foundations of cognitive psychology history of cognitive psychology ancient questions (the greeks)...

Foundations of Cognitive Psychology

History of Cognitive Psychology• Ancient Questions (The Greeks)

• (Western) Philosophical Context• Psychological Context

• What is Cognitive Psychology?• What is Psychology?

• What is Cognitive Psychology?• What are its Methods?

• Science of the Mind (Cognitive Psych.) vs. Science of the Brain (Neuroscience)• Basic Overview of the Brain

• Why Cognitive Psychology is Necessary• Connectionism

Ancient Questions (The Greeks)

Platonic dialogue the Meno First extended discussion of nature of knowledge

o Where does knowledge come from?o What does it consist of?o How is it represented in the mind?

Extended dialogue btwn Socrates & young slave Socrates ‘demonstrates’ that boy possesses within

him all the knowledge necessary to compute various geometrical relationships

abstract math = knowledge par excellence Understanding of all domains implanted in soul

at birth Task of instructor: to bring this innate knowledge

to conscious awareness

(Western) Philosophical Context

Middle Ages Aristotle was cornerstone of discussion Discussions about knowledge were purview of

theologians Renaissance & Enlightenment Period

Descartes, Locke, Kant Discussions now drew on findings from

newly established empirical sciences End of 19th Century

Proliferation of ‘new sciences’ and ‘philosophical specialties’

Several deal with ‘nature of the human mind’

Psychological Context Still asking questions that intrigued Greeks

What does it mean to know? Where does knowledge come from?

But now armed with: empirical methods better tools (i.e. computer)

Behaviorism (1920-1950s) Mentalistic talk is gibberish Focus on… Stimulus Response (Associations)

o Law of Exercise. Responses to a situation which are followed by rewarding state of affairs will be strengthened & become habitual

o Law of Effect. Connections become strengthened with practice & weakened when practice is discontinued

Cognitive Psychology develops in response to Behaviorism

What is Psychology? The Freud/Skinner misconception

Many think they are representative of the field when they are not

Less than 10% of APA membership fall under either paradigm

Represent, in some ways, the two extremes

Freud(Psychoanalysis) Heavy on theory Light on behavioral

data

Majority of Psychologists:Study of both ‘psyche’ and ‘behavior’

Skinner(Behaviorism) Light on theory Heavy on

behavioral data

What is Psychology? Data basis for evaluating theories

is behavior

From the observation of behavioral patterns, theories containing hypothetical concepts* are constructed.*don’t always refer to conscious mental events

They are then changed based on further behavioral observation.

This process is not remarkable – same process as in other sciences.

What is Psychology? A data-based scientific discipline

Then what is a “science”? NOT defined by subject matter NOT defined by use of particular methods/tools NOT defined by specific concrete procedures IS a way of thinking about & observing world

Defining Features of A Science 1. Use of systematic empiricism 2. Production of public knowledge 3. Examination of solvable problems

What is Psychology? Use of systematic empiricism

Empiricism: practice of relying on observation Systematic: Observations are structured so that the

results of the observation reveal something about the underlying nature of the world (typically theory driven)

Production of public knowledge Findings are submitted to scientific community

for criticism & empirical testing (peer-review) Notion of ‘replication’ Leads to cumulative growth of knowledge

(researchers build on what is already known) Examination of solvable problems

The type of questions addressed are ones that are potentially answerable given currently available empirical techniques

What is Psychology?Q. Does psychology ‘thingify’ people? Science has encroached on many (most)

areas that once were the province of philosophy, religion, literature, art…

BUT… scientific study of topics once relegated to other fields does not necessarily mean denigration of humanity (e.g. Health Care)

Important to parse out those questions that can be answered via science & those that simply cannot.

What is Cognitive Psychology?

Five Key Features:1. Posits a level of analysis wholly separate from

the biological or neurological 2. Faith that central to any understanding of the

human mind is the computer3. Deliberate decision to de-emphasize certain

factors that may be important but complicate things (emotion, history/culture, role of context)

4. Faith in interdisciplinary studies (philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, linguistics, anthropology, neuroscience)

5. Claim that a key ingredient in contemporary cognitive psych. is the agenda of issues which have long exercised epistemologists in the Western philosophical tradition

We stopped here & will continue with the rest tomorrow.

What are its Methods? Information processing analyses Computer simulation Response latencies (subtractive technique) Eye fixations (attention) Verbal reports: think aloud & retrospective Sorting (categories)

Discourse analysis Ethnographic methodologies Design experiments Coding of verbal protocols

Overview of the Brain - Graphic

Why Cognitive Psychology is Necessary "brain-based education" is wildly

popular, however… It builds a bridge too far.

Findings about

the brain

How individua

l learn (complex

tasks)

Best practice

s in educatio

nneuroscien

cecog.

psych.education

Why Cog.Psych. is Necessary

Example of a Bridge Too Far: Claims about the educational significance of brain laterality (right brain vs. left brain)

Neuroscientific Findings: Categorical & coordinate spatial reasoning

are performed by distinct subsystems in the brain.

o Subsystem in brain's left hemisphere performs categorical spatial reasoning.

o Subsystem in brain's right hemisphere processes coordinate spatial relationships.

Thus, research points to differences in the information-processing abilities & biases of the brain hemispheres.

Why Cog.Psych. Is Necessary

Example of a Bridge Too Far (con’t.): Claims about the educational significance of brain laterality (right brain vs. left brain)

Gloss of Findings: The left hemisphere is logical, analytical, rational,

serial processor (e.g., speech, reading, & writing) The right hemisphere is intuitive, creative visual,

spatial, parallel processor (e.g., recognition of faces, places)

THEREFORE… Schools are left-hemisphere dominant when they

should engage both hemispheres. To involve the right hemisphere in learning,

teachers should encourage spatial reasoning, for example.

Why Cog.Psych. Is Necessary

Example of a Bridge Too Far (con’t.): Claims about the educational significance of brain laterality (right brain vs. left brain)

Problems: It is subsystems not total hemispheres that

are specialized in important ways. Complex tasks (of the type we do in school)

involve multiple types of processing, often spanning both hemispheres

Thus, the tasks of educational interest are often not confined to one hemisphere or the other

Why Cognitive Psychology is NecessaryThe take-home point:

We do not know enough about brain functioning to link that understanding directly, in any meaningful way, to educational practice.

And what we do know about the brain is too fine grained to be of much use.

However ... there are two shorter bridges already in place

that indirectly link brain function with educational practice:

o 50 year old bridge between education & cognitive psychology

o 20 year old bridge between cognitive psychology & neuroscience.

Activity

1) Recall a personal learning event2) Describe your model of cognition

foundations of cognitive psychology history of cognitive psychology ancient questions (the greeks)...

Documents

mind cognitive

knowledge necessary

innate knowledge

necessary connectionismwhat

greeks platonic dialogue

empirical methods better

extended discussion

behavioral datawhat