Cognitive Psychology

710 Pages·2005·8.877 MB·English

by  Nick Braisby, Angus Gellatly (eds.)

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology
Edited by Nick Braisby and Angus Gellatly
Oxford University Press in association with The Open University
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP
Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford in association with The Open University,
Milton Keynes

l
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Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York
The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA
First published 2005.
Copyright # 2005 The Open University
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Edited, designed and typeset by The Open University.
Printed in the United Kingdom by Scotprint, Haddington.
ISBN 0-19-927376-6
1.1
Preface
This book has been produced as the core text for the Open University’s level 3 course in
Cognitive Psychology (DD303). However, it has been designed to serve students taking
other courses in cognitive psychology as well, either as essential or recommended reading.
There are a number of features of the design of this text that we hope will serve well both
students learning about cognitive psychology and educators teaching the subject.
Book structure
The chapters in this book are organized in five parts. The first four parts focus on
broad and well-established topic areas within cognitive psychology, such as
perceptual processes and memory. The fifth considers a range of challenges, themes
and issues – topics that have been thought to present challenges to the cognitive
approach, such as emotion and consciousness; themes such as cognitive modelling
and modularity; and issues such as the relation of cognition to biology.
The first chapter is not located in one of these parts. It attempts to give a historical
and conceptual introduction to cognitive psychology, laying out the foundations of
the subject, and raising some of the important themes and issues that are revisited in
later chapters. Some of these themes are developed also in the introductions to each
of the subsequent parts; we recommend that students read these introductions prior
to reading their associated parts, and re-read them afterwards.
Chapter structure
Each chapter has been structured according to certain conventions.
An emboldened term signifies the introduction of a key concept or term that is
either explicitly or implicitly defined in the surrounding text. The locations of these
defined terms are also flagged in bold in the index.
Each chapter contains a number of activities. Often these may be simple thought
exercises that may take no more than a minute or so. Others are more involved. Each
activity has been integrated into the design of the chapter, and is aimed at enhancing
students’ understanding of the material. We recommend that student readers attempt
as many of these activities as possible and, where appropriate, revisit them after
completing each chapter.
The chapters in this book also make use of text boxes. Each box has been written
to amplify a particular aspect of the material without interrupting the ongoing
narrative. Though the boxes illuminate a wide range of issues, many focus on aspects
of research studies and methods. Students may find they wish to finish a section
before reading a particular box.
Each substantive main section finishes with a section summary, often a bullet
point list reminding the student of the key points established in that section. We hope
that students will use these as useful barometers of their understanding and re-read
sections where the summary points are not clearly understood.
Each chapter makes a number of explicit links to other chapters in the book, often to
specific numbered sections. It would be tedious in the extreme to continually follow
each and every link, flicking to the relevant pages and reading the relevant ‘linked’
section. Rather, these links are intended to help students perceive the interconnected
nature of cognitive psychology, identifying connections between topics that otherwise
PREFACE
might seem disparate. Of course, we hope that students will be motivated to follow
some of these links either on first reading, or on a later reading, perhaps as a revision aid.
As well as a list of references, each chapter ends with some specific suggestions
for further reading. While each chapter is designed to be self-contained, inevitably
some issues get less attention than they deserve, and so interested readers may wish
to pursue some of these suggestions for a more in-depth treatment. Moreover, it is
always worth approaching a topic from more than one direction – consulting
different texts, including other general texts on cognitive psychology, can help
achieve a richer understanding and we recommend this approach to all students.
Supporting a course in cognitive psychology
There are few restrictions on how one might use this text to support the teaching of a
course in cognitive psychology. The chapters in this book may be tackled in a number of
different orders. Depending on the focus of the course, particular parts may be omitted, or
particular chapters omitted from a given part or parts. The book as a whole presupposes
relatively little prior knowledge of cognitive psychology on the part of a student.
However, in some instances, later chapters may presuppose some limited knowledge of
related earlier chapters, though this is usually explicitly indicated. Similarly, while all
chapters are designed to be taught at the same level, later chapters may tackle issues
considered too complex in the earlier chapters. By focusing more on earlier or later
chapters, courses can vary somewhat the degree of difficulty of the material they present.
Companion volume
Accompanying this book is a companion publication Cognitive Psychology: A
Methods Companion, also published by Oxford University Press and also designed
as a key teaching text for the Open University’s level 3 course in Cognitive
Psychology. The M ethods Companion considers in detail a number of key
methodological issues in cognitive psychology, including ethics, connectionism,
symbolic modelling, neuroimaging, neuropsychology and statistics.
Companion web site
This book and the Methods Companion are associated with a companion web site
that contains much additional material that can be used to further students’
understanding and may be used in presenting a course in cognitive psychology
(www.oup.com/uk/booksites/psychology). Materials include electronic versions of
figures, experiment and data files, and software for running cognitive models.
Acknowledgements
Finally, developing the Open University’s level 3 course in Cognitive Psychology
(DD303) has been a major undertaking, involving the production of two books,
various pieces of software and associated files, audio materials, web sites and web-
based materials, and numerous other additional items and activities. To say that such
a course, and that this text, could not have been produced without the help and
cooperation of a large number of people is an understatement. The following page
lists those who have made this enterprise possible, and to each we extend our grateful
and sincere thanks, as we do to anyone we have omitted in error.
Nick Braisby and Angus Gellatly, Milton Keynes, January 2005
Cognitive Psychology Course Team
This book was designed and produced for The Open University course DD303
Cognitive Psychology. The editors gratefully thank all those people, listed below,
who have been involved in the process (based at The Open University, unless
otherwise stated).
CORE COURSE TEAM:
Course Chair: Nick Braisby
Course Manager: Ingrid Slack
Core Team Members: Sandy Aitkenhead; Nicola Brace; Angus Gellatly;
Alison J.K. Green; Martin Le Voi; Bundy Mackintosh; Peter Naish;
Graham Pike
Course Manager (rights): Ann Tolley
Course Secretaries: Marie Morris; Elaine Richardson
Additional Authors: Jackie Andrade (University of Sheffield); Peter Ayton (City
University; Chris Barry (University of Essex); Simon Bignell (University of Essex);
Martin A. Conway (University of Durham); Graham Edgar (University of
Gloucestershire); Simon Garrod (University of Glasgow); Gareth Gaskell
(University of York); Ken Gilhooly (University of Paisley); Olaf Hauk (MRC
Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit); Graham J. Hitch (University of York); Emily A.
Holmes (MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit); Ashok Jansari (University of
East London); Helen Kaye; Paul Mulholland; Mike Oaksford (Cardiff University);
Mike Pilling; John Richardson; Andrew Rutherford (Keele University); Anthony J.
Sanford (University of Glasgow); Stella Tickle; Tony Stone (London South Bank
University); Stuart Watt (Robert Gordon University); Jenny Yiend (MRC Cognition
and Brain Sciences Unit)
Course Reader: Matt Lambon Ralph (University of Manchester)
External Assessor: James Hampton (City University)
Media Project Manager: Lynne Downey
Production and Presentation Administrator: Richard Golden
Copublishing Adviser: Jonathan Hunt
Lead Editor: Chris Wooldridge
Editors: Alison Edwards; Kathleen Calder; Winifred Power (Freelance)
Designers: Tammy Alexander; Alison Goslin; Diane Mole
Graphic Artists: Janis Gilbert; Sara Hack
Picture Researcher: Celia Hart
eMedia Quality Promoter: Roger Moore
Software Designers: Ian Every; Maurice Brown; David Morris
Rights Adviser: Alma Hales
Contracts Executives: Katie Meade; Sarah Gamman
Compositors: Pam Berry; Lisa Hale; Phillip Howe
Print Buyer Controller: Lene Connolly
Assistant Print Buyer: Dave Richings
This publication forms part of an Open University course DD303 Cognitive Psychology.
Details of this and other Open University courses can be obtained from the Course
Information and Advice Centre, PO Box 724, The Open University, Milton Keynes
MK7 6ZS, United Kingdom: tel. [phone], e-mail [email protected]
Alternatively, you may visit the Open University website at http://www.open.ac.uk where
you can learn more about the wide range of courses and packs offered at all levels by
The Open University.
To purchase a selection of Open University course materials visit the webshop at
www.ouw.co.uk, or contact Open University Worldwide, Michael Young Building, Walton
Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom for a brochure. tel. [phone];
fax [phone]; e-mail [email protected]