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PYC3703 SUMMARY 2021/1

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A comprehensive summary of the Prescribed Book for the module. Includes hyperlinks for definitions in an all-inclusive Glossary of Terms.

Last document update: 3 year ago

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  • October 11, 2021
  • October 28, 2021
  • 85
  • 2021/2022
  • Summary

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By: fairynique • 6 months ago

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By: miekaroebert • 8 months ago

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2021S01 PYC3703 SUMMARY




PYC3703
COGNITION: THINKING, MEMORY & PROBLEM SOLVING




Table of Contents
ABBREVIATIONS & INFO KEY ............................................................................................................................................ 2
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ........................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2 - COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE ........................................................................................................................ 9
CHAPTER 3 - PERCEPTION............................................................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 4: ATTENTION IS NOT REQUIRED ........................................................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 5 - SHORT-TERM & WORKING MEMORY ....................................................................................................... 24
CHAPTER 6 - LONG-TERM MEMORY: STRUCTURE......................................................................................................... 33
CHAPTER 7 - LONG-TERM MEMORY: ENCODING, RETRIEVAL & CONSOLIDATION ...................................................... 41
CHAPTER 8 - EVERYDAY MEMORY & MEMORY ERRORS .............................................................................................. 48
CHAPTER 9: KNOWLEDGE, CHAPTER 10: VISUAL IMAGERY & CHAPTER 11: LANGUAGE ARE NOT REQUIRED .. 55
CHAPTER 12 - PROBLEM SOLVING ................................................................................................................................. 56
CHAPTER 13 - JUDGEMENT, REASONING & DECISIONS ................................................................................................ 64
GLOSSARY OF TERMS ..................................................................................................................................................... 70




L.Smith Page.1

,2021S01 PYC3703 SUMMARY



ABBREVIATIONS & INFO KEY
ABBREVIATION MEANING
abcd Word / Phrase defined in the Glossary of Terms
NOTE: Press Ctrl+click on these words / phrases to skip to the definition in the Glossary of Terms
abcd Definitions & additional info obtained from online web sources
AI Artificial Intelligence
AP Action Potential
beh Behaviour(al)
BUP Bottom-Up Processing
CN Cognitive Neuroscience
CP Cognitive Psychology
CRT Choice Reaction Time
Eg. Example (for example)
exp Experience
IPA Information-Processing Approach
ito In Terms Of
LTM Long-term Memory
NS Nervous System
NT Neurotransmitter
OST Operation Span Task
PFC Prefrontal Cortex
Phys Physiological
Psy Psychology
re regarding
RST Reading Span Task
SM Sensory Memory
SRT Simple Reaction Time
STM Short-term Memory
TDP Top-Down Processing




L.Smith Page.2

, 2021S01 PYC3703 SUMMARY



CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
~CP is the branch of Psy concerned with the scientific study of the mind~

What is the mind?
-Cognition:
 Creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking and reasoning.

-Operation and function:
 A system that created representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve our goals

-Normal functioning & survival
 Routine actions (recognising someone, having a conversation) involve many sophisticated qualities and complex operations.

Studying the Mind: Early work in CP

Decision-Making Time


Franciscus Donders (1868) - Pioneering experiment: Decision-making time

a. Simple Reaction Time
 After a stimulus is presented the mind perceives it (mental response)
 This leads to a certain reaction (behavioural response)
EXPERIMENT




b. Choice Reaction Time [CRT]
 After a stimulus is presented the mind perceives it (1st mental response)
 The stimulus type must be determined and decision made to react appropriately (2nd mental response)
 Appropriate reaction takes place (behavioural response)

-Result: Response takes during CRT task as during SRT task (extra step).

*The decision-making process takes about 100ms
**Mental responses cannot be measured directly but has to be inferred from behaviour




Structuralism & Analytic Introspection
-Wilhelm Wundt (1879)
 Structuralism: Overall experience is determined by combining basic elements of experience (sensations)

-Periodic Table of the Mind
 Summary of basic sensations involved in creating complex experience

-Analytic introspection
 Trained participants describing their sensations, feelings & thought processes in response to stimuli
 Empiricist approach (Empiricism)

Time course of forgetting


Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885): Memory retention
EXPERIMENT




-Quantitive method in determining how rapidly info is learned and lost over time

 Original Learning time [OLT] taken for initial earning of a list (recalling correctly)
 Waiting period (delay)
 Re-learning time [RLT] taken to re-learn the same list (forgetting has occurred)

-Result: Memory drops rapidly 1st two days after initial learning, then levels off

*Memory can be quantified
*Curve can describe a property of the mind: ability to retain info




L.Smith Page.3

, 2021S01 PYC3703 SUMMARY


-Savings
 Amount of info retained after a particular delay
 S = OT – RLT
 Longer delays result in smaller savings
 Reduction of savings provides a measure of forgetting

Attention
-William James (1890) – Principles of Psychology
 Attention influenced by interest
 Paying attention to something implies withdrawing from others
 Incl. thinking, consciousness, attention, memory, perception, imagination & reasoning

**Perceptive observation regarding attention & wide range of experiences

Abandoning the study of the mind

-Focus shift to pure observable behaviour
-Strict study of stimulus-response / input-output relationships

Behaviourism
-John Watson (1913)
 Consideration of behaviour (observable)
 Not consciousness (unobservable)

**Objective, experimental prediction and control of behaviour
in response to external stimuli

-Deficiencies in analytic introspection
 Results extremely variable & difficult to verify
 Requires extensive training

-Classical Conditioning (Pavlov, 1902)
 How pairing one stimulus with another affects behaviour
 Physiological & mental processes irrelevant




-Operant Conditioning (BF Skinner, 1938)
 Stimulus-response relationship
o Positive = food, social approval
o Negative = shock, social rejection

**Behaviour is strengthened by the presentation of positive
reinforcers / withdrawal of negative reinforcers

-Critique
 People respond to different aspects of the same stimulus event
 Aspect not known until after response is made
 Response dependent on meaning stimulus has to each individual


Setting the stage for re-emergence of the mind in psy

Development of a cognitive map
-Edward Tolman (1948)
 Rejects stimulus-response theory
o Reinforcement not necessary for learning to occur
o Individuals do more than merely respond to stimuli
o They act on beliefs, attitudes & changing conditions

**Forming of a cognitive concept when striving towards a certain goal




L.Smith Page.4

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