20 • CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
different uses of the word mind, and decide how rel-
evant each is to what you will be studying in cognitive
psychology (as indicated by the table of contents of this
book).- The idea that the operation of the mind can be described
as occurring in a number of stages was the central princi-
ple of the information-processing approach that was one
of the outcomes of the cognitive revolution that began in
the 1950s. How can Donders’ reaction time experiment
from the 1800s be conceptualized in terms of the infor-
mation-processing approach?- Donders compared the results of his simple and choice
reaction time experiments to infer how long it took to
make the decision as to which button to push, when
given a choice. But what about other kinds of decisions?
Design an experiment to determine the time it takes to
make a more complex decision. Then relate this experi-
ment to the diagram in^ Figure 1.3.
Key TERMS
Analytic introspection, 8
Artifi cial intelligence, 14
Behavioral approach, 15
Behaviorism, 9
Choice reaction time, 7
Classical conditioning, 10
Cognition, 5
Cognitive map, 11
Cognitive psychology, 5
Cognitive revolution, 12
Information-processing approach, 12
Logic theorist, 14
Memory consolidation, 15
Mind, 5Model, 13
Operant conditioning, 10
Physiological approach, 15
Reaction time, 6
Savings method, 8
Simple reaction time, 7
Structuralism, 8If You WANT TO KNOW MORE
- The birth of cognitive psychology. To get a feel for the kinds
of things cognitive psychologists were concerned with
near the beginning of the “cognitive revolution,” look at
Ulrich Neisser’s book, Cognitive Psychology. This was the
first modern textbook on the subject. Try comparing it to
what’s in this book. One thing you will notice is that the
field of cognitive psychology is far more concerned with
physiological processes now than it was at the beginning.
Neisser, U. (1967). Cognitive psychology. New York: Appleton-
Century-Crofts.- How the mind works. An engaging book for the gen-
eral reader, How The Mind Works, is worth checking
out for a well-known cognitive psychologist’s perspec-
tive on the mind. Pinker describes the mind as a natu-
ral computer and presents his ideas regarding how the
mind has been shaped by the process of natural selec-
tion and how its operation is influenced by our modern
environment.
Pinker, S. (1997). How the mind works. New York: Norton.Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.