2. Collected by
Saeid Nezareh
Information Science student
Tehran ,25th May 2009
6/2/2009 2
3. In this session we will cover
Introduction about Cognitive
Today Cognitive science
Historical reviews of cognitive science
4.
5. How do minds work?
What would an answer to this question look like?
What is a mind?
What is intelligence?
How do brains work?
Neurons
Brain structure
What’s the difference between the brain and the
mind?
6. Cognition
Cognition – from Latin base cognitio – “know
together”
The collection of mental processes and activities
used in perceiving, learning, remembering,
thinking, and understanding
and the act of using those processes
7. Cognitive Processes
Learning and Memory
Thinking and Reasoning (Planning, Decision Making,
Problem Solving ...)
Language
Vision-Perception
Social Cognition
Dreaming and Consciousness
8. So What IS Cognitive Science?
Some possible definitions:
“The interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence”
“Study of cognitive processes involved in the acquisition,
representation and use of human knowledge”
“Scientific study of the mind, the brain, and intelligent
behaviour, whether in humans, animals, machines or the
abstract”
9.
10. Disciplines of
Cognitive Science
Anthropology
The study of human life and culture.
How people live? What they think? What they produce? How they
interact with their environment?
Artificial Intelligence
The development of artifacts that perform similar functions as
human thought.
Education
Focuses on improving methods of human learning and
development.
Linguistics
The scientific study of language.
Origins of language. Acquisition of language. Relationships between
languages. Language change over time.
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11. Disciplines of
Cognitive Science
Neuroscience
Studies the anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry of
nerves
The brain and the nervous system.
Philosophy
“love of knowledge” from Greek philosophia.
Metaphysics: the investigation of reality.
Epistemology: study of the origins, validity, and limits of
knowledge.
Psychology
The scientific study of behavior and the mind.
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13. Schools of Thought
Aristotle and Tabula Rasa
Wundt and Introspection
Titchener/ Wundt and Structuralism
James and Functionalism
Ebbinghaus and human memory research.
Watson/ Skinner and Behaviorism
Information Processing
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14. Aristotle
384-322 BC
Greece
Philosophy
Notion of tabula rasa
Mind as “clean slate”
which experience writes
upon.
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15. WillhelmWundt
1832-1920.
Germany
Background in medicine
First experimental
psychology laboratory
(Europe).
Leipzig, around 1879
Founded first
psychological journal
Philosophical Studies
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17. Wundt’s criteria for introspection
1. The observer must know when the experience
begins and ends.
Observer is master of situation
2. The observer must maintain quot;strained
attention.“
Mind does not wander
3. The phenomenon must bear repetition.
4. The phenomenon must be capable of variation
Useful for descriptions and experimentation.
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18. Edward Titchener
1867-1927.
Born in England.
Studied in Germany
under Wundt
Head of psychological
lab Cornell University in
U.S.
*Photo courtesy of http://vlp.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de
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19. Structuralism
(Wundt andTitchener)
The study of the structure of the conscious
mind.
Focus on the sensations, images, and feelings
that are elements of consciousness.
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20. Structuralism
Psychology as a counter-part to biology
Classifying structures of the conscious mind similar in
approach to classifying species in biology.
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21. Difficulties with Structuralism
Observers were highly trained, but self-
reports were not consistent across people.
Contents of reports were not observable and
thus hard to study scientifically.
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22. William James
1842-1910
Born in U.S.
Studied in U.S. and
Europe.
Started first
experimental
psychology lab (U.S.)
around 1875, Harvard
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23. Functionalism
(James)
Focused on the functions of mental and
physical capabilities of humans.
Influenced by Darwin’s notion of survival of the
fittest.
Emphasized techniques such as intelligence
and aptitude tests.
Use controlled environments to test learning
and problem solving abilities.
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24. Hermann Ebbinghaus
1850-1909.
Germany
Professor of
Philosophy
Studied memory in his
spare time.
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25. Ebbinghaus’ studies of memory
Memorized lists of nonsense syllables
Example: cvc mhj plk wqf bnd khk
Examined memory over time
Many of his methods are still used today.
Due to simplicity and reproducibility
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27. John B. Watson
1878-1958.
America
Professor of
Psychology
Founder of
behaviorism
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28. B.F. Skinner
1904-1990.
America
Professor of
Psychology
Behaviorism
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29. Behaviorism
A response to Wundt’s introspection
The scientific study of observable behavior
only
Behaviorism is “antimentalistic”
Since mental processes can’t be seen, they have
no place in psychology
Reinforcement and operant conditioning
important concepts.
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30. Reinforcement
A stimulus that strengthens or weakens a
behavior.
positive
praise
negative
punishment
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31. Operant conditioning
The frequency of a behavior is modified by
the consequences of the behavior
Individuals “operate” in the environment and
encounter reinforcement.
Person
Operates on… Consequences
(i.e. behavior) reinforce…
Environment
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32. Challenges to Behaviorism
Learning (i.e. operant conditioning) could not
override instinct
Ex. Pigs learning to put coins into a piggy bank
eventually degenerated.
“The Misbehavior of Organisms”
World War II
Focus more on human performance less on learning.
Timing and accuracy of behavior important.
Concepts of attention, vigilance, and signal detection theory
emerge.
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33. Challenges to Behaviorism
Ebbinghaus’ memory studies
Observable, rigorous methods allowed the study of
mental processes.
Measure time and accuracy
Atheoretical methods showed that an overarching
theory was not always necessary.
Linguistics-- Chomsky versus Skinner
Skinner: language is the result of reinforced learning.
Chomsky: emphasized novelty and rules of grammar
in language.
Generative grammar: use rules of language to generate novel
sentences.
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34. Noam Chomsky
1928-
America
Professor of Linguistics
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35. Allen Newell and Herbert Simon
1927-1992 • 1916-2001
Computer Science, • Economics,
Artificial Intelligence Mathematics,
• Nobel Prize
– decision making
Image courtesy of turing.acm.org
2 June 2009 Image courtesy of www.post-gazette.com
36
36. Information processing
Sequence of mental operations
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
Symbol manipulation
Metaphor of the mind as a computer
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Images courtesy of www.dell.com