Transcript 1. Our physiological processes (such as the physical brain, neurotransmission, etc.) give rise to cognitive processes (such as language, memory, decision making, perception, learning,

1. Our physiological processes (such as the
physical brain, neurotransmission, etc.) give rise
to cognitive processes (such as language,
memory, decision making, perception,
learning, etc.)
2. Models of mental processes can be
proposed and investigated scientifically
3. Cognitive processes are influenced by social
and cultural factors
 In other words, specific parts of the brain can
directly correlate to cognitive processes.
 Damage to the frontal lobe can directly
affect the cognitive process of decision
making
 Damage to the hippocampus can directly
affect the cognitive process of short term
memory
 Damage to Broca’s area can directly affect
the cognitive process of language
production
◦ All of our mental processes are physiologically based.
Thus, we can better understand cognitive processes
by understanding the physiological processes that
give rise to cognitive processes.
◦ Thus, this principle may be demonstrated in research
by observing how deficits in cognitive processes
correlate to specific physiological processes.
◦ Cognitive processes are difficult to study. They often
occur rapidly, and inside the mind so they cannot be
observed directly.
◦ It is only the responses that participants make when
given some cognitive task to perform that can tell us
about cognitive processes.
◦ These tasks usually take place under tightly controlled lab
experiments where the main aim is to isolate a particular
component of the cognitive process for the study. (This
can be used to assist you with objective 1.2)
◦ Ethically, since we cannot
create these lesions in humans,
we must either create lesions
with animal models or study
cases of the specific lesion.
◦ One specific case example is
the case of Clive Wearing
Watch for yourself!
◦ http://www.milkandcookies.com
/link/63520/detail/
◦ By studying the physiological origins of cognitive
processes, we are able to conclude that specific
processes (in this example: The Hippocampus)
directly effect the cognitive process of memory.
◦ By creating models of cognitive processes, we are able
to isolate theses processes (through laboratory
experiments) to see how various environmental factors
influence them.
◦ In summation, models of cognitive theories allow us to
empirically investigate the cognitive products of our
physiological processes.
◦ Thus, this principle may be
demonstrated in research by
empirically studying cognitive
models in order examine their
causes and influences.
◦ One example is the research
experiment conducted by John
Ridley Stroop
◦ The Stroop Effect is an effect found
in the 1930s by John Ridley Stroop.
◦ This effect is a model for how our
brain processes information. This
effect demonstrates how
interference can slow down how
the brain processes information
because it is trying to sort various
things at the same time.
◦ The Stroop Test is considered to
measure selective attention,
cognitive flexibility and processing
speed, and it is used as a tool in the
evaluation of executive functions
(activities such as planning,
organizing, strategizing, paying
attention to and remembering
details, and managing time and
space).
◦ You may find that you hesitate or stumble, because the
brain is trying to pay attention to more than one thing,
reading and the visualizing the colors.
◦ The brain tries to process two types of information: a
color, and a word naming a color. This is why it is much
more difficult to read the second set of words.
◦ This study demonstrates that cognitive models (such as
attention processing) can be investigated through
scientific methods (such as with an experiment)
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That is, our memories, learning, language, perception,
decisions, etc. can be influenced by our culture and
by environmental factors.
This principle may b e demonstrated in research that
looks at social and cultural influences on cognitive
processes.
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Frederic Bartlett’s study demonstrates how memory
can be distorted by cultural schemas.
Schemas are representations of knowledge based
on experience. In his study in which British
participants were asked to recall a native American
folktale.
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He found that the story of ‘The War of the Ghosts’
was difficult for Western people to reproduce
exactly because of its cultural content which was
unfamiliar to them.
The participants ended up encoding the meaning
of the story adapted to their existing cultural
schemas.
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As a result, Bartlett concluded that cultural
interpretation plays a large role in remembering
events or stories.
By showing the cultural context of our schemas
(organized memories), Bartlett was able to show the
cultural influence on our cognitions.