what was F.C Donders famous for?
carrying out the first experiments in cognitive psychology
what was F.C Donders interested in finding out?
determining how fast the mind worked, such as how long it takes to make a decision
how did Donders carry out his experiment?
- he asked participants to press a button when they saw a light to measure the Simple Reaction Time
- Then repeated but participants had to make a decision on what button to press depending on what light was brighter, measuring the Choice Reaction Time
what is the Simple Reaction Time and the Choice Reaction Time
- the time between the presentation of the stimulus and the response
- Time between the presentation of the stimulus + time taken to make a decision AND a response
what was Herman Ebbinghaus interested in finding out?
how information that is learnt is lost overtime
how did Ebbinghaus measure how information is forgotten overtime?
Using the Ebbinghaus method, he:
1. Used a memory drum to present himself w/ syllables one at a time and tried to learn them by order
- Second time through, his task was to remember the first syllable and then check if it was correct + repeated this w/ every syllable.
- This was repeated until he was able to remember the list w/ no errors and noted number of attempts.
- Finally he waited from a few minutes to 31 days to re-attempt the task to measure the forgetting curve
what is the forgetting curve?
the pattern of forgetting, that memory for the learned material drops sharply after first learning it, and the rate of forgetting slowly decreases afterwards
how did Ebbinghaus find out how memory loss is prevented?
He relearned the lists and varied the amount of time passed from first learning them.
He found out that each time re-learned = retained more memory/savings
When short time passed between tests = MORE information recalled and less attempts
When long time passed = FEWER information recalled and more attempts
who invented Psychology as a discipline and founded the first laboratory of scientific psychology?
Wilhem Wundt
what is structuralism?
an approach that believes our overall experience is determined by combining basic elements of experience called sensations. Because of this, Wilhelm Wundyt created a ‘periodic table of the mind’. including all basic sensations involved in creation of a experience.
what is analytic introspection? (structuralism)
the technique which trained participants would describe their experiences and thought processes in response to a stimuli.
define behaviourism
a objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behaviour.
why did behaviourism become popular?
As a response to Wundt’s idea of ‘introspection’ of the mind, which psychologists thought was subjective and wanted psychology to be more scientific.
how did behaviourism change the study of psychology?
it’s focus shifted from the mind as the topic of study to behaviour, w/ no reference to the mind, as the topic.
what was John B Watson’s experiment?
‘Little Albert experiment’
which behaviourist was also one of the early cognitive psychologists and why?
Edward Chance Tolman - used behaviour to infer mental processes by placing rats in a maze and creating the idea of a ‘cognitive map’
define cognitive neuropsychology
approach of looking at damaged + diseased brains and the cognition that comes from, to reason backward about the processes active under normal conditions.
who’s one of the most famous studies in terms of the frontal lobe syndrome?
Phineas Gage - In 1848, his skull got pierced through his skull and he survived. However, he experienced a ‘post traumatic personality change’, where he went from business like to unable to follow through w/ plans
define unilateral neglect
results after damage to the right parietal lobe of the brain, which causes lack of awareness to stimuli presented to left side of space/consciousness. Patients behave as if half of their world no longer exists.
what helped cognitive psychology get ‘back on the map’
the study of how behaviour was used to infer mental processes helped psychology go from studying only behaviour and its causes to the mental operations behind experiences + behaviour
how did cognitive psychologists understand complex behaviour?
they 1. manipulated input
2. measured the observable behaviour
3. made inferences about underlying cognitive activity.
what are experimental methods
techniques that are allowed by imagination and creativity, such as detection, visual search + texture.
what are quasi-experimental methods
methods that stem from the introspection method introduced by Wundt.
Used questionnaires that can be open-ended, closed/forced choice or 5 or 7 point scales.
what’s basic research
seeks theoretical knowledge for its own sake, such as understanding cognitive processes of perception.
