1. Psychology 404 Learning and Cognitive Processes David Allbritton

2. Approaches to Learning Information Processing –Mental processes and representations Associationist (Behaviorist) Connectionist Neuro-cognition Evolutionary Psychology

3. Introduction to Cognitive (Information Processing) Psychology Metaphors for the mind A brief historical perspective Influences on Cognitive Psychology

4. Metaphors for the Mind Aristotle’s wax tablet (analog representation) Locke’s chalkboard (passive learning) Telephones and radios (information theory) Computers (information processing theories) Networks (connectionism)

5. A Brief History (1) 1.Structuralism -- Wundt ostructure (representation) omentalism oreductionism Criticized for: orestriction to low-level processes (ignoring much of thinking) ostatic -- no interest in process

6. A Brief History (2) 2. Functionalism – William James ofunction (process) ohigh-level thought processes o"Stream of consciousness" Criticized for: olack of rigor

7. A Brief History (3) 3. Behaviorism – Watson, Skinner oexternal stimuli and observable behavior (S-R) o"black box" – no mentalism omethodological rigor oassociationist Criticized for: oignored internal thought

8. A Brief History (4) 4. The Cognitive Revolution (1960's) omentalism returns oobjective measures retained (RT, accuracy) omental representations and mental processes become the object of study

9. Influences on Cognitive Psych Behaviorism Verbal Learning tradition (Ebbinghaus) Human factors (WWII) Information Theory (signal detection) Computer Science (hardware/software) Linguistics (rules and symbols)

10. 3 Assumptions of Cog. Psych: Mental processes exist and can be studied scientifically. Humans are active seekers and processors of information. Reaction time and accuracy can be used to measure mental processes.