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| STUDY |
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COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY |
| 5/12/09 | 2/12/09 |
| Beginning with wiki |
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Here is the link. "Cognitive psychology is a discipline within psychology that investigates the internal mental processes of thought such as visual processing, memory, problem solving, and language." The description of cognitive psychology is interesting and appropriate except for part of the following:- "It accepts the use of the scientific method, and generally rejects introspection [3] as a valid method of investigation, unlike symbol-driven approaches such as Freudian psychology." Appropriate introspection is acceptable not as traditional scientific method but as a valid form of gathering empirical data by investigation. What most interested me about the wiki article was the following list:- Major research areas in cognitive psychology:- Perception General perception Psychophysics Attention and Filter theories (the ability to focus mental effort on specific stimuli whilst excluding other stimuli from consideration) Pattern recognition (the ability to correctly interpret ambiguous sensory information) Object recognition Time sensation (awareness and estimation of the passage of time) Categorization Category induction and acquisition Categorical judgement and classification Category representation and structure Similarity (psychology) Memory Aging and memory Autobiographical memory Constructive memory Emotion and memory Episodic memory Eyewitness memory False memories Firelight memory Flashbulb memory List of memory biases Long-term memory Semantic memory Short-term memory Spaced repetition Source monitoring Working memory
Knowledge representation Mental imagery Propositional encoding Imagery versus proposition debate Dual-coding theories Mental models
Numerical cognition
Language Grammar and linguistics Phonetics and phonology Language acquisition
Thinking Choice (see also: Choice theory) Concept formation Decision making Judgment and decision making Logic, formal and natural reasoning Problem solving
Now the wiki also states that "Neisser provides a definition of cognitive psychology characterizing people as dynamic information-processing systems whose mental operations might be described in computational terms." As IP systems this fits in with Matriellez approach to education where his education seeks to teach that which the computer cannot do. In this eschewing process that I am starting I using cognitive psychology to recognise that which is carried out IP-style as if by computer, and then hopefully begin to recognise further processes a computer cannot do. These Matriellez pages - Intelligence and intellect, and Summarising diagram might be useful as reference. Using the recent blog's approach to consciousness I can examine the above list for appropriate eschewing, and develop my understanding.
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| Theme - Memory |
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| Starting with Memory |
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I am writing this today, the day that I clarified at this stage the six senses and consciousness. Memory is connected with the sixth sense of mind and the brain. What is the connection between the brain and the sixth sense of mind? Let's suppose that the brain is the physical storage of memory. I think there is evidence for this because if part of the brain is destroyed memory is lost. A function of the mind is to remember. But the brain and remembering are 100%. By this I mean that the brain and remembering is potentially a 100% process, that we can remember everything that we have done. So why don't we? Consciousness. For some reason our consciousness is unable to focus on remembering so we don't remember. So why would our consciousness not be able to focus? The consciousness is not sharp enough focussed enough. So what would cause that? Attachment. Consciousness is too busy being attached to all the different aspects of the six senses that it is weak and unfocussed. When we concentrate on something, and manage to control all the attachments, then we can remember. Let us examine the wiki aspects of memory:- Memory Aging and memory Autobiographical memory Constructive memory Emotion and memory Episodic memory Eyewitness memory False memories Firelight memory Flashbulb memory List of memory biases Long-term memory Semantic memory Short-term memory Spaced repetition Autobiographical - Clear concentration would recall. Constructive memory - Don't understand the terminology. Emotion and memory - Emotion is a mental factor that occurs. It can be very powerful, and consciousness will attach to it unless the consciousness has been trained not to. If the consciousness is attached to the emotion there will not be clear concentration and so emotion affects memory. Episodic memory - I presume this means remembering a series of events that happened. This series of events will be recorded in the brain, and the mind will have the potential to recall them if consciousness is applied. If consciousness is not attached then there will be clear concentration and remembering the episodes will occur. Eyewitness memory - Interesting. I gather that eyewitness accounts are always different, I presume this is what this is getting at. This is interesting because it introduces a second aspect of consciousness in the remembering process. The actual recording of the memory requires a 100% focus as well as the recalling. If consciousness is weak, spread, focussed on different things then the recording will have less content. Recording occurs naturally but if consciousness is applied elsewhere then does that recording happen naturally? I don't know - needs to be considered. False memories - What are false memories? Memories of something that did not happen? Or incorrect recall of events that did happen? Consider the second case. An event happens that we do not like, or an event that if recalled correctly would cause us a problem - guilt of a crime for example. Then we might decide to lie. This lying obviously can occur consciously but can it occur unconsciously? Firelight memory Flashbulb memory List of memory biases Long-term memory Semantic memory Short-term memory Spaced repetition Questions that have arisen so far:- Recording of events occurs naturally but if consciousness is applied elsewhere then does that recording happen naturally? Can we have memories of something that did not happen? Can lying occur unconsciously? Excellent start - am liking this.
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| Theme - Memory |
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