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Cognitive Psychology

Eshita Solanki

Department of Psychology, Delhi University

:Cognitive Psychology

Dr. Gitika Yadav

January 4, 2023
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Introduction to cognitive psychology and its basic concepts

Cognitive processes are continuously taking place in your mind and in the minds of

people around you whether pay attention to a conversation estimate the speed of an approaching

car and crossing the street or memories information for a test at school , we are perceiving

information processing it and remembering or think about it . The word 'cognition' is derived

from the Latin word cognoscere, meaning "to know" or "to come to know". Thus, cognition

includes the activities and processes concerned with the acquisition, storage, retrieval and

processing of knowledge. In other words, it might include the processes that help us to perceive,

attend, remember, think, categorize, reason, decide, and so on. Cognitive psychology, as the

name suggests, is that branch of psychology that deals with cognitive mental processes.

Sternberg (1999) defined Cognitive psychology as that which deals with how people

perceive, learn, remember, and think about information." In 2005. Solso gave another definition

of Cognitive psychology as the study of processes underlying mental events. In general,

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

information ( Robert J. Sternberg) . A cognitive psychologist might study how people perceive

various shapes, why they remember some facts but forget others, or how they learn language. It

had its foundations in the Gestalt psychology of Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt

Koffka, and in the work of Jean Piaget, who studied intellectual development in children.

Cognitive psychologists are interested in how people understand, diagnose, and solve problems,

concerning themselves with the mental processes which mediate between stimulus and response.

Cognitive theory contends that solutions to problems take the form of algorithms—rules that are

not necessarily understood but promise a solution, or heuristics—rules that are understood but

that do not always guarantee solutions. Using this heuristic, we make judgments on the basis of
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how easily we can call to mind what we perceive as relevant instances of a phenomenon

(Tversky & Kahneman, 1973). In other instances, solutions may be found through insight, a

sudden awareness of relationships.

Nature

The dialectic is important because we may be tempted to think that if one viewis right, another

seemingly contrasting view must be wrong. For example, in the fieldof intelligence, there has

been a tendency to believe that intelligence is either all ormostly genetically determined, or else

all or mostly environmentally determined.A similar debate has raged in the field of language

acquisition. Often, we are betteroff posing such issues not as either/or questions, but rather as

examinations of howdifferent forces covary and interact with each other. Indeed, the most widely

accepted current contention is that the “nature or nurture” view is incomplete.

Nature and nurture work together in our development.Nurture can work in different ways in

different cultures. Some cultures, especially Asian cultures, tend to be more dialectical in their

thinking, whereas othercultures, such as European and North American ones, tend to be more

linear(Nisbett, 2003). In other words, Asians are more likely to be tolerant of holdingbeliefs that

are contradictory, seeking a synthesis over time that resolves the contradiction. Europeans and

Americans expect their belief systems to be consistentwith each other.

The evidence suggests that culture influences many cognitive processes, including

intelligence (Lehman, Chiu, & Schaller, 2004).In cognitive psychology, the ways of

addressing fundamental issues have changed, but many of the fundamental questions remain

much the same. Ultimately, cognitive psychologists hope to learn how people think by studying

how people have thoughts about thinking.

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The progression of ideas often involves a dialectic. A dialectic is a developmental process

where ideas evolve over time through a pattern of transformation. What is this pattern? In a

dialectic:

• A thesis is proposed. A thesis is a statement of belief. For example, some people

believe that human nature governs many aspects of human behavior (e.g., intelligence or

personality; Sternberg, 1999). After a while, however, certain individuals notice apparent flaws

in the Anantithesis emerges.

• An antithesis emerges. Eventually, or perhaps even quite soon, an antithesis emerges.

An antithesis is a statement that counters a previous statement of belief. For example, an

alternative view is that our nurture (the environmental contexts in which we are reared) almost

entirely determines many aspects of human behavior.

• A synthesis integrates the viewpoints. Sooner or later, the debate between the thesis and

the antithesis leads to a synthesis. A synthesis integrates the most credible features of each of

two (or more) views. For example, in the debate over nature versus nurture, the interaction

between our innate (inborn) nature and environmental nurture may govern human nature.

Applications

Cognitive psychology can be applied in many ways. It serves many purposes within the field of

psychology, all of which can be beneficial to mental health professionals who use cognitive

psychology in their practices and the people they strive to help.

 Moral development - This includes how moral dilemmas change a person's moral reasoning

based on where the individual is in the stages of moral development.

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 Eyewitness testimony - Cognitive psychology can explain how a witness's testimony is

affected by stress or leading questions, as well as how focusing on a weapon or receiving

incomplete information can alter a person's perception of what they witnessed.

 Forgetting - This area covers long and short-term memory, as well as how forgetting

occurs.

 Selective attention - Humans have a limited capacity for paying attention. This aspect of

cognitive psychology considers how humans select the stimuli to which they will pay

attention.

 Child development - This deals with the process of cognitive processes as children pass

through various stages of development. For example, a psychologist may consider where

a young patient is in terms of Piaget'sstages of cognitive development when working with

a child.

 Cognitive behavioral therapy - This approach to therapy combines cognitive theory with

behavioral methods , and many more .

Cognitive psychology has its roots in many different areas that includes abnormal psychology ,

Aaron T. Beck was the man who first used the cognitive psychology in the field of therapy and

he was well known as the father of cognitive therapy as well , Social psychology ,

Developmental Psychology , Educational Psychology and Personality Psychology.

Experimental methods

What is experimental psychology ? and its nature

The mind is a complicated place. Fortunately, the scientific method is perfectly equipped

to deal with complexity. If we put these two things together we have the field of experimental

psychology, broadly defined as the scientific study of the mind. The word “experimental” in this
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context means that tests are administered to participants, outcomes are measured, and

comparisons are made. Experimental psychology is concerned with testing theories of human

thoughts, feelings, actions, and beyond – any aspect of being human that involves the mind. This

is a broad category that features many branches within it (e.g. behavioral psychology, cognitive

psychology).Experimental psychology emerged as a modern academic discipline in the 19th century

when Wilhelm Wundt introduced a mathematical and experimental approach to the field. Wundt founded

the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.

Experimental psychologists use scientific methods to collect data and perform research.

Often, their work builds, one study at a time, to a larger finding or conclusion.Some researchers

have devoted their entire career to answering one complex research question. Experimental

psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics,

including (among others) sensation &

perception, memory, cognition, learning, motivation, emotion; developmental processes, social

psychology, and the neural substrates of all of these. Other experimental psychologists,

including Hermann Ebbinghaus and Edward Titchener, included introspection in their

experimental methods.

experimental psychology features at least three central components that define it: empiricism,

falsifiability, and determinism. These features are central to experimental psychology but also

many other fields within science.

Types of experiments and experimental designs

The experimental method involves the manipulation of variables to establish cause and effect

relationships. The key features are controlled methods and the random allocation of participants

into controlled and experimental groups. An experiment is an investigation in which

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a hypothesis is scientifically tested. In an experiment, an independent variable (the cause) is

manipulated and the dependent variable (the effect) is measured; any extraneous variables are

controlled. Experimental methods used in researches are different; laboratory experiments are

conducted under controlled conditions , field experiments are conducted in a natural setting and

natural setting is conducted in a natural setting but there is no manipulation of variable.

Before performing any experiment, some specific questions for which the experiment is

intended should be clearly identified. To minimize the variability effect on the result of interest,

the experiment has to be designed. So, the researcher will design the experiments for the purpose

of improvement of precision. It is called experimental design or the design of

experiments(DOE). In Statistics, the experimental design or the design of experiment (DOE) is

defined as the design of an information-gathering experiment in which a variation is present or

not, and it should be performed under the full control of the researcher. This term is generally

used for controlled experiments. These experiments minimize the effects of the variable to

increase the reliability of the results. In this design, the process of an experimental unit may

include a group of people, plants, animals, etc.

In psychology, various tests and experiments are conducted by psychologists

and there exists some difference between test and experiment in the context of psychology.

A test is used to comprehend the psychological makeup of an individual. An experiment refers to

an investigation in which the validity of a hypothesis is tested in a scientific manner. This

highlights that the key difference between test and experiment is that while experiments use

hypothesis and produce new knowledge, tests do not. They merely assist the psychologist in the

application.
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Experimental methods all have one thing in common: they are

attempting to find a cause and effect relationship between an
independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV), and to
measure the extent of this effect. There are four different types of
experiment:
Experimental methods all have one thing in common: they are
attempting to find a cause and effect relationship between an
independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV), and to
measure the extent of this effect. There are four different types of
experiment:
Experimental methods all have one thing in common: they are
attempting to find a cause and effect relationship between an
independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV), and to
measure the extent of this effect. There are four different types of
experime
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Perception

Meaning and concepts

In his influential and controversial work, James Gibson (1966, 1979) provided a useful

framework for studying perception. He introduced the concepts of distal (external) object,

informational medium, proximal stimulation, and perceptual object. Let’s examine each of these.

The distal (far) object is the object in the external world (e.g., a falling tree). The event of the

tree falling creates a pattern on an informational medium. The informational medium could be

sound waves, as in the sound of the falling tree. The informational medium might also be

reflected absorb the light waves). Perception occurs when a perceptual object (i.e., what you

see) is created in you that reflects the properties of the external world. That is, an image of a

falling tree is created on your retina that reflects the falling tree that is in front of you.Perception

is a set of process, which helps us in understanding the world around us. Every second we

encounter numerous stimuli. Perception refers to our sensory experience of the world. It is

through this experience that we gain information about the environment around us.

" Perception includes the five senses; touch, sight, sound, smell, and taste. It also includes what

is known as proprioception, which is a set of senses that enable us to detect changes in body

position and movement. Many stimuli surround us at any given moment. Perception acts as a

filter that allows us to exist within and interpret the world without becoming overwhelmed by

this abundance of stimuli.

Perception is determined by both physiological and psychological characteristics of the human

being whereas sensation is conceived with only the physiological features. Thus, perception is

not just what one sees with the eyes it is a much more complex process by which an individual
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selectively absorbs or assimilates the stimuli in the environment, cognitively organizes the

perceived information in a specific fashion and then interprets the information to make an

assessment about what is going on in one’s environment. Perception is a subjective process,

therefore, different people may perceive the same environment differently based on what

particular aspects of the situation they choose to selectively absorb, how they organize this

information and the manner in which they interpret it to obtain a grasp of the situation.

Theories

Bottom-Up Theories : The four main bottom-up theories of form and pattern perception are

direct perception, template theories, feature theories, and recognition-by-components

theory.Bottom-up theories describe approaches where perception starts with the stimuli whose

appearance you take in through your eye. You look out onto the cityscape, and perception

happens when the light information is transported to your brain. Therefore, they are data driven

(i.e., stimulus-driven) theories.

Top Down theory of perception : Top-down Processing is an important perceptual theory in

cognitive psychology. The theory establishes the paradigm that sensory information processing

in human cognition, such as perception, recognition, memory, and comprehension, are organized

and shaped by our previous experience, expectations, as well as meaningful context (Solso,

1998).

Top-down processing suggests that we form our perceptions starting with a larger object,

concept, or idea before working our way toward more detailed information. In other words, top-

down processing happens when we work from the general to the specific; the big picture to the

tiny details. In top-down processing, your abstract impressions can influence the sensory data

that you gather.Top-down processing is also known as conceptually-driven processing, since

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your perceptions are influenced by expectations, existing beliefs, and cognitions. In some cases

you are aware of these influences, but in other instances this process occurs without conscious

awareness.

Gestalt psychology :A major goal of Gestalt theory in the 20th century was to specify

the brain processes that might account for the organization of perception. Gestalt theorists, chief

among them the German-U.S. psychologist and philosopher, the founder of Gestalt theory, Max

Wertheimer and the German-U.S. psychologists Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler, rejected the

earlier assumption that perceptual organization was the product of learned relationships

(associations), the constituent elements of which were called simple sensations. Although

Gestaltists agreed that simple sensations logically could be understood to comprise organized

percepts, they argued that percepts themselves were basic to experience. One does not perceive

so many discrete dots (as simple sensations), for example; the percept is that of a dotted line.

Sensation

Meaning and concepts

Nature gives us a marvelous set of sensory contacts with our world. If our sense organs are not

defective, we experience light waves as brightnesses and colors, air vibrations as sounds,

chemical substances as odors or tastes, and so on. However, such is not the case for people with

a rare condition called synesthesia, which means, quite literally, “mixing of the senses”

(Cytowic, 2002; Harrison & Baron-Cohen, 1997). Individuals with synesthesia may experience

sounds as colors, or tastes as touch sensations of different shapes. Sensation is the stimulus

detection process by which our sense organs respond to and translate environmental stimuli into
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nerve impulses that are sent to the brain. Sensation is the process that allows our brains to take in

information via our five senses, which can then be experienced and interpreted by the brain.

Certainly there appear to be more than the five classical senses: vision, audition (hearing),

gustation (taste), olfaction (smell), and touch. For example, there are senses that provide

information about balance and body position. Our sensations follow a three-step process: they

absorb sensory stimuli, convert them into neural impulses, and then transport the neural

information to our brain. Transferring one type of energy into another that our brain can use is

known as transduction.

Electrical stimulation converts physical energy such as light or sound waves into a type of

energy that the brain can interpret. We make sense of all this stimulus and begin to grasp the

complicated world around us when our brain gets the electrical impulses. Perception is the

psychological process of making meaning of the inputs.

Also, the sense of touch can be subdivided into separate senses of pressure, pain, and

temperature. Receptors deep within the brain monitor the chemical composition of our blood.

The immune system also has sensory functions that allow it to detect foreign invaders and to

receive stimulation from the brain. Like those of other organisms, human sensory systems are

designed to extract from the environment the information that we need to function and survive.

Although our survival does not depend on having eyes like eagles or owls, noses like

bloodhounds, or ears as sensitive as those of the worm hunting robin, we do have specialized

sensors that can detect many different kinds of stimuli with considerable sensitivity.
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Aim

To study the effect of fatigue on the differential limen (DL) of individual by using the method of
limits.
Basic Concepts
Reiz Limen
It refers to minimum value of a physical stimulus which gives rise to sensation. It separates

presence of sensory experience from absence of experience when physical stimulus reaches a

particular point.it is also known as AL (Absolute Limen), which originated from German language.

Differential Limen

It is the organism’s capacity to respond to differences both qualitatively and

quantitatively. It is also called as DT (Differential threshold). It refers to

the mean of all DL values taken over several trials by the same subject for

the same stimuli. For example – Change in the weight of a constant stimuli

and a comparative stimuli (weight stone 1kg).

Terminal Limen

Terminal limen also called Terminal threshold is that upper range value of the

stimulus at which the organism stops receiving sensation. The sensitivity

related to terminal threshold is known as terminal sensitivity.Terminal

Sensitivity refers to the upper most limit of the organism’s capacity to

respond to a stimulus. For example – Most of the human beings can not sense

sound waves above 20,000 Hz s due to his/her limited capacity.

Webser’s Law

It states that the perception of change in any given stimulus is always dependent on what

that stimulus is. In other words, whether a change will be noticed is affected by how big, heavy

or significant etc. that something was beforehand and how significant the change.
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Fechner’s Law

According to him, there is a broader relationship between sensory and physical intensity.

Fechner’s law states that the strength of the sensation becomes greater as the logarithm of

stimulus intensity increases.

Method of limits

It is an experimental method to study sensory AL and DL developed by Gustav Fechner . The

absolute threshold of is examined by presenting a series of stimuli in ascending and descending

steps and asking the subject to report if they detect it or not. A differential threshold is explored

by presenting a series of stimuli in ascending and descending order and asking the observer to

report on the size relative to a comparison stimulus.

Errors in method of limits

Error of Habituation – it is committed when subject falls into the habit of

giving certain response even after a clear change in the stimulus has

occurred.

Error of Anticipation/ Expectation – it is defined as the tendency to expect the

change earlier than the point at which actual reversal in sensation takes

place.

Fatigue

Muscle fatigue - is a symptom that decreases your muscles' ability to perform over time. It is also

known as physical fatigue.

Mental fatigue - is a state of tiredness that sets in when your brain's energy levels are depleted.

Mental fatigue is usually the result of prolonged stress.

Variables
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Independent variable – muscular fatigue

Dependent variable – induced differential level of the subject

Hypothesis

With the induction of fatigue in a subject, the DL will increase and decrease the sensitivity.

Design of the experiment

Differential Limen

Without With fatigue

fatigue

ST-SV SV-ST ST-SV SV-ST

Ascending Descending Ascending Descending Ascending Descending Ascending Descending

Fatigue is induced with the help of ergogram.The subject has to pull the weight of 1.5 kg 20 time

Preliminaries

Name- Hiya

Age- 18

Sex- Female

Educational qualification – BA honors

Precautions

1. It is ensured that the subject should not be able to see the size number on weights. To do

this a board is placed between the subject and experimenter.

2. It is ensured that the arm of the subject should be placed erect on the table and not move.

3. While holding the weights the subject should only allowed to move its wrist .

4. It is ensured that the same hand should be used throughout the experiment.
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5.

Rapport formation

rapport forms the basis of any experiment . An ease with subject was made to make friendly

environment. All preliminaries were asked in a manner that the subject should not feel anxious .

Information of the experiment was delivered calmly . there was a harmonious relationhip

between the subject and experimenter. The subject was made to feel contented, peaceful and are

open to suggestions. The coordination was made to conduct the experiment smoothly.

Instructions

Phase 1 – without fatigue

Part 1 ST-SV

1. First the standard weight will be given and then variable weight.

2. While holding the weights arm should be placed on the table and only wrist movement is

allowed and there is prohibition in seeing the weight numbers.

3. After examining the weights , you have to tell whether the variable weight is heavier or

lighter or equal to the standard weight.

Part 2 SV-ST

1. First the variable weight will be given and then standard weight.

2. After examining the weights , you have to tell whether the variable weight is heavier or

lighter or equal to the standard weight.

Phase 2 – with fatigue

Fatigue is induced in the hand used for lifting weight by pulling the metal ball with index finger

20 times.

Part 1 ST-SV
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1. First standard weight will be given and then variable weight.

2. While holding the weights arm should be placed on the table and only wrist movement is

allowed and there is prohibition in seeing the weight numbers.

3. After examining the weights , you have to tell whether the variable weight is heavier or

lighter or equal to the standard weight.

After 1st round , the fatigue is again induced in the hand used for lifting weight by pulling the

metal ball with index finger 20 times.

Part 2 SV-ST

1. First the variable weight will be given and then standard weight.

2. After examining the weights , you have to tell whether the variable weight is heavier or

lighter or equal to the standard weight.

Conduction

The experiment was conducted to study the effect of fatigue on the differential limen (DL) of

individual by using the method of limits. Weights of the same size , but different weights were placed on

observers' supported hands, and produced a passive size–weight illusion. Weight of 78g was taken as

standard weight and weights from 70g to 86g with a gap of 2g are taken as variable weights. In first

phase of experiment conduction the subject was given the standard weight first and then variable in

ascending and descending order. Again the weights are given but this time the variable weight is given

first and then the standard weight. before phase 2 fatigue was induced in the arm of the subject by

eergogram . the subject has to pull weight of 1.5kg 20 times. Aftr this the standard weights are given

first and then the variable weights. Again, the fatigue was induced by using erogram . second time,

vriable weights are given first and then standard weights . The difference in threshold was calculated

with mean average of ascending and descending columns.

Introspective report
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Behavioral observation
Data tables and results
Symbols : light weight = (-) , heavy ( +) , equal weight (=), A ( ascending), D ( descending),
T ( threshold)
Table 1 – without fatigue
S.no ST-SV A D A D A D
1 78-70 - - - - - -
2 78-72 - - - - - -
3 78-74 - - - - - -
4 78-76 - = - - - -
5 78-78 = + = - = =
6 78-80 + + + = + +
7 78-82 + + + + + =
8 78-84 + + + + + +
9 78-86 + + + + + +
Average mean
T(+) 79 77 79 79 79 79 = 78.6
T(-) 77 75 77 79 77 77 = 77.2
Table 2 – without fatigue
S.no SV-ST A D A D A D
1 70-78 - - - - - -
2 72-78 - - - - - -
3 74-78 - - - - - -
4 76-78 - = = - - -
5 78-78 + + + = - +
6 80-78 + + + + + +
7 82-78 + + + + + +
8 84-78 + + + + + +
9 86-78 + + + + + +
T(+) 77 77 77 79 79 77 = 77.6
T(-) 77 75 75 77 79 77 = 76.6
Table 3 – induction of fatigue
S.no ST-SV A D A D A D
1 78-70 - - - - - -
2 78-72 - - - - - -
3 78-74 - - - - - -
4 78-76 - + = - = -
5 78-78 - - + = = =
6 78-80 + - = - - +
7 78-82 + + + + + +
8 78-84 + + + + + +
9 78-86 + + + + + +
Average mean
T(+) 79 81 77 81 81 79 = 79.6
T(-) 79 81 75 81 75 77 = 78
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Table 4 – induction of fatigue

S.no SV-ST A D A D A D
1 70-78 - - - - - -
2 72-78 - - - - - -
3 74-78 - - - - - -
4 76-78 + = + + - +
5 78-78 = - = - = =
6 80-78 + + - - + +
7 82-78 + + + + + +
8 84-78 + + + + + +
9 86-78 + + + + + +
Average mean

T(+) 75 79 75 81 79 79 = 78

T(-) 75 79 75 81 77 75 = 77

Summary table

Without fatigue With fatigue

ST-SV SV-ST AVG.
ST-SV SV-ST AVG.
IU 0.8 0.5 0.65
IU 0.7 0.5 0.6
DL 0.4 0.5 0.45
DL 0.35 0.25 0.3
PSE 78 77.5 78.15
PSE 77.9 77.1 77.5
CE 0.8 -0.5 0.3
CE -0.1 -0.9 -1

Result Table
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References

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology , Retrieved from

Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition Robert J. Sternberg and Karin Sternberg

https://psychology.fandom.com/wiki/Introduction_to_cognitive_psychology

what is Experimental Psychology ? Bryn Farnsworth

https://imotions.com/blog/learning/research-fundamentals/what-is-experimental-psychology/

Experimental psychologists use empirical research methods to explore and better understand

behavior. Retrieved from

https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/experimental

types of experiment : an overview , Retrieved from

https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/types-of-experiment-overview

what is perception ? Recognizing Environmental Stimuli Through the Five Senses , Kendra

Cherry , Retrieved from

https://www.verywellmind.com/perception-and-the-perceptual-process-2795839

sensation and perception , Galloti; passer; Robert J. Sternberg , Retrieved from

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Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition Robert J. Sternberg and Karin Sternberg and Passer,

Michael W. Psychology: the science of mind and behavior/Michael W. Passer, Ronald E.

Smith.—4th ed

References of prac.

Usnadze, D (1931). "Über die Gewichtstauschung und ihre Analoga [Aspects of weight illusions]". Psychol

Forsch. 14: 366–379.