Cognitive Science and Psychology

By: Chioma Akolam, Jennifer Bridges, Marabeth Moore, Jordan Stinson, Corban Wood

Modern General Psychology

What is Psychology?

❖  Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior.

❖  Psychologists are currently involved in studying and understanding mental processes, brain functions, and behavior.

Methods of Psychology in CS... ❖  Mini timeline:

➢  (a.k.a. psychology finds mind, psychology loses mind, psychology finds mind again). ■  Psychology has interest in the unconscious and

conscious ■  behaviorism in 20th century ■  then connections between cognition and

neuroscience

History: Philosophy and Physiology

❖  Psychology can be linked to early Greek philosophers. ❖  In the 17th-century, Rene Descartes, a French philosopher

introduced the idea of dualism. ➢  The theory of dualism is that the human mind and body are two

distinct entities that interact with each other to make a person. ❖  Early physiological research on the brain and behavior had a big

impact on psychology.

History: In the 1800s

❖  During the mid-1800s, Wilhelm Wundt published a book in 1874 called "Principles of Physiological Psychology." It outlined connections between the science of physiology and the study of human thought as well as behavior.

❖  He used a process called introspection (which is unreliable and unscientific today) to study internal mental processes within the study of human consciousness.

Structuralism

❖  Edward B. Titchener, one of Wundt’s students, founded the first major school of thought.

❖  Some structuralist believed that human consciousness could be broken down into smaller parts.

❖  By using introspection, trained subjects would attempt to break down their responses and reactions to the most basic sensation and perceptions.

Functionalism

❖  During the mid- to late-1800s American Psychology flourished. ❖  At this time, William James, published his book, "The Principles of

Psychology." After the publication he became known as the father of American psychology.

❖  The focus of functionalism was about how behavior actually works to help people live in their environment. Functionalists used methods such as direct observation to study the human mind and behavior.

History: Psychoanalysis

❖  Sigmund Freud changed the face of psychology in a dramatic way, proposing a theory of personality that emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind.

❖  In his book "The Psychopathology of Everyday Life" Freud explained how these unconscious thoughts and impulses are expressed through slips of the tongue and dreams.

History: Behaviorism in the early 20th Century ❖  Behaviorism rejected the emphasis on both the conscious and

unconscious mind. Instead, it focused purely on observable behavior. ❖  Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell; known

as classical conditioning. ❖  B.F. Skinner trained rats and pigeons to pull a lever when they

wanted food; operant conditioning; teaching machines. ❖  J.B. Watson was the first to promote behaviorism.

History: Cognitive Revolution ❖  Pioneered by a number of scholars from Harvard University, including

George Miller, Noam Chomsky (linguistics), Jerome Bruner, Ulric Neisser, and Allen Newell (mathematics).

❖  “cognitive revolution” refers to the reversal of behaviorism and the birth of a field of psychology that studies the content and inner workings of the mind.

❖  Psychologists were still interested in looking at observable behaviors, but they were also concerned with what was going on inside the mind.

History: Cognitive Psychology

❖  Cognitive psychology became the dominant form of psychology in the 1950s and 1960s in an era we call the cognitive revolution.

❖  Since then, cognitive psychology has remained a dominant area of psychology as researchers continue to study things such as perception, memory, decision-making, problem-solving, intelligence, and language.

❖  Brain imaging tools such as MRI and PET scans have helped improve the ability of researchers to more closely study the inner workings of the human brain.

Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the function of the nervous system and brain. Physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developmental biology, cytology, mathematical modeling, and psychology are all utilized to understand our neural circuitry and the processes that take place.

Early Neuroscience

Alcmaeon of Croton may have been the first to openly connect the brain to the mind.

A Greek anatomist named Galen dissected animals and figured out that the brain processes senses with these components.

Neuroscience Continued

Andreas Vesalius was able to identify different physical parts of the brain and believed there to be seven brain nerves.

His work was expanded upon by people like René Descartes and Thomas Willis.

Neuroscience Continued

The development of the microscope and staining procedure allowed for more complicated, in-depth looks to be had at neurons.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal made way for the the neural doctrine that states that the functional unit of the brain is the neuron to be developed.

Sensation and Perception

Sensation can be stated as detection of external or internal stimulation while perception is making sense of, or describing, the stimulation. For example, you sense the feeling of candy in your hands and perceive the taste as good or bad after taking everything and making your own deductions.

Our Senses

It was once thought that we had five senses including sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. We now know to include other senses like balance, proprioception, pain, temperature, sexual stimulation, and other senses that we all experience and have our perceptions formed around.

Learning

Learning in psychology is defined as a lasting change in behavior as a result of an experience.

Learning started to be a main focus during the early 20th century.

Even today it plays a role in many areas of psychology.

You can learn both positive and detrimental behaviors.

There are also a variety of ways learning can happen.

Classical conditioning

Operant conditioning

Observational learning

Classical Conditioning

The “discovery” of classical conditioning by ivan pavlov

Classical conditioning takes place because of associations that are formed

How it works:

food=salivation

Food+bell sound=salivation (repeat many times)

Bell sound = salivation

Operant conditioning Operant conditioning is learning through reinforcement and punishment

How it works:

Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior happening again, punishment decreases the chances of a behavior to happen again

Positive reinforcement/positive punishment vs negative reinforcement/punishment

Observational learning

Bandura's bobo doll experiment

Learning through watching others and mimicking them

Monkey see, monkey do

Memory Big difference between computer memory and human memory

●  Your long-term memory is something like a computer’s hard drive

●  Both of them take longer to respond, but can store a considerable quantity of data

●  Computer memories are MUCH larger

Continued Episodic and Semantic memories Episodic- Episodic memory is the memory of autobiographical events (times, places, associated emotions, and other contextual who, what, when, where, why knowledge) Semantic- Semantic memory refers to a portion of long-term memory that processes ideas and concepts that are not drawn from personal experience.

Amnesias Anterograde: Is a loss of the ability to create new memories after the event that caused. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehtk3NfnX4A&t=86s

Retrograde:Is a loss of memory-access to events that occurred, or information that was learned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNPv247yyas

Infantile: Is the inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories (memories of situations or events) before the age of two to four years

Thinking and Intelligence Homunculus theory: An argument that accounts for a phenomenon in terms of the very phenomenon that it is supposed to explain, which results in an infinite regress.

Example: Bert: How do eyes project an image to your brain? Ernie: Think of it as a little guy in your brain watching the movie projected by your eyes. Bert: Ok, but what is happening in the little guy in your head’s brain? Ernie: Well, think of it as a little guy in his brain watching a movie...

The British scientist Charles Spearman thought that there is one dominant general intelligence factor (also called the G factor), that governs all cognitive abilities. Spearman noted that while people certainly could and often did excel in certain areas, people who did well in one area tended also to do well in other areas. For example, a person who does well on a verbal test would probably also do well on other tests. Those who hold this view believe that intelligence can be measured and expressed by a single number, such as an IQ score. The idea is that this underlying general intelligence influences performance on all cognitive tasks.

Gardner: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and nature Sternberg: IQ tests, experiential (new situations or ideas), contextual (function in particular environments (plumbing vs carpentry) Goleman: emotional intelligence-self-awareness, self-regulation, social skill, empathy, motivation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-sVnmmw6WY&t=373s

Development Growth is the physical process of development, particularly the process of becoming physically larger. It is quantifiable, meaning that it can be measured, and it is mostly influenced by genetics. For example, the year that Keisha was 11, she got taller by two inches. This is an example of growth because it involves her getting physically taller and is quantifiable (two inches).

Maturation is the physical, intellectual, or emotional process of development. Maturation is often not quantifiable, and it too is mostly influenced by genetics. For example, as Keisha became older, her brain developed in a way that meant she was able to handle more complex tasks than she could before.

Piaget Stages of Development Sensorimotor Birth to 18–24 months old Motor activity without use of symbols. All things learned are based on experiences, or trial and error. Object permanence Preoperational 2 to 7 years old Development of language, memory, and imagination. Intelligence is both egocentric and intuitive. Symbolic thought

Stages Concrete operational 7 to 11 years old More logical and methodical manipulation of symbols. Less egocentric, and more aware of the outside world and events. Operational thought Formal operational Adolescence to adulthood Use of symbols to relate to abstract concepts. Able to make hypotheses and grasp abstract concepts and relationships.

Personality

What makes you, you?

Personality is one of the widest and most popular branches of psychology

Very interesting for psychologists to study how our personalities develop, and how they affect our behavior

Our personality begins to develop from birth and remains fairly constant

Many factors affect how our personalities develop, and it is widely studied and theorized about.

The temperaments

Sanguine-generally happy, flexible, and outgoing

Choleric-ambitious, short tempered, and dominant

Phlegmatic-mediator, relaxed, easygoing

Melancholic- sad, introverted, self-reliant

The big five personality theory

One of the most influential and popular personality theory.

OCEAN- openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

Your personality is on a continuum of each trait

Other theories

Freud’s psychosexual development

Erikson’s psychosocial stages

Myers briggs personality type test

Psychopathology and Therapy

Defined as the scientific study of mental disorders. What is “the norm”? To determine if something is actually abnormal you must look at the specific zeitgeist in which a person lives If you have many abnormal behaviors or thoughts you may have a mental disorder. To determine if you do you must see a doctor of sorts, only for your mind.

In order to determine if someone has a mental disorder, you would consult the DSM-5

The DSM-5 is the most recent version of a book which lists symptoms and the protocol for diagnosing different disorders.

This is a universal diagnostic manual that is basically the bible of psychopathology.

Once you have determined that someone does have a mental disorder, you then progress to treatment

Treatment options

Therapy

Medications

Combination

Therapy

Defined as spending time with a trained professional to diagnose and treat mental disorders or illnesses

While medication in the short term helps with symptoms, therapy is what can lead to recovery.

There are many types of therapy, each with its own pitfalls andbenifits, however, universally any type of therapy is better than none.

Social ★  Study of people in groups or specific context

★  Prisons, armed forces, school

The Stanford Prison Experiment

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcEPFMEtLIo

★  Cross cultural

o Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how cultural factors influence human behavior. While many aspects of human thought and behavior are universal, cultural differences can lead to often surprising differences in how people think, feel, and act.

o Some cultures, for example, might stress individualism and the importance of personal autonomy. Other cultures, however, may place a higher value on collectivism and cooperation among members of the group. Such differences can play a powerful role in many aspects of life.

★  Major Topics in Cross-Cultural Psychology

Language acquisition, Emotions, Child Development, Personality, Social behavior, and Family and social relationships

Social ★  Gender and sex roles

o Describes psychosocial determinants and mechanisms by which society socializes male and female infants into masculine and feminine adults. Gender development is a fundamental issue because some of the most important aspects of people’s lives, such as the talents they cultivate, the conceptions they hold of themselves and others, the sociostructural opportunities and constraints they encounter, and the social life and occupational paths they pursue are heavily prescribed by societal gender-typing. It is the primary basis on which people get differentiated with pervasive effects on their daily lives.

➔  (Berscheid, 1993) ●  Gender differentiation takes on added importance because many of the attributes and roles selectively promoted in

males and females tend to be differentially valued with those ascribed to males generally being regarded as more desirable, effectual and of higher status

➔  (Bandura, 1986; Beall & Sternberg, 1993; Epstein, 1997) ●  Although some gender differences are biologically founded, most of the stereotypic attributes and roles linked to gender

arise more from cultural design than from biological endowment.

Social ●  Obedience and Conformity

o "Be quiet! Write this down.How often have you heard this, or something like it? We hear or come across commands, instructions, directions and orders everyday. What is it that makes us obey (or disobey) them?

o Millions of people were killed in Nazi Germany in concentration camps but Hitler couldn't have killed them all, nor could a handful of people. What made all those people follow the orders they were given? Were they afraid, or was there something in their personality that made them like that? In order to obey authority, the obeying person has to accept that it is legitimate (i.e. rightful, legal) for the command to be made of them.

o Obedience is a form of social influence where an individual acts in response to a direct order from another individual, who is usually an authority figure. It is assumed that without such an order the person would not have acted in this way.

o Obedience occurs when you are told to do something , whereas conformity happens through social pressure.

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Social Videos:)

★ Bobo doll (Bandura) ➢ https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=dmBqwWlJg8U ★ Milgram's study ➢ https://www.youtube.com/watch?

time_continue=32&v=yr5cjyokVUs

Health

★  Wellness

· The mind and body are not discrete. Separate entities, and physical health can affect emotional well-being. A person who gets inadequate nutrition may struggle more with psychological issues, and chronic stress can contribute to a number of physical health conditions.

★  Healthy and Unhealthy Behavior

· Americans engage in unhealthy behaviors such as comfort eating, poor diet choices, smoking and inactivity to help deal with stress. People experiencing stress are more likely to report hypertension, anxiety or depression and obesity.

http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/CogSci/outline.html