cognitive psychology
Study of thinking
Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that studies mental processes—how people perceive, remember, think, learn, and solve problems.
It treats the mind somewhat like an information-processing system, examining attention, memory, language, and decision-making.
Cognitive psychology research shows that multitasking impairs performance on complex tasks.
Focused mental awareness
- sensationPerceived stimulus or phenomenon
- visual processingHow brains interpret images
- gestaltIntegrated perceptual whole
- figure-groundPerceptual separation of object and background
perceptual constancy · illusion · selective attention · divided attention · change blindness · feature detection · bottom-up · top-down
Addressing challenges methodically
- decision-makingProcess of choosing actions
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- heuristicsPractical problem-solving shortcuts
- biasesUnfair inclinations toward something
logic · deduction · induction · analogical · mental models · confirmation bias · anchoring · framing effect
Converting data to format
- retrievalAct of getting back
- recallMemory retrieval act
- forgettingFailing to retain memories
- long-termLasting extended period
short-term · episodic · semantic · declarative · procedural · amnesia · hippocampus · mnemonics
Child cognition researcher
- stagesDistinct periods or platforms
- schemasConceptual organizing structures
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
- accommodationShelter or housing provided
conservation · object permanence · scaffolding · theory of mind · lifespan · aging · adolescent brain
Act of obtaining something
- conditioningLearned behavioral adaptation
- habituationDiminished reaction over time
- implicitUnderstood without being stated
- explicitClearly and directly expressed
skill acquisition · transfer · categorization · expertise · automaticity · priming
Science of mental speech processes
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
- pragmaticsLanguage-in-context study
- language acquisitionDeveloping communication ability
Chomsky · reading comprehension · aphasia · Broca · bilingualism · parsing · garden-path · naming
Visualizing cerebral structures or activity
- fMRIMagnetic neural activity imaging
- EEGNeural activity recording
- neuropsychologyScience of brain-cognition relationships
- prefrontal cortexBrain's planning and impulse center
modularity · neural networks · lateralization · plasticity · brain mapping
Systematic testing of ideas
- reaction timeSpeed of response
- think-aloudNarrating one's cognitive process
- psychometricsPsychological measurement science
- replicationAct of duplicating precisely
attention
Focused mental awareness
- sensationPerceived stimulus or phenomenon
- visual processingHow brains interpret images
- gestaltIntegrated perceptual whole
figure-ground · perceptual constancy · illusion · selective attention · divided attention · change blindness · feature detection · bottom-up · top-down · depth perception
problem-solving
Addressing challenges methodically
- decision-makingProcess of choosing actions
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- heuristicsPractical problem-solving shortcuts
biases · logic · deduction · induction · analogical · mental models · confirmation bias · anchoring · framing effect · representativeness
encoding
Converting data to format
- retrievalAct of getting back
- recallMemory retrieval act
- forgettingFailing to retain memories
long-term · short-term · episodic · semantic · declarative · procedural · amnesia · hippocampus · mnemonics · storage
Piaget
Child cognition researcher
- stagesDistinct periods or platforms
- schemasConceptual organizing structures
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
accommodation · conservation · object permanence · scaffolding · theory of mind · lifespan · aging · adolescent brain
acquisition
Act of obtaining something
- conditioningLearned behavioral adaptation
- habituationDiminished reaction over time
- implicitUnderstood without being stated
explicit · skill acquisition · transfer · categorization · expertise · automaticity · priming
psycholinguistics
Science of mental speech processes
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
- pragmaticsLanguage-in-context study
Chomsky · language acquisition · reading comprehension · aphasia · Broca · bilingualism · parsing · garden-path · naming · tip-of-the-tongue
brain imaging
Visualizing cerebral structures or activity
- fMRIMagnetic neural activity imaging
- EEGNeural activity recording
- neuropsychologyScience of brain-cognition relationships
prefrontal cortex · modularity · neural networks · lateralization · plasticity · brain mapping
experimentation
Systematic testing of ideas
- reaction timeSpeed of response
- think-aloudNarrating one's cognitive process
- psychometricsPsychological measurement science
- disciplinesbiology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, sociology
- psychologytherapist, psychiatrist, neuropsychology, psychoanalysis, memory
- behavioral sciencesbehaviorism, behavioral economics, behavioral genetics, consumer behavior, ethology
- Psychology HistoryFreud, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Jung, William James
- cognitive scienceworking memory, attention, information processing, learning theory, reasoning
- cognitionthinking, reasoning, thought, remembering, memory retrieval
cognitive psychologybehaviorism
Psychology studying observable conduct
behavioral psychology · neuroscience · neuropsychology · social psychology · situated cognition
recognize, recognition, recognized, cognitive, recognizing, psychology, cognition, unrecognized, psychologist