Cognitive level of analysis

What is cognitive psychology ? Study of mental processes Study of the way in which the brain

processes information It concerns the way we take in

information from the outside world, how we make sense of that information and what use we make of it.

Stimulus - response

What is this ?

What are mental processes?( the thing in the black box)

Decision-making – perception- language- memory-attention ??

Billy is walking across the school campus. He spots a friend and they have a quick chat about last night’s football training. He then apologises as he rushes off to his own football training, unsure of whether to cycle or catch the bus.

Such an every-day sequence of seemingly trivial events actually involves a sequence of complex cognitive processes. Which process is being used ?

Billy is able to find his way across campus and recognize his friend.

He focuses on only a portion of the campus as he makes his way across it

He remembers his friend, details of the match the night before and his training session

They chat about the football match He then has to working out the best form of transport to

get home.

Outline principles that define the cognitive level of analysis:

Outline principles that define the cognitive level of analysis:

1. Humans are information processors

2. Mental processes can be scientifically investigated

3. Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors

1. Humans are information processors

Human behaviour is determined by a set of mental tasks/processes

Mental tasks/processes include; perception, thinking, problem solving, memory, language and attention

They are also known as cognitions

Cognitive psychologist see these cognitions/mental tasks as active systems;

In between taking in and responding to information a number of processes are at work.

Information can be transformed, reduced, elaborated, filtered, manipulated, selected, organized, stored and retrieved

Therefore the human mind is seen as an active system processing information, and cognitive psychologists aims to study these processes.

Central to this information processing approach is the computer metaphor.

One of the difficulties facing cognitive psychologists is that they were trying to study processes that are not directly observable.

Consequently the computer revolution of the 1950 provided the terminology and metaphor they needed.

People, like computers, acquire information from the environment ( input ).

Both people and computers store information and retrieve it when applicable to current tasks;

both are limited in the amount of information they can process at a given time;

both transform information to produce new information; both return information to the environment ( output).

This information processing approach can be seen in;

Models of memory Schema theory

(more about each of these later).

Principle 2: Mental processes can be scientifically investigated Cognitive processes are difficult to study. They often occur rapidly, and inside the mind

so they cannot be observed directly. It is only the responses that participants make

when given some cognitive task to perform that can tell us about cognitive processes.

These tasks usually take place under tightly controlled lab experiments where the main aim is to isolate a particular component of the cognitive process for the study.

The stroop effect One of the earliest and most famous

experiments into cognitive processes is the Stroop Effect.

The stroop effect is a phenomena involved in attentional processes.

Although we will actually focus on the process of memory this is a good study to look at.

People are often introduced to the Stroop Effect in beginning psychology classes as they learn about how their brains process information.

The stroop effect

It demonstrates the effects of interference, processing speed (reaction time) and automaticity in divided attention.

The effect is named after John Ridley Stroop who first published the effect in English in 1935.

Stroop effect This is a classic laboratory experiment that

involves the manipulation of an independent variable ( colour or name of word ) to see what effect it has on the dependent variable ( reaction time).

It attempts to control the influence of all other extraneous variables – such as other cognitive processes or skills.

It also allows us to establish a cause and effect relationship between task and mental process.

Mental processes can be scientifically studied A further example of the laboratory

experiment was conducted by Ebbinghaus (1885).

His experiment intended to isolate the process of pure memory and show that it could be studied scientifically under carefully controlled conditions.

The aim of the study was to study forgetting, i.e. how quickly a person forgets what has been learned 100%.

He used himself in most of the studies , i.e. the design was N=1 and he tested his memory using nonsense syllables. Learned lists of nonsense syllables (e.g., DAX,

QEH) Why nonsense syllables?

Did not want actual words to influence his ability to memorize or recall certain words

He manipulated the independent variable of ‘time delay before recall’ to find the effect on the dependent variable of ‘the amount of information retained’ thus being able eventually to draw the famous ‘forgetting curve’.

Principle 3:Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors Cognitive processes can be influenced by our

culture Bartlett found that schemas ( past knowledge)

can affect our memories – Cole and Scribner found that non-schooled

children in parts of Africa struggled with aspects of memorisation.

MORE ABOUT THIS LATER……….