1. 1 Introduction to Cognition Cognitive processes are very familiar and taken for granted. –These processes are performed without effort so we perceive them as simple –Since they are perceived as simple people believe studying them must be easy –Unfortunately, they only appear easy once you know the answers

2. 2 Examples Two trains approaching each other, one moves at 20 mph the other 40 mph. A bird flies back and forth between the two trains at an average of 50 mph. 4 hours later the trains meet. How far did the bird fly? He who hesitates is lost, but haste makes wastes and you should look before you leap.

3. 3 Goals of the Course To learn what is currently known about human memory and cognition To learn how these discoveries were made and how are understanding of memory and cognition will change as new discoveries are made To understand how our knowledge of human cognition can impact other fields of study and our own way of thinking and remembering

4. 4 What is Memory? Webster – the power, act, or process of recalling to mind facts previously learned or past experiences Problem - circular definition Cognitive definition – the mental process of acquiring and retaining information for later retrieval, and the storage system in which these processes operate.

5. 5 What is Cognition? The mental processes and activities used in perceiving, learning, remembering, thinking, and understanding, and the act of using these processes Cognition involves semiautonomous mental processes

6. 6 A Quick History of Cognition Questions asked by cognitive psychologists are related to the same question ancient Greek and Roman philosophers were asking What is the nature of the mind? They attempted to answer these questions using deductive reasoning

7. 7 Middle Ages Rise of Christianity around 700AD led to the loss of all the works of the Greeks and Romans It was felt all knowledge could be gained through the Bible or the works of Aristotle. Science and philosophy were seen as unnecessary

8. 8 16 th and 17 th Centuries The use of empirical methods – observations – became important While our sensory systems may not be perfect, we can still use them to learn about the world

9. 9 19 th Century Increased interest in the brain and measuring activity of the nervous system 1850 – von Helmholtz measures the speed of a nerve impulse in a frog’s leg 1879 – former lab assistant to von Helmholtz, Wilhelm Wundt, sets up a lab to study mental processes using the scietific method of physiology

10. 10 Beginning of Psychology 1879 – Wundt interested in how higher mental processes produce perceptions, memory, etc. 1890’s – Titchner, a student of Wundt’s, attempts to describe the structure of the mind, starting structuralism

11. 11 Behaviorism American psychologists become unhappy with structuralism Functionalism – psychology was to study the function of the mind Watson and others criticized the sstudy of the mind as not being scientific. Psychology became the study of observable behavior

12. 12 Return to the Study of Mental Processes - Cognition 1950’s – Psychologists began to see that behaviorism was too rigid and didn’t let them study more interesting topics Behaviorism unable to address relatively simple issues or more complex abilities such as language

13. 13 The New Cognitive Psychology 3 assumptions of cognitive psychology –Mental processes exist and need to be studied if psychology is to be useful –It is possible to infer an underlying mental process by measuring changes in behavior that occur when a mental process is used –Humans are active information seekers. They do not just respond to the environment

14. 14 An important Issue in Using Inference Caution that the jump from behavior to mental process isn’t too great There may be alternative inferences that explain the data that need to be eliminated Another definition of inference could be educated guess