Cognitive Psychology - The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of
the mind.
Definition of the mind's role - The mind creates and controls mental functions such as
perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning.
Definition of how the mind operates - The mind is a system that creates representations
of the world so that we can act within it to achieve our goals.
Cognition - The mental processes, such as perception, attention, and memory, that are
what the mind does.
Reasons given as to why it is not possible to study the mind - 1. It is not possible for the
mind to study itself
2. Properties of the mind simply cannot be measured
Who was the researcher that defied the common wisdom and decided to study the mind
anyway? - Franciscus Donders, a dutch physiologist
What was Franciscus Donders interested in? - How long it takes for a person to make a
decision
Reaction time - How long it takes to respond to presentation of a stimulus
What are the two measures of reaction time that Donders used? - 1. Simple reaction
time
2. Choice reaction time
How did he measure Simple reaction time? - Asked his subjects to push a button as
rapidly a possible when they saw a light go on
How did he measure Choice reaction time? - By using two light and asking his subjects
to push the left button when they saw the left light go on and the right button when they
saw the right light go on.
Donder's experiment conclusion - It takes 1/10 second to make a decision;
because choice reaction time takes 1/10 seconds longer than simple reaction time
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