Module 1.1 Assignment Cognitive Psychology

1 Module 1.1 Assignment: Cognitive Psychology Alondra Garcia National Louis University Psy-305 Prof Paul 03/03/2024 2 Module 1.1 Assignment: Cognitive Psychology Simply put, cognitive psychology is the study of the mind. However, according to Goldstein (2018), a comprehensive definition of cognitive psychology hinges on how we approach the mind’s central role in an individual’s mental abilities. Therefore, because the mind forms and regulates mental functions, cognitive psychology is about how our minds create cognition and control the important functions that are critical for our survival in every aspect of life. Donders’s pioneering introspection into how long it takes people to decide by measuring the reaction time was among the initial cognitive tests that contributed to the central principle of cognitive psychology that “Mental responses must be inferred from observing behaviors as they cannot be measured directly” (Goldstein, 2018). On the other hand, Wundt’s laboratory experiment, even though an unfruitful approach, set the foundational basis behavioral study and analytical inspection of the mind in controlled environments. However, Ebbinghaus’s memory experiment was amongst the first quantitative measurements of mental processes using savings and memory loss (forgetting). Some of the research methods cognitive psychologists use to study mental processes include experiments on human behavior, case studies and self-reports, and computer simulations and artificial intelligence. Experiments on human behavior can rely on controlled experimental designs that allow researchers to control several aspects of the experimental situation to eliminate irrelevant variables that might interfere with the causation and probable causality between the independent and dependent variables (Becchio et al., 2018). Examples include the behavioral classical and operant conditioning experiments. Self-reports and case studies are critical for collecting data on discrete cognition elements. Researchers can rely on these qualitative methods to formulate hypotheses that quantitative studies can check in the 3 experimental designs by testing the hypotheses. Computer simulations and artificial intelligence offer a breadth of technical procedures that researchers can use to understand cognition. Computers process information through cognition models that imitate human cognition. Researchers can rely on the direct approach (simulation) to depict, replicate, and imitate human cognition. Moreover, according to Goldstein (2018), artificial intelligence programs are real thinking machines with humanlike reasoning processes for resolving problems. Peer-reviewed research selected for this section is “The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory.” According to Tyng et al. (2017), emotions evidently influence attention, learning, memory, reasoning and problem-solving approaches. The authors use an analytical review approach to explore existing and ongoing studies on the influences of emotion on learning and memory. Even though their goal was to map the influences of emotion on learning and memory, the authors also aimed to: Highlight a basic evolutionary approach to emotion to understand the effects of emotion on learning and memory and the functional roles played by various brain regions and their mutual interactions in relation to emotional processing (Tyng et al.,2017). Therefore, by summarizing the existing knowledge on the impact of emotion on memory, the authors intended to map how the relationship between the variables can improve the learning experience for students in educational settings. In their concluding remarks, Tyng et al. (2017) argued that all cognitive activities are inspired from ‘underneath’ by rudimentary emotional and homeostatic desires (motivational drives) that explore surrounding events for survival while facilitating secondary processes of learning and memory. Moreover, they added that impacts resulting from emotional factors in human learning and memory remain undistinguishable as to whether positive emotions aid learning or negative emotions impede learning and vice versa. 4 References Becchio, C., Koul, A., Ansuini, C., Bertone, C., & Cavallo, A. (2018). Seeing mental states: An experimental strategy for measuring the observability of other minds. Physics of Life Reviews, 24, 67-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plrev.2017.10.002 Goldstein, E. B. (2018). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience (5th ed.). Cengage Learning US. Tyng, C. M., Amin, H. U., Saad, M. N., & Malik, A. S. (2017). The influences of emotion on learning and memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01454