HUMAN NATURE: KEY STUDIES IN PSYCHOLOGY Cognitive psychology Lenka Krajčíková CONTENT ¢What is CP? ¢History of CP ¢Key studies in CP: —Focus on attention, memory and perception — COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ¢CP = study of mental processes such as: ¢ attention, ¢ language use, ¢ memory, ¢ perception, ¢ problem solving, ¢ creativity, ¢ thinking… ¢ COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY •How humans process information COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ¢Basic assumptions ¢Cognitive psychology is a pure science, based mainly on laboratory experiments. ¢ ¢Behavior can be largely explained in terms of how the mind operates, i.e. the information processing approach. ¢ ¢The mind works in a way similar to a computer: inputting, storing and retrieving data. ¢ ¢Mediational processes occur between stimulus and response. COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ¢Strenghts: ¢Scientific ¢Highly applicable (e.g. therapy, EWT) ¢Combines easily with other approaches: behaviorism + Cog = Social Learning; Biology + Cog = Evolutionary Psychology ¢Many empirical studies to support theories •Limitations: ¢Ignores biology (e.g. testosterone) ¢Experiments - low ecological validity ¢Humanism - rejects scientific method ¢Behaviorism - can’t objectively study unobservable behavior ¢Introspection is subjective ¢Machine reductionism HISTORY OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY HISTORY ¢Until 1950s: —Behaviorism as a dominant approach in US psychology —Black box ¢ ¢1950s: Cognitive revolution: —Better experimental methods —Comparison between human and computer processing of information (terminology) — ¢https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=58&v=AeoyzqmyWug But it was the arrival of the computer that gave cognitive psychology the terminology and metaphor it needed to investigate the human mind. The start of the use of computers allowed psychologists to try to understand the complexities of human cognition by comparing it with something simpler and better understood i.e. an artificial system such as a computer. ATTENTION, MEMORY AND ITS NATURE ATTENTION ¢Attention as a spotlight EXPERIMENTAL TESTING OF ATTENTION... ¢Auditory: Dichotic listening task, Cocktail party syndrome. ¢Visual: visual search: 1.Feature search ¢2. Conjunction search ¢(Pop-out effect) ¢Analysis of eye movement (eye tracking) fcSearch.jpg SELECTIVE ROLE OF ATTENTION ¢Change-blindness experiments: ¢Video: Count the number of passes! ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo ¢ ¢ ¢ CHANGE BLINDNESS / INATTENTIONAL BLINDNESS ¢https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSCliuAqIG8 ¢ ¢https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1VyG2Ou-yE ¢ ¢https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbJzvZok9PI ¢ ¢https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA CHANGE BLINDNESS II. ¢It´s caused motion signals failed to draw attention ¢Changes in the centre of visual field draw attention better ¢Only one change at a time can be detected ¢ CHANGE BLINDNESS BLINDNESS J ¢Metacognitive error ¢Participants overestimate their ability to detect change in their visual field ¢Overestimation not only own ability, but also ability of others ¢Why? (test situation is compared with real life situations, where there´s easier to detect change) MEMORY ¢ ¢What is the nature of memory? MEMORY MODEL ¢Multi-Process model: Atkinson, Brelsford and Shiffrin (1967). ¢sensory register ¢memory buffer ¢long term storage ¢ ¢Short term vs. Long term memory: Miller, 1956; Magic number 7 +/- 2 ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ HOW TO TEST MEMORY? ¢Ebbinghaus´s studies and forgetting curve ¢ ¢ ¢Forgetting curve AMNESIA ¢https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwigmktix2Y ¢Retrograde and anterograde amnesia ¢Korsakoff´s syndrome (residual ability to learn; confabulation) MEMORY AS A CAMERA ¢Extremely emotional experience ¢= „flashes“, eidetic memories ¢(Neisser, Hyman, 1999) ¢Memories on the crash of Challenger space shuttle, 1 day, 2,5 years later MEMORY AS A CAMERA ¢Description 1. “I was in my religion class and some people walked in and started talking about [it]. I didn’t know any details except that it had exploded and the schoolteacher’s students had all been watching which I thought was so sad. Then after class I went to my room and watched the TV program talking about it and I got all the details from that.” ¢ ¢Description 2. “When I first heard about the explosion I was sitting in my freshman dorm room with my roommate and we were watching TV. It came on a news flash and we were both totally shocked. I was really upset and I went upstairs to talk to a friend of mine and then I called my parents.” EYE-WITNESSES PHASES OF MEMORY PROCESS PRONE TO DISTORTION: 1.Perception and attention focus 2.Coding in memory 3.Storing in memory – forgetting 4.Recall – tendency to confabulate ¢ ¢Variables: time and duration of the event, gender, age, intelligence, „face memory“, emotions, personality,… CREATION OF FALSE MEMORIES ¢Loftus (1993): Lost in a shopping mall ¢https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQr_IJvYzbA ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢Similar experiments: aminal attack, injury, medical intervention, bullying,… FALSE MEMORIES AND RECOVERED MEMORIES ¢Loftus, her research of „false memories“ and case studies: Steve Titus etc. ¢Cross-racial identification ¢Line up bias (line up vs. show up) ¢weapon focus ¢Etc. ¢ ¢ „RECOVERED MEMORIES“ ¢Recommendation no. 1. ¢Loftus, E.F. & Ketcham, K. (1991). Witness for the Defense; The Accused, the Eyewitness, and the Expert Who Puts Memory on Trial. NY: St. Martin’s Press. ¢ „RECOVERED MEMORIES“ ¢Memories of past trauma, that are repressed and recovered in therapy. ¢Devis and Bass: The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (1988). ¢Checklist for the victims of rape and abuse, that „helps“ discovering memories of this trauma. „RECOVERED MEMORIES“ PART II.: SATANIC CULTS ¢Recommendation no. 2. ¢ !!!! Only for those with strong stomach - In extreme cases „recovered false memories“ reported by not only victims, but also accused. THANK YOU!