COGNITIVE

INTRODUCTION

Cognitive psychology is the study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and think about
information.

Understanding cognitive psychology can help us understand much of what goes on in our every
day lives.

The progression of ideas often involves a dialectic process.

dialectic- developmental process where ideas evolve over time through a pattern of
transformation. It involves:

thesis: proposed
- A thesis is a statement of belief.
- some people believe that human nature governs many aspects of human behavior

antithesis: emerges
- a statement that counters a previous statement of belief.
- an alternative view is that our nurture almost entirely determines many aspects of
human behavior.

synthesis: integrate
- the interaction between our innate (inborn) nature and environmental nurture may
govern human nature.
- Georg Hegel- He synthesized some of the views of his intellectual predecessors and
contemporaries.
-

Philosophical Antecedents of Psychology

Philosophy seeks to understand the general nature of many aspects of the world, in part through introspection, the
examination of inner ideas
and experiences (from intro-, “inward, within,” and-spect, “look”);

Beginning with Plato and Aristotle, people have contemplated how to gain an understanding of the truth or
knowledge.

Plato held that rationalism offers a clear path to truth.

Aristotle espoused empiricism as the route to knowledge.

EMPIRICIST believes that we acquire knowledge via empirical evidence— that is, we obtain evidence through
experience and observation
Centuries later
, Descartes (cogito, ergo sum) extended Plato’s rationalism,
Locke (tabularasa) elaborated on Aristotle’s empiricism

Kant offered a synthesis of these apparent opposites. Views of Descartes and Locke, argue that rationalism and
empiricism have their place. Both must work together in the quest for truth. Most twenty-first century psychologists
accept Kant’s synthesis.

RATIONALIST

Plato
Descartes- I think therefore I am

EMPIRICIST

Aristotle
Locke- tabula rasa

How did cognitive psychology develop from psychology?

By the twentieth century,

psychology had emerged as a distinct field of study.

MAJOR SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS

STRUCTURALISM
first major school of thought
-Wundt focused on the structures of the mind (leading to structuralism),
- WUNDT founder
He used the method: INTROSPECTION
- examining thoughts and feelings as they pass through the mind.
- goal is to focus on the basic elements (individual sensations, feelings, or thoughts) of an experience or
process
This method marked a significant shift in psychology, moving from a rational approach to an empirical
one, where behavior is observed to understand the mind.

FOLLOWER:
Titchener- certainly helped bring structuralism to the United States

Ex. Flower
Structuralist would analyze this perception in terms of its constituent colors, geometric forms, size relations

FUNCTIONALISM
focused on the processes of the mind rather than its’ contents. (functionalism).
how and why people think
Pragmatists believe that knowledge is validated by its usefulness: What can you do with it? Pragmatists also want to
know what we can do with our knowledge of what people do.
Proponents
1. William James- A leader in guiding functionalism toward pragmatism.
2. John Dewey - was another early pragmatist who profoundly influenced contemporary thinking in cognitive
psychology. Dewey is remembered primarily for his pragmatic approach to thinking and schooling.

Although functionalists were interested in how people learn, they did not really specify a
mechanism by which learning takes place

ASSOCIATIONISM
like events or ideas, can become associated with one another in the mind to result in a form of learning

. For example, associations may result from:

• contiguity- occur together the same time;
• similarity- similar features or properties
• contrast- opposite , such as hot/cold, light/dark, day/
night

Proponents
1. Hermann Ebbinghaus- first experimenter to apply associationist principles systematically.
- rehearsal
2. Edward Lee Thorndike
- law of effect: A stimulus will tend to produce a certain re- sponse over time if an organism is rewarded for
that response.
- Voluntary

BEHAVIORISM
focuses only on the relation between observable behavior and environmental events or stimuli.

Proponents
1. Ivan Pavlov- Classical conditioning
(INVOLUNTARY) Stimulus + Response
2. John Watson
- The “father” of radical behaviorism
3. B. F. Skinner- Operant Conditioning
(Non animal) Reinforcement + Punishment

Behaviorists Daring to Peek into the Black Box

1. Tolman argued that behavior is goal-directed and that understanding it requires considering the
purpose and plan behind actions, like a rat navigating a maze to find food. He is considered a
precursor to modern cognitive psychology.
2. Bandura emphasized that learning can occur through observation, social learning highlights the
importance of mental processes, suggesting that we learn by example.

GESTALT, a strong critic of behaviorism,

- emphasizes that psychological phenomena are best understood as organized wholes, rather than by
breaking them down into smaller parts
- . While behaviorists studied problem solving through observable actions like subvocal processing,
Gestaltists focused on insight—the mental leap from confusion to understanding that occurs in an instant.
 - "the whole is more than the sum of its parts," meaning that complex experiences, such as perceiving a
flower, cannot be fully explained by analyzing individual elements like color or shape alone (e.g., Köhler and
Wertheimer).

QUESTIONS

### 1. **What does cognitive psychology study?**

- a) The structures of the brain

- b) How people perceive, learn, remember, and think
- c) Only observable behaviors
- d) How humans respond to rewards and punishments

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
b) How people perceive, learn, remember, and think
</details>

---

### 2. **What is the dialectic process in the evolution of ideas?**

- a) A way of proving facts through experiments

- b) A developmental process where ideas evolve through transformation
- c) A method of introspection
- d) A system of problem solving

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
b) A developmental process where ideas evolve through transformation
</details>

---

### 3. **Which philosopher argued that human nature is governed by inborn traits?**

- a) John Locke
- b) Aristotle
- c) Descartes
- d) Plato

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
d) Plato
</details>

---

### 4. **What is empiricism, and who is known for it?**

- a) The belief that knowledge comes from logical reasoning; Descartes

- b) The belief that knowledge comes from sensory experience; Aristotle and Locke
- c) The belief that knowledge is subjective; Kant
- d) The idea that knowledge is a social construct; Hegel

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
b) The belief that knowledge comes from sensory experience; Aristotle and Locke
</details>

---

### 5. **What was Wundt’s method in structuralism?**

- a) Observing behavior
- b) Classical conditioning
- c) Introspection to examine the basic elements of experience
- d) Studying brain structure through neuroimaging

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
c) Introspection to examine the basic elements of experience
</details>

---

### 6. **How does functionalism differ from structuralism?**

- a) Functionalism focuses on the structure of the mind, while structuralism focuses on the process of thinking.
- b) Functionalism focuses on the processes of the mind, while structuralism focuses on the contents of the mind.
- c) Functionalism is about studying animals, while structuralism focuses on human beings.
- d) Functionalism studies behaviors, while structuralism studies thoughts.

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
b) Functionalism focuses on the processes of the mind, while structuralism focuses on the contents of the mind.
</details>

---

### 7. **Who were key figures in functionalism?**

- a) Edward Tolman and Albert Bandura

- b) Ivan Pavlov and John Watson
- c) William James and John Dewey
- d) Wundt and Titchener

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
c) William James and John Dewey
</details>

---

### 8. **Which principle did Hermann Ebbinghaus focus on in associationism?**

- a) Insight learning
- b) The law of effect
- c) Rehearsal and memory
- d) Social learning theory

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
c) Rehearsal and memory
</details>

---

9. **What did Ivan Pavlov contribute to behaviorism?**

- a) Operant conditioning
- b) The law of effect
- c) Classical conditioning
- d) Social learning theory

c) Classical conditioning

---

10. What is the main idea behind Gestalt psychology?

- a) Behavior is best understood by breaking it down into its simplest components.

- b) The whole of a psychological experience is greater than the sum of its parts.
- c) Behavior is goal-directed and purposeful.
- d) Learning happens through rewards and punishments.

b) The whole of a psychological experience is greater than the sum of its parts.

11. Who argued that behavior is goal-directed and that we need to understand the purpose behind actions?**

- a) John Watson
- b) B.F. Skinner
- c) Edward Tolman
- d) Albert Bandura

c) Edward Tolman

12. What does Bandura’s social learning theory emphasize?**

- a) Learning through rewards and punishments

- b) Insightful problem solving
- c) Learning by observing others and modeling behavior
- d) Learning through trial and error

c) Learning by observing others and modeling behavior

13. What is the dialectical process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis?

a) A process where ideas are developed and refined through debate and observation.

b) A pattern where a statement (thesis) is countered by an opposing view (antithesis), and the two are reconciled into
a new idea (synthesis).

c) A method of breaking down psychological phenomena into smaller elements.

d) A way of categorizing philosophical approaches as rational or empirical

Of course! Here are some questions about the major schools of thought in psychology:

### **14. What was the focus of structuralism, the first major school of thought in psychology?**

- a) Understanding the purpose of behavior

- b) Breaking down mental processes into basic elements through introspection
- c) Studying how behavior is learned through reinforcement
- d) Observing the relationship between stimuli and responses

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
b) Breaking down mental processes into basic elements through introspection
</details>

---

### **15. Which school of thought emphasized studying the processes of the mind and the
practical applications of knowledge?**

- a) Behaviorism
- b) Structuralism
- c) Functionalism
- d) Gestalt psychology

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
c) Functionalism
</details>

---

### **16. What is the primary idea behind behaviorism?**

- a) Mental processes are key to understanding behavior.
- b) Behavior is shaped by both internal and external factors.
- c) Psychology should focus only on observable behavior and environmental stimuli.
- d) Psychological phenomena are best understood as organized wholes.

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
c) Psychology should focus only on observable behavior and environmental stimuli.
</details>

---

### **17. Which school of thought was a direct critique of behaviorism, emphasizing that "the
whole is more than the sum of its parts"?**

- a) Gestalt psychology
- b) Structuralism
- c) Functionalism
- d) Associationism

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
a) Gestalt psychology
</details>

---

### **18. What principle did the associationist school of thought focus on to explain learning?**

- a) Insight and sudden understanding

- b) The law of effect and reinforcement
- c) Associations between ideas based on contiguity, similarity, or contrast
- d) The introspective analysis of thoughts and feelings

<details>
<summary>Answer</summary>
c) Associations between ideas based on contiguity, similarity, or contrast
</details>

---

19. Which key figure is associated with the foundation of behaviorism and is known as the
"father" of radical behaviorism?**
- a) Ivan Pavlov
- b) John Watson
- c) William James
- d) B.F. Skinner

b) John Watson

20. Who is considered a forefather of modern cognitive psychology due to his belief that
behavior is goal-directed and purposeful?**

- a) Edward Tolman
- b) B.F. Skinner
- c) Hermann Ebbinghaus
- d) John Dewey

a) Edward Tolman