Cognitive Psychology

Dawn M. McBride is professor of psychology at Illinois State University, where she has taught research methods since 1998. Her research interests include automatic forms of memory, false memory, prospective memory, task order choices, and forgetting. In addition to research methods, she teaches courses in introductory psychology, cognition and learning, and human memory; she also teaches a graduate course in experimental design. She is a recipient of the Illinois State University Teaching Initiative Award and the Illinois State University SPA/Psi Chi Jim Johnson Award for commitment to undergraduate mentorship, involvement, and achievement. Her nonacademic interests include spending time with her family, traveling, watching Philadelphia sports teams (it was a good year for Philly sports this year!), and reading British murder mysteries. She earned her PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of California, Irvine, and her BA from the University of California, Los Angeles. J. Cooper Cutting (PhD, cognitive psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is associate professor of psychology at Illinois State University. Dr. Cutting’s research interests are in psycholinguistics, primarily, with a focus on the production of language. A central theme of his research is how different types of information interact during language use. He has examined this issue in the context of lexical access, within-sentence agreement processes, figurative language production, and pragmatics. He has taught courses in research methods, statistics, cognitive psychology, computer applications in psychology, human memory, psycholinguistics, and sensation and perception. He is also a recipient of the Illinois State University SPA/Psi Chi Jim Johnson Award for commitment to undergraduate mentorship, involvement, and achievement. His non-academic interests include gardening and reading science fiction and fantasy novels.

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Chapter 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Introduction: Cognition and Shopping
What Is Cognitive Psychology?
Development of cognitive psychology
Current approaches to the study of cognition
Research in Cognitive Psychology
The scientific method
Research methodologies
Commonly used measures within cognitive psychology
Chapter 2: Cognitive Neuroscience
Introduction: Knowledge from Cognitive Deficits
Clinical Case Studies in Cognitive Neuroscience
Structure of the Nervous System
The neuron
The brain
Measures in Cognitive Neuroscience
Single-cell recording
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
Electrical stimulation/inhibition of neurons
Brain imaging techniques
Recording activity in the living brain
Can All Mental Processes Be Explained in Terms of Brain Activity?
Chapter 3: Perception
Introduction: Perception in Everyday Tasks
Sensory Systems: How Sensations Become Perceptions
Approaches to the Study of Perception
Computational approaches
Gestalt approaches
Perception/action approaches
Comparison of Approaches to Perception: Motion Perception
Chapter 4: Attention
Introduction: How We Pay Attention
Views of Attention
Attention as an information filter
Attention as a limited resource
Attention as a feature binder
How Attention Affects Our Perceptions
The gorilla in the room: Inattentional blindness
Incompatibilities tax attention: The Simon effect
Effects of automatic processes on attention: The Stroop task
Automatic and Controlled Processes: A Cognitive Dichotomy
Chapter 5: Memory Structures and Processes
Introduction: The Pervasiveness of Memory
Memory as Structure or Process
Encoding, storage, and retrieval
Modal model of memory
Sensory Memory
Short-Term Memory (STM)
Capacity of STM
Duration of STM
Long-Term Memory (LTM)
Types of LTM memories
The Working-Memory (WM) System
Baddeley’s model
Beyond Baddeley’s model
Retrieval From Long-Term Memory
Recall tasks
Recognition tasks
Comparing recall and recognition tasks
Implicit-memory tasks
Prospective-memory tasks
Memory Overview
Chapter 6: Long-Term Memory: Influences on Retrieval
Introduction: Superior Memory
Why We Forget
Encoding Effects
Levels of processing
Spacing effects
Serial position curve
Retrieval Effects
The testing effect
Using the testing effect
Encoding-Retrieval Interactions
Environmental context effects
Mood-dependent effects
Transfer-appropriate processing
Summary of encoding-retrieval interactions
Mnemonics
Superior Autobiographical Memory
Chapter 7: Memory Errors
Introduction: The Inaccuracy of Memory
The Seven “Sins” of Memory
Error #1 Transience
Error #2 Absentmindedness
Error #3 Blocking
Error #4 Source misattribution
Error #5 Suggestibility
Error #6 Bias
Error #7 Persistence
Summary
The Reconstructive Nature of Memory
Bartlett’s studies
Schemata and scripts
Memory Errors in the Laboratory
The DRM procedure
Eyewitness memory studies
Applications of eyewitness memory research
Summary and conclusions
Clinical Memory Failures - Amnesia
Types of amnesia
Amnesia and implicit memory
Amnesia in Alzheimer’s Disease
Amnesia in childhood
Chapter 8: Imagery
Introduction: Visual Imagery in Everyday Life
Mental Images and Cognition
The Debate on Propositional and Spatial Representations
Imagery and Memory
The picture superiority effect
The concreteness effect
The bizarreness effect
Imagery and mnemonics
The dark side of imagery
Imagery in Problem Solving and Wayfinding
Imagery in problem solving
Imagery in wayfinding
Nonvisual Imagery
Imagery and simulation
Chapter 9: Language
Introduction: A Simple Conversation
What Is Language?
The structure of language
How Do We Process Language?
Language comprehension
Language production
Dialogue: Production and comprehension together
Acquiring Language
Typical language development
Nature or nurture: Mechanisms for learning words and syntax
Human Language and Animal Communication
Comparing human language to animal communication
Attempts to teach animals human language
Chapter 10: Concepts and Knowledge
Introduction: Game Night
What Are Concepts?
The classical approach: Concepts as definitions
Alternative approaches to concepts
Other alternative approaches to concepts
Organizing Our Concepts
Conceptual hierarchies
Basic-level concepts
Organizational approaches
Summary of conceptual organization
Using Concepts: Beyond Categorization
Category induction
Stereotypes
Expertise
Conceptual combination
The Future of Research and Theory of Concepts
Chapter 11: Problem Solving
Introduction: Problem Solving in Daily Life
Recognizing and Identifying a Problem
Defining and Representing Problems
Functional fixedness
Developing Solutions to Problems: Approaches and Strategies
Associationist approach: Trial-and-error strategy
Gestalt approaches
Problem solving as problem space searches
Summary of approaches and strategies
Allocating Mental Resources for Solving the Problem
Expertise
Experts versus novices
Becoming a better problem solver
Chapter 12: Reasoning and Decision Making
Introduction: A Night at the Movies
Deductive Reasoning
Syllogistic reasoning
Conditional reasoning
Deductive-reasoning approaches
Combining these approaches: Dual-process framework approach
Inductive Reasoning
Types of induction reasoning
Everyday reasoning
Making Decisions
A general model of decision making
Ideal decision making: A normative model
Heuristics and biases
Descriptive decision-making approaches
Dual-process framework
Future Advances in Theories of Reasoning and Decision Making
Glossary
References
Author Index
Subject Index