uses of consciousness d. the study of the relationship between the organism and its environment

a

Which of the following were known as Behaviorists who were willing to look inside the black box? a. Tolman for his work with mazes b. Pavlov for his work with dogs. c. Skinner for his work with rats. d. Watson for his work with Little Albert.

a

A leader in guiding functionalism toward pragmatism was __________, whose chief functional contribution to the field of psychology was his landmark book, Principles of Psychology. a. John Dewey b. William James c. Edward Lee Thorndike d. Hermann Ebbinghaus

b

Ecological validity refers to the degree to which lab data hold true when altered to account for a. ecological differences between the lab and the outside environment. b. the degree to which data gathered in a lab will apply outside the lab, given the influences of the environment on cognitive activity. c. the accuracy of predictions of how test subjects will react when placed in an environment with different ecological relationships. d. The effect ecological changes have on the behavior of organisms in the particular environment.

b

Gestalt psychology has most greatly influenced, specifically, the study of a. emotion. b. insight. c. behavior. d. linguistics

b

Lorraine was conducting an experiment in which she was eating an apple and was trying to analyze the experience. What technique was she using? a. in vivo b. introspection c. empiricism d. naturalistic observation

b

Of the following types of knowledge, a pragmatist would most likely support the study of knowledge that a. exists for its own sake. b. can be used to help people become better educated. c. enables us to speculate further on the relationship between body and mind. d. has no specific use, but is highly interesting from a psychological perspective.

b

Rationalism is to ____ as empiricism is to ____. a. empirical evidence; theory b. theory; empirical evidence c. manipulation; measure d. hypothesis; theory

b

The "law of effect" states that a stimulus will tend to produce a certain response over time if the a. stimulus is conditioned. b. organism is repeatedly rewarded for that response. c. organism is repeatedly punished for that response. d. stimulus and the response are both unconditioned.

b

The goal of structuralism was to understand the "content" of the mind by a. synthesizing constituent parts of perceptions. b. analyzing perceptions into their constituent parts. c. observing responses to various stimuli. d. evaluating other schools of thought to provide a "structure" for the new movement.

b

Theresa, a judge, does not accept circumstantial evidence as evidence in her court. Theresa will not convict anyone of a crime, based on general principles of anticipated behavior of people brought to court. Instead, Theresa allows only evidence that she can see, or "hard," observational evidence, to be used in a prosecution. Theresa could be referred to as a(n) a. Monist b. Empiricist c. Rationalist d. Nativist

b

This major theme of cognitive psychology deals with what factors contribute/influence who we are. To what extent is it our genetic inheritance or our surrounding environment? a. structures versus processes b. nature versus nurture c. biological versus behavioral methods d. rationalism versus empiricism

b

This major theme of cognitive psychology looks at to what extent we use highly controlled experiments versus naturalistic techniques. a. biological versus behavioral methods b. validity of inferences versus ecological validity c. rationalism versus empiricism d. structures versus processes

b

In psychological research, conducting lesions on the brain can be seen as an example of which of the key issues within the field of cognitive psychology? a. nature versus nurture b. rationalism versus empiricism c. structure versus processes d. applied versus basic research

c

John Watson, the founder of radical behaviorism, was an American psychologist who a. rejected all aspects of functionalism. b. supported the functionalist movement and was one of its most ardent supporters. c. rejected some aspects of functionalism, but at the same time drew heavily from the functionalists. d. altered the course of functionalism and later renamed the movement "behaviorism."

c

Mrs. M had difficulties with managing relationships. She was paranoid about anything that was said and often interpreted comments as an attack on her or her family. These symptoms and others were studied by a therapist for years and then were written up to help others understand her particular constellation of symptoms. This would be an example of a a. naturalistic observation b. psychobiological research c. case study d. selfreport

c

Part of dialectic thinking is when a statement of belief is proposed. This statement would be called the ___. a. antithesis b. synthesis c. thesis d. pragmatics

c

The combination of rational with empirical methods so as to get the "best of both worlds" represents, in dialectical terms, a(n) a. thesis. b. antithesis. c. synthesis. d. antisynthesis.

c

The issues for this theme of cognitive psychology is whether we should focus on the content of the human mind or if we should focus on the processes of human thinking. a. rationalism versus empiricism b. domain generality versus domain specificity c. structures versus processes d. nature versus nurture

c

This major theme for cognitive psychology is whether research should focus on fundamental cognitive processes or focus on research that has more of a practical application. a. domain generality versus domain specificity b. structures versus processes c. applied versus basic research d. rationalism versus empiricism

c

This particular approach emphasizes logical analysis as the means to acquiring new knowledge. a. Tabula rasa b. Synthesis c. Rationalist d. Empiricist

c

Which of the following examples is most analogous to the goal of the structuralist movement? a. Scientists study an entire assembled jigsaw puzzle in order to understand each of the pieces. b. Scientists look at how the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fit together in order to understand the assembling process. c. Scientists look at each piece of a jigsaw puzzle in order to understand the whole puzzle as assembled. d. Scientists study the different ways a jigsaw puzzle can be assembled to form different images

c

Which of the following would not be studied by a Cognitive Psychologist? a. whether people can pay attention to multiple stimuli at once without losing accuracy b. if advertising using animation is more memorable than advertising using no animation c. whether a group of people present affect how much is given to charity d. if the reading speed of college graduates differs from that of high school graduates

c

_____ is an interdisciplinary approach (e.g., artificial intelligence, linguistic, etc.) to the study of the mind. a. Multidisciplinary Approach to the Mind (MAM) b. Cognitive consortium c. Cognitive science d. Cognitive psychology

c

Bill, a mechanic, believes that automobile research should place an emphasis on studying how a car is used and the processes that occur among the various parts. If Bill had chosen psychology as a career field, he might have been in favor of a. Gestaltism. b. structuralism. c. behaviorism. d. functionalism

d

Elma, an automobile factory worker, learns how to install a car air conditioner by watching a fellow worker install the part. The knowledge Elma has just acquired is __________ acquired knowledge. a. experimentally b. reductively c. innately d. empirically

d

Pragmatism concerns itself most directly with the a. practicality of acquiring knowledge. b. degree to which knowledge is empirical. c. philosophical implications of knowledge. d. usefulness of knowledge.

d

Psychology is sometimes viewed as a merging of a. philosophy and monism. b. rationalism and physiology. c. physiology and empiricism. d. philosophy and physiology

d

Santiago and Ayami disagree on the direction of their research lab. Santiago is simply interested in a particular phenomenon and wants to study it for knowledge sake; Ayami, however, wants to be able to take what is learned and use it in practical applications. Their disagreement is an example of a. nature versus nurture. b. rationalism versus empiricism. c. structure versus processes. d. applied versus basic research.

d

The school of thought that focuses on answering the question of "What do people do and why do they do it?" is called a. Gestaltism. b. structuralism. c. psychoanalysis. d. functionalism.

d

This researcher examined the impact of rehearsal on memory using himself as a subject. a. Tolman b. Dewey c. Kant d. Ebbinghaus

d

This technique for studying the brain occurs while the individual is alive, and specific cerebral damage is conducted to see the effects on function. a. postmortem b. cryogenic blockade c. extracellular unit recording d. in vivo

d

This theme of cognitive psychology is whether one should use carefully controlled experiments or use techniques that would allow one to observe the behaviors as they naturally occur. a. structures versus processes b. validity of inferences versus ecological validity c. nature versus nurture d. domain generality versus domain specificity

d

Wilhelm Wundt's idea of _________ involved looking inward at the contents of one's consciousness. a. projection b. introversion c. repression d. introspection

d

Yaun participated in an experiment in which he saw various stimuli on a computer screen. After the experiment, Yaun was to provide feedback about what he thought was going on cognitively. This would be an example of a. naturalistic observation. b. individual observation. c. case study. d. selfreport.

d