Psychology 360 Theories of Learning David Allbritton

Psychology 360 Theories of Learning David Allbritton

Approaches to Learning Information Processing – Mental processes and representations Associationist (Behaviorist) Connectionist Neuro-cognition Evolutionary Psychology

Introduction to Cognitive (Information Processing) Psychology Metaphors for the mind A brief historical perspective Influences on Cognitive Psychology

Metaphors for the Mind Aristotle’s wax tablet (analog representation) Locke’s chalkboard (passive learning) Telephones and radios (information theory) Computers (information processing theories) Networks (connectionism)

A Brief History (1) 1. o o o Structuralism -- Wundt structure (representation) mentalism reductionism Criticized for: o restriction to low-level processes (ignoring much of thinking) o static -- no interest in process

A Brief History (2) 2. o o o Functionalism – William James function (process) high-level thought processes "Stream of consciousness" Criticized for: o lack of rigor

A Brief History (3) 3. o o o o Behaviorism – Watson, Skinner external stimuli and observable behavior (S-R) "black box" – no mentalism methodological rigor associationist Criticized for: o ignored internal thought

A Brief History (4) 4. The Cognitive Revolution (1960's) o mentalism returns o objective measures retained (RT, accuracy) o mental representations and mental processes become the object of study

Influences on Cognitive Psych Behaviorism Verbal Learning tradition (Ebbinghaus) Human factors (WWII) Information Theory (signal detection) Computer Science (hardware/software) Linguistics (rules and symbols)

3 Assumptions of Cog. Psych: Mental processes exist and can be studied scientifically. Humans are active seekers and processors of information. Reaction time and accuracy can be used to measure mental processes.