COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Key Terms

cognitive system the structures that deals with information

ecological validity the ability to generalize results from a study across a variety of settings

empiricism the acquisition of knowledge through experience

experimentation a research approach in which attempts are made to identify causal

relationships among variable under controlled conditions.

information processing the mental activity of operating on information; an approach to

studying cognition

introspection the consideration of the contents of one’s mind, and the reports of that
consideration

rationalism the acquisition of knowledge through reasoning

associationism a theory of cognitive functioning in which learning and thinking consists a

sequence of experiences linked via various principles

behaviourism a theory of functioning in which learning, thought and behaviour are the result of
stimulus-responds relations

connectionism a theory of cognition allied to associationism, but which emphasises the

strength and type of connection between elements

Gestalt theory and principles German-“configuration”-a theory which states that experience is
coherent and unified

human performance/human factors a research approach based on studying the factors which
affect performance

information processing the mental activity of operating on information, an approach to

studying cognition

mental chronometry measurement of the time taken to perform mental process

psychophysics measurement of, and the development of general laws to describe,

relationships between psychological experience and changes in continuums of stimuli

computational theory a theory suggesting that vision is a series of computable steps

constructivis theory a theory suggesting that perception is the matching of input and stored
memories, resulting in an amalgam of both

direct perception a theory which supposes that all that is required for accurate perception is
the sensory input, a data-driven theory

pattern recognition the identification of recurring combinations of environmental inputs

threshold the point at which stimuli can be detected (absolute) or the difference between two
stimuli can be detected (differential)

transduction the process of converting energy at the sensory receptive field into neural
impulses

visual acuity the extent of the ability to see find detail

visual cortex the area of the brain sensitive to visual input; there are also areas known to be
receptive to auditory, olfactory,gustatory,somatonsensory and proprioceptive input

attenuation tuning down information rather than filtering it out

automaticity when a process becomes so familiar one no longer needs to pay attention to it

bottleneck theories models of selective attention in which information must past through an
area where there is insufficient space for everything

capacity models models of attention in which selection is carried out on the basis of resources
rather than filters

cocktail party phenomenon a situation where filtering is seen quite clearly, but also
demonstrates that salient information will be process

dichotic listening a way of studying auditory stimuli processing

filter models channels of limited capacity in bottle neck theories

late selection models theories of attention in which selection of materials made in short term
rather than sensory memory

anoetic consciousness non-knowing

autonoetic consciousness self-knowing

brain asymmetry the different functions, and awareness of the left and the right brains
hemisphere
habituation the lock of response seen on repetitive presentation of a stimulus

noetic consciousness knowing

preconscious and unconscious memory different states of information, readily accessible, and
unavailable respectively

reticular activating formation a brain structure associated with awareness

articulatory or phonological loop a component of working memory concerned with holding

verbal information

central executive a component of working memory which identify processes that are needed

levels of processing a theory of how type and depth of processing affects retention

long term or permanents store a type of memory structure holding relatively large amounts of
information, relatively permanently

multistore models a theory of how several components of memory are linked and work
together

sensory store a type of memory structure that holds information from the immediate
environment

serial position effect the effect seen when subjects recall word lists, with first in the list
(primacy effect) and the last in the list (recency effect) recalled better than the others

short term or transient store a type of memory structures holding information from the
present, limited in capacity and fragile in nature

visuo-spatial sketch pad a component of working memory concerned with visual and spatial
information

working memory a theory of how transient memory works

clustering a form of organization in permanent store

information cluster the procedure by which information passes from transient to permanent
store

memory codes evidence suggests that information is coded for organization in transient store,
codes being investigated including auditory, visual and semantic

recall a retrieval process of reconstruction

recognition a retrieval process of comparison

release from proactive inhibition a phenomenon in which it is more difficult to recall later
items when earlier items have already been learnt

schemata, frames and scripts form of organization in permanent store

Sternberg paradigm an experimental procedure on which participants compare a probe with a

memory set

anterograde amnesia inability to encode new information

cognitive interview interviews with eye-witnesses designed to raise the integrity and amount
of information gained

cue-dependent forgetting loss of retrieval cues leads to loss of information

decay a theory of forgetting in which memory traces decay

dissociative amnesia a psychogenic form of amnesia associated with trauma

dissociative fugue a psychogenic state involving almost total memory loss, and hence identity
loss; often temporary

dissociative identity disorder multiple personality disorders associated with high levels of
repression due to sustained trauma or abuse. Or faking

interference a theory of forgetting in which information competes for space

organic states brain dysfunction associated with amnesia, including head injury, strokes,
alcoholism, and degenerative diseases of the brain

proactive inhibition old material interfering with new

psychogenic states psychiatric problems associated with amnesia

repression motivated forgetting due to memory being too painful for recall

retroactive inhibition new material interfering with old

retrograde amnesia inability to recall past events

state-dependent forgetting loss of information due to the retrieval state being different form
the cueing state

trace-dependent forgetting loss of memory traces leads to forgetting

Wernicke’s encephalopathy degeneration in the brain leading to memory disorders. Associated
with thiamine deficiency, often linked to alcoholism, when it is known as Korsakoff’s syndrome
although this can have other causes than alcohol abuse

clustering model a model of knowledge representation in which concepts are stored together

cognitive economy a feature of models in which items are stored with lack of redundancy

declarative knowledge factual knowledge

internal lexicon the mental dictionary

particular affirmative a feature of sets in which portions of categories are included

procedural knowledge knowledge about how to do things

production systems mental systems in which the knowledge stored as production rules

productive knowledge knowledge based on production systems

propositional models models in which knowledge stored as propositions

propositions the smallest component of knowledge which can stand alone

semantic feature comparison model knowledge representation in which words become sets of
features and members are compared

semantic network models hierarchical models of knowledge representation comprising nodes

and attributes

semantic priming the phenomenon in which presentation of one word will bring about recall of
related words

set theoretical model a type of clustering model in which categories and attributes are stored
together

spreading activation the presentation of one item held in a semantic net will trigger the
activation of the net close by

universal affirmative a feature of sets in which all members of a category are included

concepts representation of items based on grouping by common attributes

decision making the process of making a choice between several alternatives based on the
attractiveness and utility of each alternative
deductive reasoning reasoning based on sets of rules and logical relations between items

exemplar an example of a member of the concepts which is the most typical

inductive reasoning reasoning based on prior experience and beliefs

mental models mental representations of the world and its state

problem solving a process directed towards finding a solution when no method is readily
available

prototype a typical instance of a concept, the average

syllogisms sets of logical statements

accommodation modifying existing mental structures to fit reality

assimilation interpretation of events interms of present mental structures

automatisation execution of mental processes with increasing efficiency

centration focusing on one striking feature of an object and ignoring others

conservation understanding of stability of properties of objects

creativity the ability to produce valued outcomes in a novel way

divergent thinking generation of multiple useful possibilities from a given situation

egocentrism being embedded in one’s point of view

equilibration balancing assimilation and accommodation

g general intelligence

IQ a measure of ability on tests is which is calculated as the ratio of a measured mental age to
chronological or actual age, multiplied by 100

psychometrics the study and use of standardized tests of ability and personality

classical conditioning learning in which an environmental stimulus produces a response

cognitive map a mental representation

expertise a high level of skill, probably involving different types of pattern storage
knowledge engineering a specialized set of research methods designed to elicit knowledge
from experts

latent learning learning that takes place without being immediately manifest in behaviour

operant conditioning learning in which positive reinforcement of a behaviour increases the

probability of that behaviour being produced, or negative reinforcement decreases of
probability

reinforcer an environmental consequence or behaviour

skill an ability to use specialized behaviour-motor, social or cognitive-to complete tasks

critical periods biologically determined stages of organic and cognitive development during
which language must be acquired

language acquisition the way in which we learn to use language. There are 3 major theories –
the behaviourist, the innate and the information processing views

language acquisition device pre-programmed wiring in the brain required for learning to use
language in response to environmental stimuli

language development the way in which the use of language can be observed to change and
the underlying skill development this implies

morphemes the smallest meaning units of language

phonemes the smallest sound units of language

transformational grammar the rules by which sentences are transformed into meaning, and
meaning into sentences

aphasia difficulties with spoken language after brain damage

deep structures the underlying meaning of sentences

dyslexia difficulties with written language, either developmental or acquired

parsing the process of syntactic analysis

pragmatics the intention of language

semantics the meaning of words

surface structures the order of words in sentences

syntax the structures of language

anthropomorphism the tendency to ascribe human characteristics to non-human entities,

either animal or mechanical

ethology the study of behaviour, particularly anima behaviour in the natural environment

evolutionary psychology an approach which attempts to show how psychological processes

evolved by natural selection

insight learning the perception of relationships leading to solutions which can be applied in
other settings, and which is unobservable

computer simulation attempts to mimic human behaviour and environments using computers

metatheory an overarching theoretical approach to research questions, such as information

processing

physical symbol system a system capable of storing and interpreting symbols

strong Al the view that computers may have mental states and hence be intelligent

Turing Machine an abstract machine which can read and write symbols, and change its internal
state as a result

Turing test a competitive method devised of identifying true AI

Universal Turing Machine a Turing Machine which can carry out the processes of any other,
given the same instructions

Weak Al the view that computers are only symbols manipulators, and whilst a useful tool for
studying the mind, cannot be intelligent