Cognitive Psychology Flashcards
Gestalt Psychology rejected…
Bundle Hypothesis
(objects of consciousness are made up of fixed atomic elements)
Constancy Hypothesis
(conscious sensory objects responds to stimulation on a sensory organ)
Name 2 of Gestalt’s principles:
Law of Phi and Beta (apparent motion)
Law of Pragnanz (we are driven to experience things in order/ simple fashion)
What type of processing is suggested when processing perceptual stimuli?
Top-Down Processing
as our minds fill in black sections of a circle indicating we have background knowledge that influences how we perceive environmental info
What did Chomsky argue against Skinner about language acquisition?
He argued that we acquire language through a device equipped with universal grammar
(not via operant conditioning)
Weiner invented Cybernetics.
Explain this
Cybernetics are mathmatical tools used to describe systems of feedback, communication and control:
Negative feedback mechanisms (thermostat)
Important for info processing.
What are the reasons Chomsky argued we acquire language differently rather than operant conditioning?
Flexibility of language means reducing it down to conditioning= little predictive value
Required a rule based, combinatorial system
Imitation is a poor basis for language –
children misapply abstract rules/ make mistakes
Innate contribution
Miller’s Magic Seven argued we can hold ( ) pieces of information in our STM?
7 (+/- 2)
What term is used to describe an increase in capacity from processing chunks of information?
Chunking
The Cognitive Revolution:
Limitations
Not all behaviourists rejected cognitive processes
Behaviourism did change psychology
Behaviourism still exists
Maybe there is an evolution in psychology?