CEP wk1

1. Cognitive-Educational
Psychology
Dr. Cervantes

2. • Effort: Going beyond the minimum
• Active engagement with the material
• Test & retest
• Apply the material

3. A Definition of Learning
• Learning is:
– An experiential process
• Change in behavior or knowledge dependent on
conditions
– Resulting in a relatively permanent change
• Can be unlearned
– Not explained by temporary states, maturation, or
innate response tendencies.

4. Some First Principles
• Learning is something all humans do
– From fetuses to adults
• Learning is not uniquely human – all living things learn
• Learning evolved as an adaptation for promoting
survival

5. What is Learning?
• Learning is a process
• Learning is a product

6. Process of Learning
• Learning involves the individual
– Brain & body
• Learning involves others
– Ranging from pairs to communities
• Learning takes place somewhere
• Learning occurs over time

7. Products of Learning
• Learning is about ideas and concepts
• Learning is about behaviors and skills
• Learning is about attitudes and values

8. Definition: Theories are…
 What is a theory?
 A theory provides a general explanation for
observations made over time.
 A theory explains and predicts behavior.
 A theory of learning explains the root processes.
 A theory can never be established beyond all doubt.
 A theory may be modified.

9. Broad domains of theories
Behaviorism
Cognitivism
Sociocultural
I believe that (the) educational process has two sides—
one psychological and one sociological. . . Profound
differences in theory are never gratuitous or invented.
They grow out of conflicting elements in a genuine
problem.
-John Dewey, In Dworkin, M. (1959) Dewey on Education

10. Tolman & Cognitive Learning
• Maze Learning
–Group 1: Reinforced
from the start
–Group 2: No reward
–Group 3: Rewarded
starting on Day 11

11. Always Reinforced
Never Reinforced
Latent learning
evident once
reinforcement
begins on day 11

12. Cognitive Learning
Latent Learning
Hidden learning that exists
without behavioral signs
Cognitive Maps
Mental Image of a three-
dimensional space that an
organism has navigated
*PLACE CELLS

13. Perception
• Perceptual processes include:
– Selection refers to choosing
which of many stimuli that will
be processed.
– Organization involves collecting
the information into some
pattern.
– Interpretation involves
understanding the pattern.
• Perception is not passive
• Perceptions can be in error
– Illusions are visual stimuli that
are misinterpreted .

14. Points of Confusion

15. Perceived Motion
• Phi phenomenon
– When two lights flash at
a certain speed, we
perceive a singular light
oscillating back and forth.
– Apparent movement: (see
movement when no
movement has actually
taken place)

16. Gestalt Organizational Principles
• The German word
gestalt can be translated
to mean form, pattern,
configuration.
• This configuration or
pattern offers an
“organization” to
perception which the
individual experiences.

17. Perception:
Interpreting Sensory Messages
FIGURE-GROUND ORGANIZATION

18. Laws of Perceptual Organization
Law of
Similarity

19. Pointilism
Sunday afternoon at the Grand Jatte
Painters like George Seurat have used laws like
similarity and proximity to paint images.

20. Laws of Perceptual Organization
Law of Continuity Law of Closure

21. Laws of Perceptual Organization
Law of Simplicity

22. Law of Prägnanz
• Prägnanz means “essence”
• Overriding principle that envelops all
perceptual laws.
– Tendency to make every psychological
event simple, concise, symmetrical,
harmonious and complete.
• Learning follows the Law of Prägnanz
– formation of memory traces (which are
subject to this law)

23. Perceptual Constancies
Size Constancy Shape Constancy
Kohler’s TRANSPOSITION: when we attend to an object we also attend to its
RELATIONSHIP with other objects