Showing papers on "Perceptual psychology published in 1992"

Cognitive Psychology: An Overview for Cognitive Scientists

Abstract: This text presents the basic concepts of modern cognitive psychology in a succinct and accessible manner Empirical results, theoretical developments, and current issues are woven around basic concepts to produce coherent accounts of research areas Barsalou's primary goal is to equip readers with a conceptual vocabulary that acquaints them with the general approach of cognitive psychology and allows them to follow more technical discussions elsewhere In meeting this goal, he discusses the traditional work central to modern thinking and reviews current work relevant to cognitive science Besides focusing on research and theory in cognitive psychology, Barsalou also addresses its fundamental assumptions Because the cognitive approach to psychology is somewhat subtle, often misunderstood, and sometimes controversial, it is essential for a text on cognitive psychology to address the assumptions that underlie it Therefore, three of the eleven chapters address the "meta- assumptions" that govern research and theory in cognitive psychology These meta-chapters provide a deeper understanding of the content areas and a clearer vision of what cognitive psychologists are trying to accomplish The remaining eight "content" chapters cover the central topics in cognitive psychology This book will be of value to a variety of audiences Ideal for researchers in computer science, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, and neuroscience who wish to acquaint themselves with cognitive psychology, it may also be used as a text for courses in cognitive science and cognitive psychology Lay readers who wish to learn about the cognitive approach to scientific psychology will also find the volume useful

Connectionism and Psychology: A Psychological Perspective on New Connectionist Research

Abstract: The rapid growth of neural network research has led to a major reappraisal of many fundamental assumptions in cognitive and perceptual psychology. This text--aimed at the advanced undergraduate and beginning postgraduate student--is an in-depth guide to those aspects of neural network research that are of direct relevance to human information processing. Examples of new connectionist models of learning, vision, language and thought are described in detail. Both neurological and psychological considerations are used in assessing its theoretical contributions. The status of the basic predicates like exclusive-OR is examined, the limitations of perceptrons are explained and properties of multi-layer networks are described in terms of many examples of psychological processes. The history of neural networks is discussed from a psychological perspective which examines why certain issues have become important. The book ends with a general critique of the new connectionist approach. It is clear that new connectionism work provides a distinctive framework for thinking about central questions in cognition and perception. This new textbook provides a clear and useful introduction to its theories and applications. "I read this book with steadily mounting admiration and excitement. Balanced, judicious, enormously well-documented and careful in its appraisals, yet written with real verve and clarity of style, it is exactly the book that we have all been hoping for."--Alan Allport, Oxford UniversityPhilip Quinlan is Lecturer in Psychology at the University of York.

Discovery in Cognitive Psychology: New Tools Inspire New Theories

Abstract: Scientific tools—measurement and calculation instruments, techniques of inference—straddle the line between the context of discovery and the context of justification. In discovery, new scientific tools suggest new theoretical metaphors and concepts; and in justification, these tool-derived theoretical metaphors and concepts are morelikely to be accepted by the scientific community if the tools are already entrenched in scientific practice.Techniques of statistical inference and hypothesis testing entered American psychology first as tools in the 1940s and 1950s and then as cognitive theories in the 1960s and 1970s. Not only did psychologists resists statistical metaphors of mind prior to the institutionalization of inference techniques in their own practice; the cognitive theories they ultimately developed about “the mind as intuitive statistician” still bear the telltale marks of the practical laboratory context in which the tool was used.

Dissonance Theory: A Cognitive Psychology With an Engine

Abstract: (1992). Dissonance Theory: A Cognitive Psychology With an Engine. Psychological Inquiry: Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 323-327.

Making TV commercials as a teaching aid for cognitive psychology

Abstract: Many students approach psychology in general, and cognitive psychology in particular, with serious misconceptions about the scientific nature of the discipline. In order to address this problem and bring laboratory findings in cognitive psychology into a real-world context, we asked students in an introductory cognitive course to make TV commercials using principles learned in class. The success of the approach became evident from analysis of course evaluation forms and the generally high quality of students' productions.

Structure and Process in Perceptual Organization

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter presents the theoretical concepts of structure and process for a better understanding of the perceptual organization/cognitive system. A particularly stubborn and enduring issue in the psychology of perception is the way in which perception might be organized—the primacy of wholes versus parts. Two basic positions on this topic can be traced back to the controversy between two schools of perceptual thought: structuralism and gestalt. The chapter elaborates on the growing usage of the term “wholistic” rather than “analytic” to describe perception. The relationship between the conceptual structure/process distinction and process models is that the stimulus structure and processing aspects, as well as their mutual interaction, need to be represented in any complete information-processing model of the perceptual/cognitive system. That is, analysis guided by the conceptual distinction between structure and process provides useful constraints on what aspects of human information processing must be embodied in the process model. However, it need not predetermine how those aspects are to be represented in the model. A clear notion of the perceptual structure of the stimulus is an important prerequisite for asking meaningful questions about processing. As a general rule, it is important to consider the perceptual structure of the stimuli used to test any processing hypothesis. Stimulus structure and organismic mode of processing must be considered together for understanding the performance on a psychological task.

Part 2: Perceptual and cognitive training: its nature and importance

Abstract: Infants who see are abundantly stimulated by the luminous energy that is, by far, the best source of the spatial information they need for proper perceptual and cognitive development. Learning to attend to this stimulus energy is not a problem for them; it is ubiquitous and not easily ignored. On the other hand the stimulation experienced by infants who cannot see is not as informative and lacks the

Mind and body: Cognitive perspectives in health psychology

Abstract: During the past 20 years, interest in the application of behavioral science to problems of physical health has grown dramatically. Unlike the earlier part of this century when acute infectious diseases posed the greatest threat to health in industrialized nations, chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and cancer have been the leading causes of death and physical impairment in recent decades. These diseases are, at least in part, the result of behavioral factors such as smoking, diet, physical activity, and stress. Further, chronic disease and its medical management pose often daunting challenges and threats to the emotional adjustment of patients and their families. These psychological causes and consequences of chronic disease virtually necessitated the birth and growth of behavioral medicine and the subfield of health psychology. In its early years, behavioral medicine was heavily influenced by the behavioral tradition in psychology, and largely consisted of \"the functional analysis and understanding of behavior associated with medical disorders and problems in health care\" (Pomerleau & Brady, 1979, p. xii). As a greater variety of psychologists and other behavioral scientists was attracted to this growing field, and as the traditional behavioral paradigms were expanded to include cognitive processes, behavioral medicine more fully endorsed and adopted the biopsychosocial model of health and illness (Engel, 1977) in which a wide variety of physiological, psychological, and interpersonal factors and their interactions are considered in exploring the causes and consequences of disease. Early in this evolution, cognitive processes became an integral component of this view. For example, social

Haptic Perception with a Robot Hand: Requirements and Realization

Abstract: This paper first discusses briefly some of the recent ideas of perceptual psychology on the human haptic system particularly those of J.J. Gibson and Klatzky and Lederman. Following this introduction, we present some of the requirements of robotic haptic sensing and the results of experiments using a Utah/MIT dexterous robot hand to derive geometric object information using active sensing.

Music Teaching: Cognitive Psychology

Abstract: (1992). Music Teaching: Cognitive Psychology. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 65, No. 4, pp. 196-198.

Behaviour Analysis Today

Abstract: Some links are identified between behaviour analysis and other areas of psychology, such as perception, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and social psychology, and links with other disciplines, such as economics and communication and language, are also discussed. The usefulness of the recent behavioural concept of rule-goverened behaviour is briefly discussed. It is concluded that behaviour analysis is both a mature and powerful approach.