Lecture notes
Cognitive Psychology Year 2
- Institution
- Brunel University (BU)
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PY2025 – Cognitive PsychologyLecturer: Dr Andre Szameitat (GASK263) Email: andre.szameitat@brunel.ac.uk
Office hours: wed 11.30 – 12.30 Thursday1.30-2.30 YOUTUBE: PY2025 (2014) cognitive psychology
Learning objectives:
Experimentation
Frameworks for explaining cognition
Assessment: 90 minute exam: 2 parts (multiple choice questions 40% and open questions 60%)
Cognitive psychology - The study of mental processes of behaviour/ mental functions
Mental functions – things one can do with one’s mind
Eg. Attention (eg phoning while driving), learning, memory (eg improving quality of eyewitness testimonies), language (eg how to write
text and make it understandable), emotions, etc.
Cognition is the process by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, recovered and used (Neisser, 1967)
Lectures:
1. Introduction and history (chapter 1,2)
2. Perception (4)
3. Attention (5)
4. Short term memory (6)
5. Long term memory and learning (7)
6. Language part 1 (9)
7. Language part 2 (9)
8. Problem solving & expertise (11,12)
9. Creativity & emotions (13,14)
10. Decision making & social cognition (10,18)
Experimentation:
Sternberg’s classic experiment
Mental chronometry – using response times to infer on the organisation of mental processes
Further experimental methods: learning word lists (recall & recognition), problem solving
FRAMEWORK Information Information processing approach (eg speeded 2 choice response task) – cognitive processing stages:
S FOR processing 1. PERCEPTION(input) – perception and analysis of external stimuli
EXPLAINING approach 2. RESPONSE SELECTION (process)– decision process: which response is required by the stimulus
COGNITION: 3. MOTOR EXECUTION (output) – respond by moving finger
Production Productions – computer rules if/thens:
systems A production has 2 parts: condition and action.
When the condition is satisfied, the action is executed (IF /THEN situation eg traffic lights)
Rule like behaviour
Semantic Semantic networks:
networks Contains nodes and links
Nodes stand for concepts
Links are labelled - EG. Animal >(HAS) > skin >(IS)> dry
Connectionism Connectionism:
May seem similar to semantic
Artificial neural networks consisting of : nodes (neurons) and links (axons)
Typically nodes and links have activations between -1 and +1
Activation of links also called weight
Links can be excitatory (activation >0) or inhibitory (activation <0)
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,Lecture 2 – perception
Learning objectives:
Introduction to perception
Psychophysics
Gestalt theory
Depth perception
Object recognition
What is perception?
Perception is the process by which the cognitive system constructs an internal representation of the outside world.
An interpretation of our sensory input! Not an accurate representation of the reality
Perception is based on bottom-up information processing and influenced by top-down processes (previous knowledge/dis-ambiguation)
Key issues in perception:
Perception is not an accurate representation of the reality
It is an interpretation of our sensory input – senses may deceive us. One and the same input may be interpreted in different ways.
From sensation to perception:
One and the same input may be interpreted in different ways – eg illusions
Eg vision – light > eye > retina > rods &cones (receptors) > neural activity > primary visual cortex > successively higher visual
areas (up to “face regions” and alike)
This is called “bottom up” process
However, previous high-level knowledge can influence our perception
Influences on perception by knowledge, expectations etc . is called “top down” modulation.
“higher level” brain areas influence neural processing in lower level perceptual areas. – expectations of something from
knowing how things look from experience
Eg sign that says chris browns hit’s looks like chris brown shits
What is psychophysics?
Relationship between physical stimuli and their perception
3 central questions:
Absolute threshold (detection threshold)
- what is the minimum strength of a physical stimulation so that we notice its presence
- long process and boring, made most difficult types made like 50% chance there isn’t something - eg absolute auditory threshold
Relative threshold (just noticeable difference)
- smallest detectable difference between 2 stimuli – also called just-noticeable difference
- Weber law - In approximation, the jnd is proportional to the stimulus intensity. The higher the intensity the larger the jnd and vice versa
Eg this is applied in marketing! If you wanto to decrease quality don’t make it noticeable, if you make a change make it
noticeable eg iphones or making brake lights
Scaling
- how does the perceived intensity change with a change of the physical stimulus?
- or how much does the physical stimulus need to change to perceive a doubled intensity?
- it is not linear: for instance a light twice as intense does not lead to the subjective perception of a light twice as bright
Perception of the sensory events of an action is different for our own actions and those of others
, Our own actions are felt “less intense” because we already expect its effects!! eg tickle ourselves
“agency” plays a role
- lack of this expectation is schizophrenics may explain why they attribute actions to an outside agent – own action is toned
down but they don’t feel that
Gestalt’s 6 principles of Continuation Occurs whe the eye is compelled to move through one object
perception to continue to another object
Used in typography based logos
Perceive objects as forming smooth continuous patterns
how humans see objects by
grouping similar: Closure When element is incomplete or space isn’t closed
- elements, If enough of shape is indicated
- recognizing patterns Subconsciously fill in missing information
-simplifying complex Similarity When objects look the same
images – simplest form Viewer will perceive them as group or pattern
(pragnanz organisation) Similarity in colours, shapes, texture
-humans naturally follow
lines/ curves Understand they are related to each other
-mind fills in details that
aren’t there
Similar visual elements form a group
Proximity When elements are very close to each other
Objects close together form a group
Symmetry Identical to each other
Lack of symmetry can mean lack of relationship
Law of figure-ground segregation: We tend to structure the visual field into 2 parts: a figure and
ground
Gestalt psychology:
Provides a description of perceptual principles
Does not explain perceptual mechanisms
What is principle of Pragnanz?
That sensory input is processed in a way which results in a percept which is simple, stable, regular, orderly and or symmetric
(properties)
Gestalt CRITICISM:
Nicely describes the organising principles that guide perceptual processes, but does not explain why these principles exist
Does not provide a model of perceptual processing
No reference to depth perception
What is depth perception?
localise objects in a 3d world - eg distance of an approaching car
The world is projected onto the eye as 2d image!
How can we create a 3d percept by 2d images? – by construction and interpretation
2 binocular cues (information from both Binocular disparity / stereovision the eyes view the world from a different
eyes) angle, because they’re a while apart,
larger object distance means less
disparity/ difference
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