Cognitive Psychology basics
This term refers to mental activities such as perception, memory, and reasoning.
cognition
A philosopher who emphasized the importance of learning through observation and experience.
Aristotle
An approach that compares mental processes to a series of processing stages.
Information-processing approach
The actual object located in the enviornment
Distal stimulus
Early theory suggesting we recognize objects by matching them to stored patterns
Template approach
The branch of psychology that studies how people acquire, store, and use knowledge.
Cognitive psychology
Founder of psychology who emphasized introspection
Wilhelm Wundt
An approach suggesting mental processes occur simultaneously rather than step-by-step
Connectionist approach
The image formed on the retina during perception
Proximal stimulus
Theory proposing objects are recognized using distinctive features
Feature-analysis theory
A psychological approach that focuses only on observable behavior
Behaviorism
A memory researcher known for the forgetting curve and nonsense syllables
Hermann Ebbinghaus
Field that uses computer models to study human cognition
Artificial Intelligence
Area of the brain that first processes visual information
Primary Visual cortex
Theory stating objects are recognized using combinations of simple 3D shapes
Recognition by components theory
A principle stating that research should resemble real-world conditions
Ecological Validity
Psychologist who emphasized the activity, inquiring nature of the mind
William James
AI approach that attempts to replicate human performances and limitations
Computer simulation
Brief sensory memory that stores visual information
Iconic memory
Simple three-dimensional shape used to build object representations
Geons
An interdisciplinary field combining psychology, neuroscience, AI, linguistics, and philosophy
Cognitive science
Psychological movement stating that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Gestalt psychology
Metaphor comparing brain structures to hardware and mental processes to software
Computer metaphor of the mind
Perceptual phenomenon where figure and background can reverse
Ambiguous figure-ground relationship
Effect showing that letters are recognized more easily within meaningful words
Word superiority effect