Cognitive Perspective
Methodology & Foundation
Methods
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Experiments
Interviews
Observations
Psychometric testing
Computer simulation
Historical and Cultural
Conditions
• Challenges to behaviorism
• Impact of 2nd World War
• Cultural Variation in Acceptance
Important in Mid 1950s…Why?
• Dissatisfaction with Behaviorism
– Too simple
• Development of better experimental
methods
• Computers allowed psychologists to try
and understand human cognition
– Artificial intelligence
Contribution to Scientific study
of Behavior
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Experimental testing
Development of models
Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research
Information processing
– Working memory model
– Emotional intelligence
Assumptions of Cognitive
Psychology
• The mental processing of information is
responsible for behavior acquisition and
change
– Cognitive science studies how people…
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Acquire
Store
Transform information
Use information
– Cognitive scientists think about HOW we think
Assumptions of Cognitive
Psychology
• Cognitive scientists believe that mental
processing can be studied and the
research triangulated
– Methods
• Controlled laboratory experiments
• Non experimental research
– Very concerned about ecological validity
Ethics of Cognitive Research
1. Sometimes humans cannot be studied
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Create brain deficits (animals) in a
controlled setting and compare it to case
studies on humans with naturally
occurring deficits
2. Neuro-imaging
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May expose humans to harmful
substances
May be used for unintended purposes
3. Deception is sometimes necessary
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Benefits must outweigh participants right
to be informed
4. Protect from harm
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Informed consent should outline risks
Example: sleep deprivation and
cognition studies
5. Observation studies do not need
consent if…
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Researcher does not alter natural
environment
Participants remain anonymous
6. Critical components
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Informed consent
Debriefing about exact nature of
research
Ecological Validity
• Extent to which a research setting
matches the environment of the
problem under investigation
• Can be a threat to the external validity of an
experiment
• Very applicable to laboratory experiments
External validity
– Refers to the generality of the research
• Representative of real life and does not distort
the question
Opinions on ecological validity
• Neisser, 1976
– No memory model is truly valid because the
experiments are not conducted in a natural setting
• How do you fix this?
– Realism and generalization
• Realism: does it resemble the real world
• Generalization: will the lab experiment reflect a real life
situation
• Why do we use labs?
– CONTROL
Key Areas of Study
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4.
Schema
Perception
Memory
Evaluation of Cognition
– Biological impact on
Perception & Memory
– Socio-Cultural impact on
Perception & Memory
– Cognition and Emotion
Mental Processes CAN and
SHOULD be studied Scientifically
1. Mental processes = information
processing
– Allows us to formulate testable
theories on unobservable cognitive
structures
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Example: Memory & Perception
2. Do not need to rely on
introspection
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Definition: Freudian method, self
analysis of behavior.
Why did Freud use introspection?
He believed that the true cause of behavior was
rooted in the unconscious and introspection would
help it “come out” in therapy.
3. Studying mental processes allows us to
study psychological phenomenon
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Behaviorism could not explain language
development
4. Cognitive Psychology integrates well with
the other perspectives
1. Biological factors
2. Socio-cultural factors
 These four concepts are shown in the
main theories of cognition (schema,
perception and memory)