Introduction to cognitive

psychology - 1
Selected Topics in Psychology
HUL370, Semester II, 2024-25

Sumitash Jana
January 2, 2025
 Outline for today
• Meet and greet
• What to expect in the lectures
• What is cognition
• Approaches to study cognition
• What is the mind
• What is behavior

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 Lectures
• Main textbook:
Goldstein, E. Bruce, & van Hooff, Johanna C. Cognitive Psychology, 2nd
EMEA Edition. 2021, Cengage Learning EMEA.
• Other textbooks:
• Eysenck, Michael W. & Keane, Mark T. Cognitive Psychology: A
Student’s Handbook. Eighth edition. 2020.
• Sinnett, S., Smilek, D., & Kingstone, A. Cognition. London, UK: Oxford
University Press. 2016.
• Other research papers and textbooks as discussed during the
lectures

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 “Cognition” has infiltrated the common
lingo

So what exactly is “Cognition”?

Google images 5
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 What is cognition?
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge
and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses".
Consider the “What is not cognition” question

Memory Problem-solving

Language comprehension Decision-making

Attention Perception Learning

Stimulus Response
Language Press the mouse button

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 What is not cognition?
You are (finally) exploring the roads inside IIT Delhi campus before lunch with your
classmates. Meanwhile you are:
1. Looking at people (Perception)
2. Stopping when vehicles approach (Cognitive control)
3. Remembering Covid learning (Memory)
4. Talking about Covid times (Language)
5. Mapping the roads (Learning)
6. Deciding when to stop roaming and have lunch (Decision making)
7. Sensing your hunger building up (Mostly physiological processes)

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 What is the ‘mind’?
• When do we use the word ‘mind’ in everyday conversation?
• The mind is involved in memory (“They were able to call to mind…”)
• The mind helps in solving problems (“If you put your mind to it, you can solve…”)
• The mind helps in making decisions (“I haven’t made up my mind yet”)
• A healthy mind is associated with normal functioning (“They are of sound mind and body”)
• The mind is valuable (“A mind is a terrible thing to waste”, “They have a brilliant mind”)
• Consider these two compatible definitions of the ‘mind’:
• The mind creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory,
emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning – this definition refers to the mental
processes that the mind creates
• The mind is a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to
achieve our goals – this definition indicates how the mind operates
• Cognitive psychology attempts to determining the characteristics and properties of the
mind and how it operates

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 What is cognitive psychology?
• Cognitive psychology is concerned with the mental processes involved in
making sense of the environment and deciding on appropriate action
• These processes include attention, perception, learning, memory,
language, problem solving, reasoning and thinking, etc.
• Among other approaches, cognitive psychology aims to understand
human cognition by observing the behaviour of people performing various
cognitive tasks
• However, the term “cognitive psychology” can also be used more broadly
to include brain activity and structure as relevant information for
understanding human cognition

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 Approaches to study cognition:
Understanding the mind by studying behavior
Computational Modeling
Build computer models than can explain the
stimulus - response mapping

Experimental Cognitive
Psychology Neuropsychology
Change the type of Study loss of function in
stimulus and see how it Stimulus Response clinical populations with
affects the response to brain damage where
infer the stimulus – one or more stages of
response mapping cognitive processes
might be affected
Cognitive Neuroscience
Study brain function using neuroimaging,
neuromodulation, or neurophysiology
techniques to understand how the brain
performs cognitive function
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 History of the study of cognition
• Late 1950s to early 1960s: Psychophysics (investigation of the
relationship between stimuli and the sensations and perceptions
they produce) and experimental psychology
• Mid 1970s: Computational modeling and beginning of cognitive
science
• Mid 1980s: Cognitive neuroscience and cognitive
neuropsychology

• All these techniques try to understand the mind by studying the

behavior – but what do we mean by behavior?

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 What is ‘behavior’?
• ”Behaviour is the internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of
whole living organisms (individuals or groups) to internal and/or external
stimuli, excluding responses more easily understood as developmental
changes.” (Levitis et al., 2009)

• What would you *NOT* consider as behavior:

• A person decides not to go outdoors if the weather is bad tomorrow – Inaction
• An astronaut floats in zero G in outer space – Not a response
• A person dislikes sweet food – Internal bias that influences behavior
• A person sweats after a nightmare – Response to internal stimuli
• A toddler starts focusing eyes on a person’s face – Developmental change
• Secretion of gastrointestinal enzymes in response to ingested food – Part of individual

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 Conclusion
• Cognition refers to the mental action or process of
acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought,
experience, and the senses
• Cognitive psychology is the study of mental processes,
which includes determining the characteristics and
properties of the mind and how it operates
• Behaviour is the internally coordinated responses (actions
or inactions) of whole living organisms (individuals or
groups) to internal and/or external stimuli, excluding
responses more easily understood as developmental
changes
• Please respond to the exit ticket:
https://forms.office.com/r/E2DZUjPPAe

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