Cognitive

The cognitive level focuses on how people think and how people's thinking affects their behavior. Cognitive psychology is about the structure and functions of the mind.

Principles

 * Mental representations and processes guide behavior
 * Models of mental processes can be proposed and investigated scientifically
 * Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors

Principles of the Cognitive Level Demonstrated in Theories and Research

 * Bottom-up processing
 * Top-down processing
 * Schema theory and the War of Ghosts (Bartlett, 1920)
 * Self-schema theory (Markus, 1977)
 * Reconstructive Memory and Eyewitness Testimony (Loftus & Palmer, 1974)
 * Distinction between basic cognitive research (understand fundamentals) and applied cognitive research (specific real-world issues)

Research Methods

 * Experiments
 * Observations
 * Interviews
 * Ethical Considerations
 * Case study of Genie (Curtiss, 1977)

Schema Theory
Schemas
 * it is a cognitive theory about information processing
 * organize information in memory
 * increase efficiency in information processing
 * make expectations about things/events/people
 * control behaviour
 * very resistent to change
 * can be wrong when:
 * unfamiliar settings
 * wrong type of schema used

Evaluation of Schema Theory

 * Bartlett's Schema Theory
 * Office schema experiment (Brewer & Treyens, 1981) - degree of ecological validity
 * <span style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Self-schemas are stable and fixed in adults (Markus, 1977)
 * <span style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">The Fluid Self - self-schemas are malleable (Onorato & Turner, 2004)
 * <span style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">It is unclear how schemas develop and how they influence cognitive processes
 * <span style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Schema as a concept is too vague to be of any use (Cohen, 1993)

Models of Cognitive Processes

 * <span style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Multi-store Memory Model (Atkinson & Schiffrin, 1968)
 * <span style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Working Memory Model (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974) Strengths
 * <span style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Decision-making
 * <span style="mso-list: l12 level2 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Heuristics
 * <span style="mso-list: l12 level2 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Representative
 * <span style="mso-list: l12 level2 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Availability
 * <span style="mso-list: l12 level2 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Illusory Correlations
 * <span style="mso-list: l12 level2 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Hindsight Bias

Biological Factors Affect Memory

 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Lesions
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level2 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Clive Wearing
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level3 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.5in;">Anterograde and retrograde amnesia
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level3 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.5in;">Implicit memory of playing piano is intact as is his emotional memory - he still loves his wife
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level2 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Patient HM with damaged hippocampus (Milner & Scoville, 1957; Corkin, 2002)
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Alzheimer's Disease
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Role of Hippocampus in Animals //vs//. Humans
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Role of amygdala in emotional memories
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Different lesions affect memory in rats and humans
 * <span style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Role of ACh in memory

Biological Factors Affect Decision-making

 * <span style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo7; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex in will power and moral judgments
 * <span style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo7; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Phineas Gage //vs.// Patient EVR (Eslinger & Damasio, 1985)

Social and Cultural Factors Influence Perception

 * <span style="mso-list: l9 level1 lfo8; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Individuals in Dominican Republic with pseudohermaphroditia //guevedoce// (='testicles at 12 years old') also called machi-embra (=male-female) viewed as a gift from god (Imperato-McGinley //et al//., 1974, 1979) compared to similar individuals in US as unfortunate or suffering)

Extent of Reliability of Cognitive Processes

 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Reconstructive memory in eyewitnesses (Loftus & Palmer, 1974)
 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level2 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Yuille & Cutshall (1986) crticize Loftus's findings on the grounds of ecological validity after they found that people who witnessed a real robbery were unaffected by leading questions
 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Factors influencing recognition of eyewitness like familiarity with the subject (Burton //et al//. 1999; see Result 2)
 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Decision-making reliability
 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level2 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Hindsight bias
 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level2 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Representative bias
 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level2 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Availability bias
 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level2 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Illusory correlation
 * <span style="mso-list: l2 level2 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Confirmation bias

Use of Technology to Investigate Cognitive Processes

 * <span style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo10; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">PET to record live thinking by recording metabolic activity of radioactive glucose in regions of the brain
 * <span style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo10; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Used to investigate role of hippocampus in Alzheimer's
 * <span style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo10; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">MRI and fMRI to detect changes in oxygen levels in the blood of brain regions
 * <span style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo10; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Has been used in marketing research and problem solving
 * <span style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo10; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Mirror neurons and imitation and social learning

Appraisal Theory (Lazarus, 1975)

 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">People make a cognitive evaluation of how a situation will impact them
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Positive appraisal of a potential benefit leads to positive emotion
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Negative appraisal of a threat or loss leads to negative emotion
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Individual experience of stress differs (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Depends on your resources for dealing with stress such as family and friends, beliefs about yourself (//e.g.// self-esteem and confidence) and the way you relate to the world
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Different strategies used for coping (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988)
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Problem-focused to change or manipulate situation
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Emotion-focused to deal with emotions instead of changing the situation
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Genital surgery video experiment (Speisman //et al.//, 1964)
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Investigate if emotional reactions to events can be manipulated
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Trauma condition - pain emphasized by soundtrack in video
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Denial condition - participants acted happy to have the surgery
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Intellectualization condition - soundtrack gave an objective anthropological viewpoint of the genital surgery
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Participants respond more emotionally to trauma condition suggesting it is the individual's interpretation of the event (person in video experiencing pain, acting happy or being analyzed) that affect the emotional stress rather than the event itself
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level2 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;">Evaluation
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level3 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.5in;">Artificial video study - ecological validity
 * <span style="mso-list: l11 level3 lfo11; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.5in;">Researchers used deception and put participants in a potentially uncomfortable situation

Flashbulb Memories

 * <span style="mso-list: l13 level1 lfo12; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Brown and Kulick (1977) argue flashbulb memories are special memories not subject to decay and inaccuracy like 'normal' memories
 * <span style="mso-list: l13 level1 lfo12; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Current research claims that our confidence in flashbulb memories characterizes our perceived accuracy and vividness of the events and flashbulb memories are subject to the same inaccuracies as everyday memories (Talariko & Rubin, 2003)
 * <span style="mso-list: l13 level1 lfo12; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Role of amygdala affects how so-called flashbulb memories are encoded which explains why vividness of flashbulb memories remains even if the details of the memory are inaccurate

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

 * <span style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo13; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Trauma disturbs perception and thinking
 * <span style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo13; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Intrusive memories affect daily life
 * <span style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo13; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Use of propranolol to reduce impact of traumatic experiences (Pitman, 2005)

Additional Resources

 * <span style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo14; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Would you take a pill to forget?
 * <span style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo14; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">BBC Horizon Special on Memory
 * <span style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo14; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Clive Wearing Special 1 2 3
 * <span style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo14; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Do the eyes have it?
 * <span style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo14; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">The brain scan that can read people's intentions
 * <span style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo14; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Brain Scans Go Legal
 * <span style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo14; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">Portrait of a Lie
 * <span style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo14; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">We Have Ways of Making You Buy
 * Inside the Mind of a Savant: Kim Peek