Cognitve Psychology 1

Department of Distance and
Continuing Education
University of Delhi
B.A.(Hons.) Psychology
Course Credit - 4
Semester-I
Discipline Specific Core (DSC-02)
As per the UGCF - 2022 and National Education Policy 2020

Cognitive Psychology
Editors
Prof. N.K. Chadha
Dr. Poonam Phogat
Dr. Nupur Gosain
Content Writers
Dr. Poonam Vats, Prof. Pooja Wadhawan,
Dr. Poonam Phogat, Dr. Shweta Chaudhary,
Dr. Nisha Chaudhary
Academic Coordinator
Mr. Deekshant Awasthi
© Department of Distance and Continuing Education

ISBN: .........................
Ist edition: 2023
E-mail: ddceprinting@col.du.ac.in
psychology@col.du.ac.in
Published by:
Department of Distance and Continuing Education under
the aegis of Campus of Open Learning/School of Open Learning,
University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Printed by:
School of Open Learning, University of Delhi
© Department of Distance & Continuing Education, Campus of Open Learning,

INDEX
UNIT 1
Lesson 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology ..................................................1
1.1 Learning Objectives
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Brief History
1.4 Research Methods
1.5 Paradigms
1.6 Summary
1.7 Glossary
1.8 Answers to In-Text Questions
1.9 Self-Assessment Questions
1.10 References
1.11 Suggested Readings
UNIT 2
Lesson 2: Sensing and Perceiving ..................................................................... 19
2.2 Introduction
2.3 Sensation to Representations
2.4 Approaches to Perception.
2.5 Perception of Object and Forms
2.6 Perception of Constancies and Deficits Of Perception
2.7 Attention: Nature and Theories
2.8 When Attention Fails
2.9 Automatic and Controlled Processes In Attention
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B.A. (Hons.) Psychology
2.8 Summary
2.9 Glossary
2.10 References
UNIT 3
Lesson 3: Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making ............................ 35
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Cognition and Thinking
3.4 Problem Solving
3.5 Reasoning
3.6 Decision Making
3.7 Language and Thought
3.8 Solved Illustrations
3.9 Summary
3.10 Glossary
3.13 References
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UNIT-I
INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Poonam Vats
Assistant Professor,
Mata Sundri College for Women,
University of Delhi
poonamvats@ms.du.ac.in
and
Prof (Dr.) Pooja Wadhawan
Professor,
Mata Sundri College for Women,
University of Delhi
poojamalik@ms.du.ac.in
STRUCTURE
1.2 Introduction:
1.2.1 Nature
1.2.2 Fundamental ideas
1.2.3 Key issues
1.2.4 Domains
1.2.5 Scope
1.3 Brief History
1.4 Research Methods:
1.4.1 Laboratory experiments
1.4.2 Psychobiological research
1.4.3 Self-reports
1.4.4 Case studies
1.4.5 Naturalistic observation
1.4.6 Computer simulation and Artificial intelligence
1.5 Paradigms:
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1.5.1 Information processing

1.5.2 Connectionist
1.5.3 Evolutionary
1.5.4 Ecological
1.6 Summary
1.7 Glossary
1.8 Answers to the intext questions
1.9 Self-Assessment
1.10 References
1.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson and reading will enable you-

 Concept of Cognitive field
 Fundamental knowledge of various issues
 Develop empirical knowledge
 Prominent research methods to understand the fundamentals of various types of
research in this field
1.2 INTRODUCTION
1.2.1: Nature
Ulric Neisser (1967) “Cognition involves all processes by which the sensory input is
transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used.”
Cognitive psychology is a branch of psychology that studies how a person thinks, what goes
in their mind, the perception that causes errors, and how a person takes decisions. It is
scientific in nature and covers the processes like attention, perception, pattern recognition,
and memory. The speed of all these processes is very rapid, fast which is approximately, a
few seconds, and a person or an individual is not even able to register. It’s interdisciplinary in
nature because it shares the boundaries with other disciplines like philosophy, neuroscience,
and linguistics.
Sternberg (1999) “Cognitive psychology is a field that deals with how people perceive, learn,
remember, and think about information.”
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The Latin word ‘cognoscere’, has given birth to the word cognition which means to know
something and cognitive psychology is about knowing what goes in the mind of an
individual. Ulric Neisser 1967 used the term cognitive psychology for the first time.
Thinking, perception, memory, problem-solving, attention, learning, language usage, and all
other processes which happen in our mind are studied under this subdiscipline of psychology.
Let’s take a look at the example to understand-
Suppose you are in a new city and walking down the street in the late evening to explore the
market nearby. After 10 minutes of walking, the weather changes and it starts raining. You
quickly start moving back towards the hotel. You suddenly realize that there is a shadow
walking behind you, which is also moving at the same speed as you are walking. As it comes
close to you, you try to figure out the features of the shadow. After a few seconds, you realize
that the person is also a guest in the same hotel.
Various cognitive processes involved are-
1. Attention (focussing on the shadow mentally)
2. Perception (using sensory information to give meaning to the information on which
you are focussing)
3. Pattern recognition (understanding that the stimulus is a known figure)
4. Use memory (from the storage unit in the memory while retrieving the information,
you realize who the person is)
Another example to understand various processes of the cognitive field:
You have gone to visit Surajkund Craft Mela with your family. The Mela is full of people
pushing past each other. It’s a sunny day and you have been roaming past 5 to 6 hours
continuously. You are tired and want to sit down for a glass of chilled lemon soda. You just
find a sitting area a few steps ahead and while hurrying towards the seat you jostle against a
person and offer apologies. You both look at each other for a second, give a friendly smile,
and sit down together as there is only that sitting area that is empty. Suddenly you start
feeling as if you have met this person earlier, so you go for a mental search with questions
like where I have seen her or why she is so familiar to me, was she with me in secondary
school or college or I have met her at a friend’s wedding.
Let us understand the various processes used in the above example-
1. Recognition process (the person seems familiar)
2. Recall process (trying to figure out where you have met her)
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3. Problem-solving method (using clues or features or similarities)

4. Language (verbal and body language)
5. Decision making (deciding the manner to talk to her or make the conversation go
ahead)
These two above-quoted examples explain how we use different cognitive processes in our
daily life without being aware. These mental activities happen at such a fast speed that we
normally are not even able to point or realize them.
ACTIVITY: Think of yourself in any situation and then analyze various mental
processes you went through then.
Cognitive psychologists try to study various internal mental processes that occur in the
human mind, how a person receives, stores, and processes information from various sources
leading to errors during judgment and emotional turmoil. They hope to capture what kind of
thoughts come into a person’s mind whenever they are in the situation of thinking. The
development of ideas that leads to advancement in the cognitive field involves a dialect that
has 3 steps or components:
a) First, a thesis or a statement is made which is a belief.
For example, Anxiety is governed by genes.
b) Second, a statement that is a counter of the earlier mentioned statement, emerges which
is called antithesis.
For example, Environment plays an important role in anxiety.
c) Third, a blended view called synthesis takes place which integrates both components
mentioned above.
For example, Genes and Environment both play an important role in anxiety.
ACTIVITY: PICK A THOUGHT OR DEVELOP AN IDEA AS A THESIS, GENERATE
AN ANTITHESIS, THEN CONCLUDES BY MIXING BOTH AS A SYNTHESIS.
1.2.2: Fundamental Ideas
Various ideas keep on emerging and are fundamentals of any particular phenomenon that
happens:
 Theories and the data we collect for the study are both important to understand the
particular phenomena or concept. Data is always supported by theories and similarly, a
theory without empirical data is incomplete.
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 Though most of the time we can adapt cognition still there are some instances where we
cannot adapt it. At times too much information and various stimuli distract us from
taking the right decisions and lead to errors.
 On one side, various processes of cognition builds relationship and interacts with each
other and on another side, they also interact with non-cognitive processes.
 Various scientific methods used to study cognition leads to higher confidence in
research results.
 There is a two-way relation between theories and applied research of cognitive
psychology, as the theories have an application part, and applied research leads to an
understanding of the fundamentals.
1.2.3: Key Issues
Each issue can be studied or discussed under thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.
 Nature versus nurture: The thesis focuses on innate characteristics being more
influential in cognitive processes whereas the antithesis emphasizes the role of
environment. The synthesis focuses on covariation and interaction between both nature
and nurture.
 Rationalism versus Empiricism: The thesis focuses on the logic part to understand
oneself whereas the antithesis focuses on testing or observing the data. The synthesis
combines logic with empirical methods.
 Structure versus Process: The thesis emphasizes the role of structures more whereas
the process talks about the working of thinking. The synthesis combines both mental
processes and studies how these operate on different structures of the mind.
 Domain generality versus domain specificity: The thesis and antithesis focus on
whether the observations should be studied under a single domain or various domains.
The synthesis helps in understanding the different kinds of processes and how they
should be studied under relevant domains- general or specific.
 Validity of causal inferences versus ecological validity: Thesis and antithesis

highlight the importance of the natural environment which leads to ecological validity
versus the importance of lab settings leading to causal relationships. The synthesis is on
the importance of combining both so that the conclusion can be better supported with
the help of evidence.
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 Applied versus basic research: It is a matter of concern whether to study cognitive

processes or to understand how people in real life practically use cognitive processes.
The synthesis combines both the manner of research.
 Biological versus behavioral method: The thesis talks about biological methods
where the function of the brain is studied while the task is performed whereas the
behavioral method focuses on reaction time or the correct responses. The synthesis
emphasizes that we need to combine biological and behavioral methods to study
analysis at various levels.
1.2.4: Domains of Cognitive Psychology
1. Neuroscience: Cognitive field uses the understanding of neuroscience and
electrochemical activation to explain the findings of their research study.
2. Perception: Sensory stimuli and signals help in understanding the detection and
interpretation of concepts and various cognitive processes.
3. Pattern Recognition: A pattern becomes more meaningful if studied along with the
environment. The words and letters are arranged in a pattern for a rich understanding
of the concept.
4. Attention: It helps us in selecting the important and relevant information out of a
pool of information which makes a person overloaded with information that is not
even required.
5. Memory: Every piece of information is encoded, then it goes to short-term and long-
term memory where it is stored for further use. The cognition takes the help of recall
techniques to get the information from LTM for present use.
6. Consciousness: This concept has gained popularity once again and is a part of the
cognitive field. It means awareness about oneself, our body senses, our thoughts, and
the environment around us. It is subjective in nature and helps a person to put a check
on the goals and development or progress.
7. Knowledge representation: As individuals are different from each other, the
representation of concepts is also different but despite all these differences many ways
are similar among people which helps them to get along nicely with each other. There
is a web of neurological processes which traps the various information and binds them
in a structure that is the same for every human brain.
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8. Thinking and Concept formation: Cognition has two important aspects- One is
thinking and the other is concept formation which leads to the representation of
mental ideas, concepts, or views, and then this information in the form of concepts is
used to understand the various concepts of cognitive concepts area.
9. Imagery: Cognitive maps or images represents the internal picture of knowledge of a
person which further acts as a cue to solve problems or reach our goals and
destinations for example we draw an image of the streets, or buildings.
10. Language: Language is used to communicate with others about our intentions, needs,
and goals and helps in developing social interactions. In cognitive psychology, it is
used to understand various processes which go into the mind of a person. It helps in
developing skills required for cognition.
1.2.5: Scope of Cognitive field: The scope can be understood through the understanding of
various subdisciplines.
a) Social Psychology: This field tries to understand what goes on in the mind of a
person when they are interacting with others like friends, relatives, subordinates, or
even strangers.
b) Clinical Psychology: Psychologists study various mental processes which go in the
mind during a mood disorder, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, memory problems,
learning problems, and other pathologies.
c) Developmental Psychology: This field studies various mental and cognitive learning
that takes place during different stages of development from birth to death.
c) Neuropsychology: Neuropsychologists while exploring various brain processes
studies the mental activity required to build a connection between both. They also
study the effect of brain injury and its recovery process.
e) Managerial Fields: It covers the mental abilities required for administrative posts and
decision making, studies various process goes in the mind of a leader, their conflict
management, and team building.
f) Educational Psychology: The field of education requires understanding the mental
processes of a learner- their perspectives, individual differences, and relation to the
school environment. It helps in preparing or designing better teaching methods and
enhances learning by structuring a good educational curriculum.
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1.3 BRIEF HISTORY
Cognitive psychology became popular around the 1950s. Before this school of thought, the
dominant school was behaviorism which focused only on the behavior which can be observed
and did not talk about emotions and thoughts. The school of behaviorism could not explain
the mechanism of internal processes which led to dissatisfaction and resulted in cognitive
revolution.
Various schools of thought:
 Structuralism is the first major school that studied the structure of the mind and
various processes like affection, memory sensation, etc. German psychologist,
Wilhelm Wundt emphasized that with proper training, a person can understand and
analyze their mind’s working pattern. Introspection brought an important change and
contributed to the shift of approach from rationalist to empiricist. Experimental
methods used introspection where the subjects speak aloud about the things going on
in their mind.
 Functionalism as a school emerged to counter structuralism. The aim was to
understand the reason behind a person’s action. Their main focus was to study real-
life tasks. American psychologist William James is the pioneer. This school believed
that knowledge should be judged by how it can be applied. Another pragmatist John
Dewey used this approach for understanding problem-solving and various thinking
processes. This school failed to give a mechanism through which they could explain
how learning takes place. This led to another school called associationism.
 Associationism associates minds, events, and ideas with each other. This school
examines that association can be studied by relating events or thoughts that come
simultaneously. We can also study by associating events with the same features or
characteristics or even opposite each other. Herman Ebbinghaus applied the principles
of this school to study the various process of his mind.
 Behaviourism dominated psychology from 1930s to 1960’s. Because of the subjective
nature and untestable aspect, behaviorism rejected the introspection technique. Ivan
Pavlov gave a learning theory called classical conditioning. This school explains the
extreme association between stimulus and response. The focus on participants
changed from humans to animals like dogs, pigeons, rats, etc. John B. Watson shifted
the focus from mental phenomena to behavioral and physiological responses.
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Behaviorists relied more on hypotheses and theories which can be put to test. B. F
Skinner believed that there is a possibility of studying images and thoughts but they
did not deny the role of environmental events playing a major role. Edward Tolman
accepted that mental representation is an important aspect. This school was criticized
for not relating language acquisition, problem-solving, and comprehension as a part of
mental activities.
 Gestalt school of psychology focuses on perception and problem-solving. Gestalt is
the German word that means shape or configuration. The three important German
psychologists are Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler. They started
this school in Frankfurt in 1911. All the previous schools were rejected by them
because they ignored experiences that are psychological and cognitive. According to
this school, the whole is more important than the parts.
 Emergence of Cognitive psychology was in the 1950s under the cognitive revolution.
Cognitivism to some extent is a blend of earlier analysis forms like accepting
quantitative analysis of behaviorism and emphasizing internal mental processes. The
early role of psychobiological processes also played an important role in which the
brain is considered an active organizer of behavior. Karl Spencer Lashley tried to
study how the human brain at the macro level works for activities that are complex
like music, playing games, and using language. Donald Hebb proposed that there are
many coordinated neural structures which are called cell assemblies and frequent
stimulation helps them during development. Linguist Noam Chomsky studied how the
human mind understands, and acquires to produce language. He did remarkable work
in the study of language. Artificial intelligence entered the field of cognitive
psychology in 1956. In 1950 Turing suggested the Turing test to study the difference
between human outputs and computer program outputs. Miller, Galanter, Newell, and
other early cognitive psychologists criticized behaviorism for not discussing the way
people think. Ulric Neisser played a very important role by taking this field of
cognitive psychology to academics- undergraduates, and graduates. Cognitive
psychology by the 1970s was a recognized field.
1.4 RESEARCH METHODS
Research methods are the ways, techniques, or processes of collecting the shreds of evidence
for analyzing the collected data to prove the concept, idea, or theory. The goals or objectives
of the research are:
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 To achieve insights into any phenomenon

 The details of a person, event, or concept are put accurately
 To study and observe the frequency of occurrence
 To develop relationships for testing hypotheses.
Various methods used to study various concepts in cognitive psychology are:
 Laboratory / Controlled Experiments: Laboratory or controlled experiments are
performed in laboratory settings. The performance of the samples is observed in one
place and at the same time. These experiments have many variables like independent
variables which can be manipulated, a dependent variable which is outcome response,
and control variables like light, noise, and mood that affect the dependent variables.
Some confounding variables like mood, health, anxiety level, stress, and time of
conduction affect the response. It is usually possible to experimentally control the
variables. The sample must be representative and a random technique should be
assigned to select them. The size of sample can be of any size. Two types of
dependent variables for example reaction time and correct responses or errors made
are very common in cognitive research because they tell us about the speed and
accuracy of various processes of the mind. The data analysis technique mostly used is
the correlational method because, in cognitive psychology research, many
relationships are studied. The method does not emphasize individual differences in
detail. The validity is ecological validity which depends on the context and type of
task. The findings of the studies can be generalized to the settings in real life.
The main advantage of this method is:
 Easy to administer
 Scoring is easy
 Statistical analysis is possible
 Valid causal inferences
The limitations are:
 Real-life situations and laboratory settings might have a discrepancy
 Task setting becomes challenging at the time
 Change in place, and time might result in difficulty in generalization
 Psychobiological Research:
Cerebral structures, events, and cognitive performances have a relationship, which can be
studied through psychobiological research methods. Though the independent variable can be
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controlled experimentally, it still depends on the type of technique used. This method can be
used for studying both humans and animals as samples. Usually in this type of method, the
subjects are not assigned randomly and the size of the sample is small. Sometimes ecological
validity is unlikely. The sample selected cannot be called representative of the population. It
talks about individual differences which can be studied and related information about them
can be gathered using this method. There are three types or categories of this method-
 The method to study an individual’s cognitive functioning before death. This
technique is applied after the death of an individual to understand what processes or
thinking might be going on in the brain before death.
 To study the brain structures or activities of an individual who has a cognitive
deficit.
 Third category is observing and studying various cerebral processes that occur in a
normal human being.
The major strengths are-
 Helps in analyzing various views of cognitive or mental processes.
 Cognitive deficits can be treated effectively.
 Physiological activities can serve as strong evidence of cognitive functioning Some
of the limitations-
 The sample size cannot be big
 Leads to decreased generalizability
 The scope of finding samples is limited.
 Self-Report:
The self-reports like questionnaires and interviews are the methods which are used to collect
the data of the sample related to their beliefs, ideas, attitudes, and feelings. Verbal answers,
self-rating, and diaries are some of the ways used to collect data. The samples pen down their
thought processes and cognition. In the experimental control, the independent variables are
probably not there. The sample may be representative but small in size. The reliability
depends on the honesty and truthfulness of reporting by the participants. This method covers
individual differences, helps get insights and information from the sample’s point of view,
and involves the introspection technique.
The main strength of this method is-
Introspective insight
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The limitations are-

 Any process occurring outside the conscious awareness cannot be reported
 Difference might be in the actual cognition and cognitive process when recalled
 he report by the participant can be misreported unintentionally or intentionally.
 Cognitive processes might be influenced by verbal protocols which means that when
the participant has to speak aloud about the thought process going in the mind while
performing the task, one might interfere with the other one.
 Case Studies:
It is an approach that is descriptive in nature and obtains in-depth information about
an individual, a person, or a phenomenon. It can collect data from personal interviews,
psychometric tests, and observation methods. The validity is highly ecological. The
subjects cannot be randomly assigned and the independent variable cannot be
experimentally controlled. The sample is not representative and small in size. The
generalizability is low but this method helps in obtaining rich detailed information
about an individual. It is an interactive study between an individual and the
environment in which he or she lives.
The main strengths are:
The information obtained is detailed.
Special cases like prodigies or people with brain damage can be studied through this
method.
The generalization is limited.
The information obtained does not apply to others.
 Naturalistic Observation Method:
This method is also known as the field method as the participants are observed and the
data is collected in their natural environment. It helps in obtaining detailed information
about people or samples in real-life situations. The cognitive performance of the sample is
observed in their everyday situations. It does not include laboratory settings. Through this
method, we can obtain information about rare events or processes which no other method
can measure. The sample size is probably small and it is possible to have a sample
representation. These are carried out in real-life situations which increases their
ecological validity. Though we can get information about differences in the individual but
the focus is more on environmental distinctions.
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The major strength is:

 Enough information is obtained about the context.
 The experimental control is lacking.
 The presence of an observer if noted may lead to changed behavior which might affect
the performance of the sample.
 Computer Simulation and Artificial Intelligence:
Artificial intelligence is the ability of a computer program that learns and thinks like
humans. The cognition process of both is similar. There are tasks where human cognitive
performances are estimated by computers. Computers are used in a way where their
process resembles the processing of human cognition. Various examples are -robots which
are in manufacturing fields or they perform surgeries in the same way as doctors do, in cell
phones face recognition is used to unlock them. It is not applicable to randomly assign the
subjects. The sample size does not matter and is not representative. The scope of
information about individual differences and ecological validity is also not present.
The strengths of this method are-
 Possibility of hypothesis testing
 a wide range of applicability
 Cognitive processes can be modelled while exploring various areas.
The limitations are-
 there is a chance that the computer models human
 brains imperfectly.
 Another limitation can be because of a combination of
 hardware which is circuits in the computer and software
 which talks about programs written by programmers.
CONCLUSION: This field of cognition is considered a cross-disciplinary field because it
collaborates with various fields like anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, psychobiology,
and artificial intelligence. Cognitive psychologists have always benefitted by working with
psychologists from the memory, clinical, motivation, and emotional field.
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1.5 PARADIGMS
Paradigms means a way of looking at a concept and are a perspective or idea which contains
fundamentals, and assumptions that are common to the members who share the same
framework. It is a way of thinking and applying a similar methodology to understand any
phenomenon. Paradigms in cognitive psychology cover the kind of measures and methods of
investigation or collecting the data appropriate in a certain condition.
There are 4 paradigms used by a group of psychologists who study various cognitive
processes:
 The Information – Processing Approach
 The Connectionist Approach
 The Evolutionary Approach
 The Ecological Approach
IN-TEXT QUESTIONS
1. Who coined the term Cognitive psychology?
a) Wilhelm Wundt b) Ulric Neisser
c) Hermann Ebbinghaus d) Donald Hebb
2. Who revolutionized the field of language?
a) Karl Spenser Lashley b) Herbert Spenser
c) Jerry .F d) Noam Chomsky
3. Each theme can be discussed under three headings
a) Thesis, concepts, ideas b) Maps, Concepts, Language
c) Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis d) Nature, Nurture, Genetic
4. Introspection was introduced as an experimental method by
a) Rationalism approach b) Empiricism approach
c) Gestalt approach d) Structuralist approach
5. In which research method, verbal protocols are used to collect data
a) Self Report b) Laboratory Method
c) Computer Simulation d) Artificial Intelligence
6. The paradigm talks about neural networks and activation is
a) Information processing b) Connectionist
c) Ecological d) Evolutionary
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1. Information-Processing Approach:
This approach is influential even in today’s scenario. After World War II it emerged
and dominated the field of cognitive psychology in the 1960s and 70s. The famous
information processing model was given by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968. This
approach views cognition as information about what we see, read, hear, think, and
pass through a system which is the brain. This approach draws a comparison between
human cognition and computerized processing for an explanation. The main goal is to
understand how the human mind process information similar to the computer’s
process. In cognitive psychology, our mind is like software and the brain is like
hardware. Psychologists study the relationship between various cognitive capacities
like language, attention span, and memory capacities. The human mind stores
information in the form of letters, scenes, and numbers in the same way as computers
store. At the time of recall the information is properly stored and coded makes it easy.
Detection, reasoning, recognition, and various other processes help in arranging
information in a novel way. The roots of this approach are embedded in structuralism
and the similarity with a computer is indebted to the communication and engineering
field. This approach also focuses on various developmental differences which lead to
individual differences and effects cognitive capabilities.
2. The Connectionist Approach:
This approach started as an alternative in the 1980s and views cognition as a process
of cognitive networks between processing units. This approach is similar to the
parallel distributed processing model given by Rumelhart and McClelland. It has a
large network of units connected. The activation which takes place in each unit
depends on the environmental inputs and various other sources of information. This
model focuses on connections among neurons also called neural networks. There can
be two types of connection positive and negative. The positive connection increases
the activation and stimulation level and the result is excitation whereas the negative
connection makes the activation or stimulation low or slow and the result is inhibition.
The theorist of this approach believed that the connection between units is where
knowledge is stored rather than in storehouses mentioned by other approaches.
Whenever there is a new path of connection or connectivity, we can observe learning.
This method includes the element concept from structuralism. The psychologist
incorporated the concepts of neuropsychology and neuroscience to construct various
theories or models. Feldman and Ballard in 1982 agreed that brain function is more
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important as it is made up of many neurons related to each other in both simple and
complex manner
3. The Evolutionary Approach:
This approach is theoretical in nature and talks about behavior and cognition which
focuses on human adaptations from psychological perspectives. We learn from how
our ancestors tried to find a solution to problems. It is a natural selection that grows
over generations. This approach focuses on the abilities of cognition to study a three-
dimensional object along with language productivity. They also raised a question
about computer programming. Psychologist which followed this evolutionary
approach found three types of environments- physical, social, and ecological which
our ancestors faced and try to adapt accordingly. Cosmides and Tooby,2002 during
the research found that for specific purposes there is a special mechanism in the mind.
The human mind has evolved for a very long generation back. It is very important to
understand a system while keeping in mind the steps taken by our ancestors. It is easy
to understand the pattern of evolution and the directions, only if a person has logical
reasoning.
4. The Ecological Approach:
Ecology means an interaction is a relationship between an individual and the
environment. This approach emphasizes that culture shapes our cognition and is
influenced by the context of its occurrence. They have focused on the importance of
studying cognitive phenomena in unreal settings. Evolutionary, anthropologist and
psychologists are terms that overlap with each other. J.J. Gibson is one of the
proponents of the ecological approach. His work focuses more on the perception
component. Functionalist and Gestalt school has influenced this ecological approach.
Jean Lave 1988 did a research project on Adult Math and concluded that people use
basic arithmetic in their daily activities example buying vegetables, shopping in the
market, etc. The purpose of the various processes of the cognitive field and the
context both are related to functionalist and gestalt schools respectively. The main
focus is on one’s own experiences, interests, motives, and goals which has led this
approach to deny studying the cognitive processes in settings that are artificially
designed. Its focus is more on natural and real-life settings and the use of the field
method as a preferred research method.
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1.6 SUMMARY
Cognitive psychology is the scientific branch of psychology that studies various mental
processes of an individual about how they think, solve a problem, perceive, and use their
memory to learn and recall. A cognitive psychologist studies a causal relationship among the
above-mentioned fields. They also try to study the role of individual differences, how
language is learned, and the reason behind forgetting. The mental phenomena and the
research related to it have made this field quite interesting and important to study. The goals
of this field are related to why and how various thinking patterns work. It is interdisciplinary
and cross-disciplinary in nature where it blends beautifully with other fields. The brief history
of cognitive psychology makes us aware of the early thoughts of the cognitive revolution.
This chapter helps us in understanding various fundamentals which are the backbone of
cognitive psychology but also covers various concerns and issues which take birth. The
paradigm talks about the various approaches which are common in modern cognitive
psychology in giving it a shape.
1.7 GLOSSARY
Cognition: Cognition means all the processes by which the sensory input is transformed,
reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used.
Dialect: Dialect is a developmental process of ideas where a statement of belief is
followed by antithesis and then both blend in the form of synthesis.
Rationalism: It is a type of approach or belief that for a phenomenon to exist, there has to
be a reason which already exists.
Empiricist: This is an approach that believes in observing and testing the observations
that a person perceives through our senses.
Cross-disciplinary: Relating to or representing more than one branch of knowledge.
1.8 ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS
1. (b) Ulric Neisser 4. (d) Structuralist approach

2. (d) Noam Chomsky 5. (a) Self Report
3. (c) Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis 6. (b) Connectionist
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1.9 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
Q1. Discuss the various domains of cognitive psychology citing examples from real-life
experiences.
Q2. What is the basic cause of the cognitive revolution?
Q3. Develop a dialect from your understanding based on the concept required.
Q4. Trace the history of cognitive psychology in brief.
Q5. Discuss various research methods along with their limitations and strengths.
Q6. Explain any 4 fundamentals of cognitive psychology.
Q7. What is a Paradigm? Discuss any two Paradigms in detail.
1.10 REFERENCES
Braisby, N.,& Gellatly, A. (2005).Cognitive Psychology. Oxford University Press.

Galotti, K. (2013). Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratory (5th ed.). Sage
Publications.
Sternberg, K., & Sternberg, R. (2011). Cognitive Psychology. Cengage Learning.
Zimbardo, P.G., Johnson, R.L., & McCann, V.M. (2012). Psychology: Core concepts. (7th
ed.). U.S.A.: Pearson.
1.11 SUGGESTED READINGS
Singh, K. (2022). There isn’t only cultural blindness in psychology; psychology is culture
blind.
In Robert W. Hood, Jr. & Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor (Eds.), Research in the social
scientific study of religion, volume 32 (pp. 399-426). Boston: Brill.
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UNIT-II
LESSON 2
SENSORY, ATTENTION AND PERCEPTUAL PROCESSES
Dr. Poonam Phogat
Associate professor, Gargi College, University Of Delhi
and
Dr. Shweta Chaudhary
Assistant Professor, Gargi College, University Of Delhi
Email-Ids: poonam.phogat@gargi.du.ac.in / shweta.chaudhary@gargi.du.ac.in
STRUCTURE
2.2 Introduction
2.3 Sensation to Representations
2.4 Approaches to Perception.
2.5 Perception of Object and Forms
2.6 Perception of Constancies and Deficits Of Perception
2.7 Attention: Nature and Theories
2.8 When Attention Fails
2.9 Automatic and Controlled Processes in Attention
2.8 Summary
2.9 Glossary
2.10 References
● Sensory information is processed through the sensory receptors, nerves to the brain.
● Understand the different types of senses and sense organs
● Understand the process and types of attention and the factors involved in attention
● Analyze the phenomenon of perception especially space, depth and distance
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2.2 INTRODUCTION
Ever since we are born, we try to understand the world around us. An infant even though may
not know or make sense of what he or she is looking at or feeling or experiencing yet he is
bombarded with multiple stimulations coming from multiple sources in the environment. Not
even humans, animals too are engaged in this process. The entire spectrum of the process of
taking sensations in through the various senses and further developing an understanding of
these are called as cognitions.
The processes of sensation, attention and perception all come under the cognitive processes.
When this physical energy travels through the neurological impulses from the receiving sense
to the concerned brain areas, a meaning is developed around it. For e.g., a “big blue ball”,
“Hot chapatti”, “sweet chocolate”. This process of assigning meaning to physical sensations
is termed as perception.
Fig 2.1. Perceptual Process
2.3 SENSATION TO REPRESENTATIONS
The world as made by nature and man comprises of a huge variety of stimulus. All stimuli
are received by a sense organ or multiple sense organs simultaneously. For example, when
you are watching television, you are looking at it as well as hearing what the person is saying
on it. All beings on earth possess a sensory system comprising of all the sensory modalities
which work to bring in the information from the outside world to the inside of the brain and
make a meaning of it. Human beings are blessed with seven sensory modalities or organs.
1.3.1 Visual sensation
One of the most advanced senses of human beings is the visual sensation. Eyes are
responsible for gathering 80 percent of the information from the external environment. The
next most sensitive and used sense is audition, sensed through the ears.
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2.3.2 Human Eye

The process of how visual sensation is initiated can be seen in figure 5.3. The process begins
with the physical stimulus of light entering the eye. This then triggers stimulation of visual
receptors in the eye. The eyes can sense only a limited range of light wavelengths in the
spectrum. The human eyes can note only 380 nm to 780 nm (1 nanomter= 1/billionth of a
meter).
Working of the eye:
The light from an object is reflected and it passes through the cornea, pupil and the lens.
Whatever light passes the lens, falls onto the retina. The part of retina from mid-point to the
nose is called as nasal half, whereas the one from mid-point towards the ear is called as
temporal half. The external environment is our visual field. The light from the right side of
this visual field falls on the left side of retina of each eye. On the other hand, the light from
the left side of the visual field falls on the right side of retina of each eye. Due to this, the
image that is formed on the retina is inverted. This information is taken by the optic nerve to
the visual cortex in the brain. This electrical impulse is interpreted by reinverting the image
again to form the upright image.
Adaptation
The human eye has wonderful capacity. It can function at various levels of light intensity. As
explained earlier when there is a drastic change in the illumination levels we are initially
unable to see initially. After few minutes the eyes are able to adjusts by the rods and cones
working in tandem with each other. This process in called as ‘visual adaptation’. The
process of light adaptation occurs when we move from a dark area to a bright light area and
make take a minute or two. Dark adaptation on the contrary is moving from well-lit area to
a dark area such as entering a cinema hall or entering house in the afternoon. This takes
longer time than light adaptation. However, the time taken for any adaptation will depend on
the difference in the intensities of light and how long had you been exposed to the dark or
light conditions.
Photochemical basis of light and dark adaptation:
Scientists believe that there are certain chemical process produced in the eye when exposed to
light. These are called as photochemical processes. A chemical substance called rhodopsin
or visual purple present in the eye gets bleached or broken down when exposed to light. This
leads to light adaptation to occur. When the exposure to light is removed and the person
moves into dark, the opposite of this process occurs. That is, with the help of vitamin A, this
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pigment is regenerated and dark adaptation happens, making the person see in dark. The
formation of pigment takes time, hence making dark adaptation a longer process than light
adaptation. Also it has been seen that most accidents occur during twilight or dusk because
neither the rods nor the cones are fully functional. This is the reason behind people deficient
in vitamin ‘A’ are unable to see in dark or after sunset. This has been called as night
blindness. The chemical fond in cones is called as iodopsin.
2.3.3 Auditory sensation
The second most important sense for us is the sense of hearing or auditory sense. It is very
important to humans as it is responsible for all the communication we do. It also provides us
with information about our environment and space by helping us know how far and in which
direction the source of the sound lies. It is also responsible for maintaining balance.
Working of Ear
The pinna of the external ear collects and transmits the sound waves to the inner ear through
the tympanic cavity. The vibrations are further transmitted down to the ossicles which vibrate
and increase the intensity of sound to be sent to the inner ear. The cochlea collects the sound
waves and through the endolymph the vibrations travel and reach the organ of corti. The
organ of corti then transmits these waves into electrical impulses to reach the auditory cortex
of temporal part of the brain.
Fig. 2.4 Diagram of Ear

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Sound as a stimulus
Sound waves travel through a medium such as air or water and reach our ears. They do not
travel in vacuum. The molecules of the medium move back and forth to help the waves
travel. These pressured waves hit our ears where the ears collect and transmit it inside.
Finally, the physical waves are converted into electrical impulses. The speed of sound waves
in air is 1100 ft/sec. A sound wave travels in the form of a sine wave, which is because the
air particles mover up and down resulting in its amplitude and they move forward resulting in
wavelength. Sound waves move in cycles. The highest point of a particle in a wave is called
as crest and the lowest point is called as trough. The difference between these two positions
is called as the amplitude of a wave. The length of a wave is measured as the distance
between two consecutive crests or two consecutive troughs and is called as wavelength. The
human ear can hear 20 -20,000 Hz of sound waves. Timbre refers to the quality or nature of
the sound as heard by us. Each sound is made of complex sound waves for e.g., people
whispering in ears is different from a dog’s barking or jet plane going.
2.4 APPROACHES TO PERCEPTION
There are two basic processes that help in recognizing objects, people, places in
environment. For example, if we look at an animal like cat, what makes us recognize it as a
cat? One approach called as the bottom-up processing believes that first we see the various
constituent parts and then combine all the parts just like a zig-saw puzzle to form a complete
picture. On the other hand, the top-down processing approach believes that the whole is
viewed first and then its special features and parts are identified. It assumes that both process
occur simultaneously to provide us information about our environment.
Perceiver
The human element in the entire process of perception in significant. If computers are faced
with same situations repeatedly, they will make same meaning every time and respond in
same manner. For example, computer making moves in a chess game. However, if humans
are faced with same situations repeatedly, they will create a different meaning each time.
Some important factors are described below:
Motivations
Motives refer to the needs and desires of a person. Needs may be physical such as food when
hungry, psychological (self-esteem) or social (belonging). Desires are wishes that they want
to fulfil. There have been various scientific experiment to support this. When people were
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hungry, they were shown various ambiguous pictures which can be interpreted in multiple
ways. An example (Fig.5.5) is given below.
Fig. 5.5
Expectations or perceptual states- It has been found that what we are likely to believe,
think or expect will greatly influence what and how we perceive. Sometimes even when there
is strong evidence against what we believe, yet do not accept it and think that only our
perception is correct. This has been termed as perceptual familiarization or perceptual
generalization. In the figure below (5.6) if you read horizontally, you will read the middle
symbol as 13 and if you read it vertically you will read it as ‘B’, this is done as we expect
numbers in number row and alphabet in alphabet row
Fig. 5.6
Cognitive styles- cognitive styles are patterns or ways of thinking that we follow while trying
to process informative. These are usually prominent and particular in individuals. Most
people have dominant ways of processing information and they tend to follow that process
most of the times, unless provoked, tempted or forced to think new or creative styles. Two
dominant styles are the ‘field dependent’ and ‘field independent styles’. In the example below
(Fig.2.7), try finding the image on the left in the image on the right.
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Fig. 2.7
Cultural background and experiences- All cultures have different rituals, religion,
practices, upbringing styles, schooling systems etc. Hence, children brought up in different
cultures have different experiences. The teachings and learning are different and leading to
different ways of perception too. For example, children from far away villages who have
never see a dining table will not be able to identify it as it is not part of their upbringing.
Children from cities may not be able to tell the state of ripening of a crop or the time of the
day by looking at the sun. City children would be able to identify the different kinds of table
in the house whereas it has been found that Eskimos has so many names for the different
kinds of snow.
Thus, in conclusion we can say multiple factors influence our perception. The place where we
belong, the lives we lead, the way we are brought up, and the learning that we have done all
influence the way we perceive objects, situations and events.
2.5 PERCEPTION OF OBJECT AND FORMS
Space means all that is perceived in our perceptual field. The objects that we seen move and
are in relative distance to each other. We perceive a world that is in three dimensions. Even
though the images that are formed on our retina are two dimensions only in terms of left,
right, up down yet the sensory experience we get is of three- dimensional space. This is due
to our brain’s capacity to convert a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional space.
This process is called as depth perception or distance perception.
Depth perception is essential for our lives. It tells us relative position of people and objects in
our visual field. It also tells us how close or far we are from an object such as a moving
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vehicle while crossing road, e.g., when we drive vehicle, we use depth perception to judge
how far the car ahead us is and how fast is it moving.
Monocular cues
Monocular give us a sense of depth in a two-dimensional image. Many artists use these in
creating three-dimensional images. Since these are used in pictures, pictorial cues is another
term given to these. Few monocular cues fond essential in perceiving depth are given below:
 Relative size- as mentioned earlier all objects form an image on our retina. This image
is small or big.
 Inter-position or overlapping- this cue works when we look at more than one object
in our perspective.
 Linear perspective- This cue operates when you look far away in a straight line. The
objects distant from you seem to get close together as if they will meet in horizon.
 Aerial perspective- Aerial perspective implies looking at objects from the top or from
the sky. The particles in the air become dense and make things look more hazy when
looked at from a higher altitude.
 Light and shade- The light falling on the object indicate in which direction and how
far the object is from us. When light falls on the object it also forms a shadow on the
other side.
 Relative height – As mentioned earlier, the retinal image gives us information about
the distance of the object.
 Texture Gradient – The objects having rough texture due to less density of elements
are viewed as farther away as compared to objects having finer texture with more
density of the material.
 Motion parallax- This works when the objects are in motion. As the objects move their
retinal image also changes size.
Binocular cues
The human eye is placed horizontally beside each other. Due to this, they are able to provide
a combined image formed by convergence of images from the perspective each eye is seeing.
Binocular cues refer to the information provided by our when both eyes work together to
produce one image. Some important ones are:
 Retinal or binocular disparity- The distance between our eyes is approximately 6.5
cms. Hence, the image that each eye is viewing is different. The right eye is seeing
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more of the right side of the view and the left side is seeing more of the left side of the
view. We cannot have a 360 degree view without moving our head. This difference in
the images drawn up by our eyes is called as retinal disparity. When objects are closer
to us, there is greater difference in the retinal images formed of these.
 Convergence- when we see object close to us, the eyes have to move inward to get a
clear picture of the object. The closer the objects the greater the degree of convergence
of the eye. For objects farther, away we do not have to converge our eyes. Hence, these
degrees of convergence executed by our eyes tell us how far or near the object are.
 Accommodation- This is a physical effort done by our eye muscles called a ciliary
muscle. The convexity or concavity of the lens help in focusing the image on the retina.
People having improper functioning of ciliary muscles may develop vision problems.
The greater the strength put in by the muscles to make the lens conclave, the closer the
object. The flatter the lens, the farther the objects are in the horizon.
2.6 PERCEPTION OF CONSTANCIES
The information that we receive from the environment is always changing. The sense organs
keep receiving these changed inputs form the external world. For example, the sound from a
moving object, the picture of a moving car on the road or fast-moving images in a cinema
hall. Yet we form a coherent and consistent image of it. The sensory experience that we get is
not broken up. This tendency to perceive object in a consistent manner despite different
sensory stimulations is called as perceptual constancy. There are various types of constancies
we experience:
 Size Constancy- As mentioned in monocular cues, the retinal images that are formed
of closer distance objects are bigger, hence they are interpreted as bigger and those far
away from smaller retinal images. However, when objects are moving from far away to
closer to us, their retinal images become bigger to smaller, yet they are perceived to be
of the same size. This consistency of the size of the object in spite of changes in retinal
images is called as size constancy. For example, when you are moving across the street,
you see a car coming. The car is perceived to be of the same size when far away and
when it is close to you, in spite of the change in the retinal images of the car.
 Shape constancy- When we look at objects from different angles, the images formed
are different. Yet we perceive the shape of the object to be the same. For example,
when we look at a throwing disc in our hand it looks like a circle, when we throw it
even though the image formed is of an ellipse yet we perceive it as a circle only.
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 Brightness constancy- The brightness of an object is due to the light reflected by it.
The degree of whiteness, greyness or blackness an object has determines its brightness.
We tend to perceive objects having the same level of brightness whether it is in a
brightly illuminated area or a dimly lit area because our eyes do the adjustment
according to that. For example, an object in the sun appears to be of the same
brightness as in the room.
2.7 ATTENTION: NATURE AND THEORIES
Our sense organs are bombarded with information from all kinds of stimulus from the
environment. For example, listening to a lecture, you are also hearing sound coming from
outside, smells from the canteen, the pain in your foot, the air from the fan etc. However, we
do not notice each of these clearly. Some of these are more strong or important to us. The
process of bringing few or one object (stimulus) in our focus and discarding others is called
as attention. To attend to any stimuli, one needs to be alert to the situation. Hence, alertness
can be defined as the preparedness or readiness of a person to attend to a stimulus.
Attention has a perceptual field, with a focus and a periphery. The focus is the target
stimulus that takes all our concentration. Periphery is the areas surrounding the focus object,
deemed unimportant by us.
There are different types of categorizations of attention. Attention has been categorized as
selective and sustained according to the process-oriented view. We are also blessed with the
ability to focus on two objects or tasks at the same time. This is called as divided attention.
Selective attention, is a process to fasten and save our energy in which we focus on specific
stimulus in the environment. The rest are discarded. There are a number of factors that
determine the selection of stimuli to be focused upon.
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2. 8 SELECTIVE ATTENTION
A number of theoretical perspectives have explained the process of selective attention. The
three most important theories are discussed below.
 Filter theory (Broadbent, 1958): There is always a bombardment of stimuli from the
environment. Since our sensory channels have limited capacity, it creates a
“bottleneck”. Hence, some stimuli which are not important are rejected and relevant
ones are processed into the short-term memory.
 Filter- Attenuation theory (Triesman, 1964): This theory has worked on the Filter
theory. It states that the filters actually reduce the intensity of the stimulus and not
completely block the stimulus. Hence, there are some stimuli that slip through the filter
and reach the short-term memory. An example is the cock-tail phenomenon, in which
one is able to hear his/her name in a party which has a lot of background noise.
 Multimode theory (Johnston and Heinz, 1978): This theory states that the stimuli are
selected at different stages. The first stage involves construction of sensory
representation of stimuli. For example, iconic images are formed of visual stimulus and
echoic images are formed of auditory stimulus. This is followed by construction of
meaning of stimuli at stage two. Finally, at the last stage, the images and semantic
meaning are finally transferred to the consciousness to make the holistic meaning of the
space around us. The theory assumes that as information moves from one stage to
another the mental effort required increases from stage to stage. The stimuli selected
during the first stage is processes faster with lesser mental effort and those processed
later requires greater mental effort due to low intensity.
Factors Affecting Selective Attention:
The factors responsible for selection of stimuli are either internal or external factors.
External factors are related to the stimuli, whereas the internal factors are related to the
observer. The external factors are related to the physical characteristics of the stimuli.
Researcher have found that the most important characteristic is the size, intensity and
movement of the stimuli. Those stimuli that look large, bright and coloured and moving are
seen easily. Something new and interesting may also catch our attention. In addition, the
stimuli which are of high intensity and come unexpected in our environment also get our
immediate attention. Researchers’ have also found that we connect to human photographs
and attend to them more than photographs of inanimate objects. Also, rhythmic auditory
stimuli such as music also attract our attention as compared to narrations by people.
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Internal factors are the states within an individual. These may be related to the motivational
and emotional states and the cognitive (mental state) of the person. Motivational factors relate
to the person’s biological state, emotional state and social needs. For example, if we are
moving on a street and we are hungry, in spite of being on another task our attention would
go to all the eateries on the street. Cognitive factors relate to the mental state such as alertness
or preparedness, interest and the present attitude of the person. The alertness of the individual
in expectation of the stimulus is called as preparatory set. This reduces the ‘shock element’
of the stimulus and helps elicit a response faster.
2.9 SUSTAINED ATTENTION

Sustained attention means focusing our attention to selected elements of the environment for
longer periods of time. This quality is also called as vigilance. People in air traffic control,
army etc screen radars for suspecting objects in the air. Hence, they keep a strict eye on the
radar. This monitoring requires attention sustained for long period. They always have to be
alert as the stimuli may appear anytime and they constantly need to be vigilant due to the
risks involved.
Factors influencing sustained attention
Various factors determine the time of sustained attention. Some of these are discussed below:
 Sensory modality- the capability of each sensory modality to keep sustained attention
varies. The auditory sense has the greatest capacity to keep sustained attention among
all senses.
 Clarity of stimuli- The next factor is regarding the clarity of stimuli. Those stimuli
which are less complex, more intense and long lasting are registered more.
 Temporal uncertainty – It has been found that when a stimuli is seen more often it is
registered better than those which do not have appear often.
 Spatial uncertainty- the stimuli which appear at the same locations are better noticed
than stimuli which are found randomly at different locations.
Attention is a very important dimension of human mind. For example, the hoardings on the
road side are designed to catch attention, the information given in advertisements also work
on the factors that influence attention, the number plates of vehicles are also based on the
amount of information processed by short term memory in a span. Every individual has a
different capacity to sustain attention. Some people can easily sustain attention for long time
whereas some easily loose concentration. A specific problem of children related to attention
is discussed below:
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Automatic and controlled processes in attention: The cognitive processes during

processing of information, fall into either automatic or controlled depending upon the amount
of processing power and efforts put in it. Automatic processes usually occur with little
attention and awareness and is processes with little resources. Hence these happen
unintentionally and sometimes involuntarily. Some of these are basic psychomotor skills,
implicit biases, procedural tasks, priming and biases that are implicit to the individual. The
other kinds of processes are controlled ones that need conscious awareness and focus on the
task that is being performed. These tasks require gradual processing of information and hence
are slower and more thought of. Every task required a certain perceptual load and processing
capacity of the individual. The load means the difficulty level of the task and processing
capacity is the ability of an individual to complete the number and amount of tasks. Hence
people need to focus their attention to complete a difficult task. Also, the more tasks that an
individual tries to accomplish, the more perceptual load would result and hence the
processing capacity suffers. Hence multi-tasking results in poor performance in tasks.
IN-TEXT QUESTIONS
Q.1) Which discipline studies the relationship between stimuli and the sensation
they elicit?
a) Physiology b) Psychophysics c) Psychology d) Physics
Q. 2) Human eye is sensitive to which of the following wavelength of light?
a) 350 nm-750nm b) 200nm-400nm
c) 380 nm-780nm d) None of the above
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
Q1) Discuss the factors affecting selective & sustain attention. Also comment
on their practical implication.
Q2) Explain the structure and working of human ear with help of a diagram.
Q3) Explain the structure and working of human eye with help of a diagram.
Q4) Give the names associated with these theories and briefly describe their
theories.
(a) Filter theory (b) Filter attenuation theory (c) Gestalt psychology
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2.10 SUMMARY
 Our seven senses are significant in providing us information about our internal and
external world. Each sense has a system in which sense organs collect information
which is transferred to the brain through neurons
 Maximum information is provided to us by eyes and ears. Rod cells in the retina help
us see in the dark and cones helps us see in bright light and colour.
 Three dimensions of colour are hue, saturation and rightness. The properties of sound
are loudness, pitch and timbre. Organ of Corti is responsible for all our hearing.
 The process of attention involves active selection of relevant stimuli from the irrelevant
one.
 Attention can be selective and sustained. Automatic processing is done in well-
practiced routine tasks and do not require much mental effort. These tasks are done
through divided attention.
 Miller gave the concept of span of attention, i.e. the number of stimuli attended to in
one glance. The average span of attention in 5-7 digits/number/items.
 Perception refers to the process of selecting stimuli, attending to it and finally
constructing its meaning in the cerebral processes. Our perceptions are influenced by
our motives, expectations, ways of processing information and our cultural background.
 The chief process in perception is form perception. It involves identifying the good
figures from the background with the help of contrasts, lines, contours etc. this is done
through figure ground segregation.
2.11 GLOSSARY
 Sensation- The process when physical energy falls on any sense organs and creates an
impression.
 Perception- This process of assigning meaning to physical sensations is termed as
perception.
 Visual adaptation- The process when we move from one light area to another darker or
lighter areas, there is a process of visual adaptation to adjust and sustain vision.
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 Monocular cues- Monocular are cues used by single eyes give us a sense of depth in a
two-dimensional image.
 Binocular cues- Binocular cues refer to the information provided by our when both eyes
work together to produce one image.
 Size constancy- The consistency of the size of the object in spite of changes in retinal
images is called as size constancy.
 Shape constancy- The perception of the shape of the object to be the same even when
we look at objects from different angles, the images formed are different.
 Selective attention- Selective attention, is a process to fasten and save our energy in
which we focus on specific stimulus in the environment and discard the rest.
 Divided attention- We are also blessed with the ability to focus on two objects or tasks
at the same time. This is called as divided attention.
2.12 REFERENCES
Baron, R. A. & Misra, G. (2014). Psychology New Delhi: Pearson Education.

Chadha, N.K. & Seth, S. (2014). The Psychological Realm: An Introduction. Pinnacle
Learning, New Delhi
Ciccarelli, S. K., Meyer, G. E. & Misra, G. (2013). Psychology: South Asian Edition. New
Delhi: Pearson Education.
Galotti, K. M. (2008). Cognitive psychology: In and out of the laboratory (2nd Ed.).
Bangalore: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Goldstein, E.B. (2011/2014). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and
Everyday Experience. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage.
Hunt, R. R., & Ellis, H. C. (2004). Fundamentals of cognitive psychology (7th Ed.). New
Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill.
Riegler, B. R., & Riegler, G. R. (2008). Cognitive psychology: Applying the science of the
mind (2nd Ed.). New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley.
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Atkinson, R. L., Atkinson, R. C., Smith, E. E., Bem, D. J. & Hilgard, E. R. (2013).
Introduction to Psychology. New York: H. B. J. Inc.
Ciccarelli, S. K., Meyer, G. E. & Misra, G. (2013). Psychology: South Asian Edition. New
Delhi: Pearson Education.
Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., Vliek, M. and Passer, M., & Smith, R. (2015).
Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. London: Tata McGraw-Hill
Morgan, C T., King, R., Weisz, J. & Schopler, J. (2017). Introduction to Psychology (7th Ed).
McGraw Hills.
Passer, M.W. & Smith, R.E. (2013). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. New
Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill
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UNIT-III
LESSION-3
THINKING, PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING
Dr. Nisha Chaudhary
Assistant Professor
Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College
Email-Id: nisha.chaudhary@bramb.du.ac.in
STRUCTURE
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Cognition and Thinking
3.4 Problem Solving
3.5 Reasoning
3.6 Decision Making
3.7 Language and Thought
3.8 Solved Illustrations
3.9 Summary
3.10 Glossary
3.13 References
After studying this lesson you will be able to-

 Explain the nature and processes underline thinking
 Understand problem solving and its conceptual framework
 To know about decision making skills
 Describe the biases in decision making process
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3.2 INTRODUCTION
Our mind revolves around thousands of things during the wake and sleep period. What we
have to do today and what we would be doing in future, all this continuously goes on in our
minds. Every single minute of the human existence revolves around some or the other
thought process, hence it becomes important to understand these concepts and processes.
3.3 COGNITION AND THINKING
Cognition is an umbrella term which is being used to comprehend all the higher order mental
processes. These processes or activities are basically leading us towards reasoning, decision
making, memorizing, language uses and other higher order activities.
Human thinking involves cognitive rearrangement of the symbols concepts and information
gathered through environment and associating them with stored memory.
In psychological terminology, human thinking involves everything which goes on between a
stimulus and a response. A stimulus is any external event which leads to a particular kind of
response in a particular kind of situation. Hence all the processes in between are; our
cognitive or thinking processes.
Eg.- process of buying a new car or television- you have options with different brands, the
quality, amount to be paid etc. and eventually you end up purchasing a particular brand. So
over here, the buying options was stimulus and picking up a particular car is the response. In
between the mental manipulations which goes on, are part of thinking.
Thinking in itself could be viewed in varied forms-
The thinking patterns which are private and use a lot of personal symbols having personal
meaning could be called autistic thinking. eg., day dreaming.
The other form is more general and is aimed at creating something new, solving problems or
making reasonable decision this comes under directed thinking. eg., reaching to a particular
restaurant for having dinner.
IN-TEXT QUESTION
1. Thinking pattern where personal symbols are used is called-
a) Directed
b) Formulative
c) Autistic
d) None of the Above
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The symbols which are used during the thinking process are in the form of either words,
images, concepts or propositions. Hence, all these formulate the elements of thinking. Now
let's study them in detail-
3.3.1. Concepts
Concepts are language symbols, which constitute an integral part of thinking. While
interacting with the environment, we come across various objects, people and events. The
symbolic construction, which represents certain common and general features of these objects
and events, are categorized as concepts.
E.g., Concept of gender, alphabets, father etc.
The basic motive of concept formulation is classification of objects into categories using their
commonalities and differences. Most of the vocabularies of nouns that we hold are the names
of certain concepts. These are our mental conceptualizations of different ideas, events,
people, experiences, objects and situations.
After a classification is made, we tend to perceive and react about the members of that class
or concept in a similar manner. The sense of the world around us; is made through these
concepts and categorizations.
E.g., Knowledge that banana is a fruit and a chair is not, comes from the categorization
process, which formulates concept.
Concepts have two type of meaning denotative and connotative. Denotative means exactly
like the definition. Connotative means emotional or personal meaning.
Concepts in itself could even be categorized into types. The most common division is-
Artificial/Logical Concept- these have defined and measurable properties and set of rules.
E.g., a triangle has 3 equal sides and a square has 4 equal sides.
Natural concepts- natural concept does not have precise and clear-cut set of properties or
attributes. There boundaries are fuzzy and not readily specified. Still these concepts are the
most used one in the natural world. These natural concepts are based on prototype.
Interacting with the external world we can come across new items, these items or objects if
they have similar attributes to the existing prototype then they become more likely to be part
of that particular concept.
E.g., When we think of a fruit we think of apples never zucchinis, where are both are fruits.
Here, Apple is a prototype of fruit
There are certain faulty concepts too. These are inaccurate concept, which leads to thinking
error like- stereotypes, prejudice etc.
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Majorly concepts are formulated and represented in terms of their features but natural
concepts can also be represented in terms of visual imagery. Visual imagery is mental
representation of events and objects.
3.3.2 Images
Thinking process generally involves manipulation of imagery. Empirical data clearly shows
that mental manipulations on images of objects are nearly same to those that would be
performed on an actual object. E.g., when asked to imagine a nursery class of a school, your
mind automatically fills with the picture of a room with colorful walls, small chairs, tables
and toys etc.
Visualization is the most important function of mental imagery. In thinking, images are used
for comprehension of spoken instructions- by converting the words into mental pictures; we
enhance our own understanding and memorization of that particular situation. Visualization
can help people to elevated moods towards positivity and it can even help them to attain their
goals as a clear picture of what they want to achieve, surely motivate and fills them with
passion.
While understanding about concept formulation an important term Schemas is relevant.
Schemas are closely related to concepts- these are cognitive frameworks that represents our
assumptions and information about the world. Schemas are generally more complex as they
consist of distinct and varied concepts. E.g., Schema of self- includes your belief, attitude
thinking, goals and dreams related to your own self.
Hence, these concepts and schemas can be represented in the mind in different ways and
helps us to make a sense of our complex external world.
IN-TEXT QUESTIONS
2. "A square has 4 equal sides", this is an example of________.
a) Natural concepts b) Logical Concepts
b) Projection d) Prototype
3. Schema of Self includes your-
a) Goals
b) Belief
c) Attitude
d) All of the Above
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3.3.3 Propositions
A human mind is wired with uncountable relationship among concepts and schemas. We
have higher order cognitive ability, which gives us chance to formulate complex relationship
between concepts. Even the purpose of thinking is to relate one feature of the concept to the
entire concept and one concept to the other one. Hence, cognitive actions take the form of
propositions- these are sentences that relate one concept to another. E.g., "My grandmother
has white hair". In this example, there is a description of relationship between a concept and
its properties.
Cluster of propositions are represented in the form of Mental Models. Mental models are
structures that knit our interaction with people, objects and events in the world around us.
E.g., if you are planning to get admission in a prestigious university. First you start with
writing the amount which you would be spending in admission then analyzing how much you
have and how much you can take loan after that you make loan application and then so on.
Therefore, this whole process is a mental model where a step-by-step procedure is followed
to attain a goal or to solve a problem.
Role of culture in thinking- A person's, thinking process or cognitive aspects are
inseparable from the effects of his or her culture. It is not only the people who are being
shaped by their culture but also the people living in are shaping the culture. Therefore, it is a
two way process. Individual thinking patterns are impacted by the norms and values system
of a cultural and similarly the cultural norms are been re-written according to the cognitive
patterns of an individual. How we perceive ourselves and others, the attribution process we
use and even other important decisions these all are influenced by one's cultural practices and
ethical considerations.
E.g., in a collectivistic culture, affiliation and dependence influence the formulation of self
schema, whereas in individualistic culture, independence and achievement is cherished.
IN-TEXT QUESTIONS
4. Sentences that relate one concept to another are called __________.
a) Deductive b) Inductive
b) Propositions d) Mental Set
5. Collectivistic cultural norms emphasize on-
a) Achievement b) Independence
b) Affiliation d) Aggressive Behavior
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Thinking also involves different processes for goal achievement. The most important one of
these are - Problem Solving, Reasoning and Decision Making.
3.4 PROBLEM SOLVING
Problem is any kind of mental conflict. The thinking processes that is, part of problem
solving leads to a desired kind of behavior in the end. Whenever there is a discrepancy
between the actual state and the achievable one, a person faces problem and thinking
motivates to reduce the gap between this actual state and the desired outcome.
As problem starts with any conflict, there could be different types of conflict.
Approach- Approach conflict- two situations have both positive aspects; you have to
choose between two desirable outcomes. E.g., going for a movie with family or going on a
date with the boyfriend.
Avoidance- Avoidance conflict- two situations, both having avoidance characteristics. You
must choose between two undesirable outcomes. E.g., going to the dentist or avoiding it,
which continues the pain in teeth?
Approach-Avoidance conflict- a single situation has both approach and avoidance
characteristics. E.g., marriage has both positives and negatives for a girl, the positive is
finding a companion and the negative is leaving her house.
Multiple Approach Avoidance conflict- multiple situations, which have both desirable and
undesirable outcomes.
E.g., marriage or choosing a particular career or choosing a company for the work
Most of our situation in a daily life involves multiple approach avoidance conflict and hence
there is use of mental models where the interaction between schemas takes place.
In simple terms problem solving involves efforts to choose among varied responses in order
to attend desired results. The process of problems solving moves from different stages-
 Understanding and defining the problem- firstly, it is important to understand that a
problem exist and then trying to define what that problem actually is.
 Gathering information or formulation of possible solutions- possible solution or in
psychological terms hypothesis is just a tentative answer. It includes collecting
information making a match of the collected information with the existing storage and
then coming up with potential solutions.
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 Evaluation of the possible solutions or testing the hypothesis- the evaluation is

based on the cost associated with the solution and the importance of the outcome the
solutions are yielding. After doing this cost analysis, a best alternative is chosen.
 Choosing the right path or option and evaluation of the result- once the alternative
is chosen it is applied in the actual lining condition and then an overall analysis is done
to judge whether it was best suited or not.
 Revision- if the solution leads towards the goal attainment then the process of problem
solving stops but if the problem is not yet solved even after taking up the right
alternative then it's important to revise the earlier steps and if needed formulate new
alternatives which could be best suited in the problem solution process.
3.4.1 Rules of problem solving/methods of problem solving
The most basic approach towards problem solving is through trial and error method. Here,
different responses are tried one after other until a particular response works. This method is
time consuming and energy consuming but is sometimes used when there is no prior
information in regard to the problem being faced by the person.
The second one is heuristics- these are general rule of thumb or strategies which are been
formulated through experience. These strategies could lead to the desired solutions. It is
important to note that heuristics does not always guarantee success.
The next one is algorithms- these are precise sequence of actions or thinking patterns that
automatically generate best solution if followed in a particular manner.
E.g. Instruction for installing new software in your phone
Next could be analogy- many a times we are stuck with a similar problem or situation, which
we had faced in the past. Over here, we can apply the similar tactics, which we have used
earlier to resolve the conflict in the past.
Last is means end analysis- the goal which is to be achieved over here is broken into sub
goals and each sub goal involves a conflicting situation which needs a solution, so in a step
wise manner problem solution is done in bits and pieces which eventually leads to attainment
of the goal. This is the kind of thinking where a backward process is followed as once you
perceive your goal and then you start to formulate strategy by breaking that goal into sub
parts.
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Causes leading to disorted problem solving

Perceptual Expectation, stereotyping
Emotional Impatience, fear, anxiety
Intellectual Non assimilation of information, lack of knowledge or creative ideas
Expressive Limited communication,inapt expression, inappropriate language
Physical Distraction, physical discomfort, cleanliness
Cultural Inappropraite cultural norms and value system
3.4.2 Barriers in problem solving/ Hindrances in problem solving

Mental set- when over the period we have solved a problem in a particular manner it
becomes a part of a set in our minds. As we have already tired using these mental operations,
hence it could lead to success in some situation. The only issue is that this kind of mental
operation leads to a rigidity, which stops the person from indulging into divergent thinking
patterns and coming up with new more appropriate strategies for problem solution.
Functional fixedness- perceiving the function of a particular object in one particular manner
leads down to fixation. When we can only think about a particular type of functionality for an
object then this fixation leads to reduction in our problem solving abilities and makes us
stuck in inappropriate thinking loop.
E.g., Dunkers candle problem (1945), Two-string problem by Maier's
Fig 1. Maier's string problem (adapted from K. Stange, 2005, pp. 21-22).
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3.4.3 Ways for improving problem solving process

 Try to follow a systematic plan for problem solution
 Use of divergent thinking
 Sub goals which are well defined are needed to achieve long term goals
 Domain specific knowledge
 Inferential analysis is important in certain problems
 Practice
Functional fitness and mental set leads to a reduce capacity to solve problems. Hence, it
becomes important to understand the role of creativity so that such barriers could be broken.
Brainstorming and introspection are even helpful to overcome such hindrances. The role of
only parental practice and cultivation and socialization training, can even affect the diversion
thinking process of an individual.
IN-TEXT QUESTIONS
6. Dunkers candle problem is an example for-
a) Functional Fixedness
b) Algorithms
c) Analogy
d) All of the Above
7. Precise sequence of actions that automatically generate best solution if
followed in a particular manner is-
a) Trial and Error
b) Heuristics
c) Analogy
d) Algorithms
3.5 REASONING
Whenever we engage in a particular behavior or see someone else engaging into it, we try to
judge the causes of that behavior. Therefore, a lot of attribution goes behind the cause
searching. Here comes the role of reasoning.
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Reasoning could be seen in the form of formal and everyday reasoning. Formal involves
specific methods for setting up of reason to a behavior where as everyday reasoning is more
complex, less defined and involves use of mood and beliefs. Hence in everyday reasoning the
ability to reason without being impacted by the emotion is comparatively less than formal
one.
It's important to study reasoning as it's the bridge between the problem and appropriate
decision making
3.6 DECISION MAKING
Making decision is the process of choosing and selecting certain appropriate options from
varied alternatives. Therefore, the process of problem solving eventually takes us to the step
of correct decision-making.
While choosing the alternatives our rational thinking pattern is important. Hence, the role of
utility and subjective probability becomes vital-
 Utility is the value of the outcome which each alternative might yield. Certain
outcome could hold less value for one person whereas for someone else it could be
the best possible one.
 Subjective probability is the guess or estimation that there are higher chances of one
result to occur if a particular option is chosen.
People generally make decisions that maximizes there subjectively expected utility.
3.6.1 Stages of Decision-making
It starts with
 Defining and analyzing the problem

 Developing alternative solutions
 Evaluation of each and every alternative
 Choosing the best option and implementing it
 Follow up
Many factors influence and impact the decision making process and makes it less effective.
These are-
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3.6.2 Barriers/ Hindrances to decision making

The common barriers are-
Lack of information: partial or wrong information generally leads to incorrect decisions
Information overload: the problem in today's environment is that there is a lot of
information pool which is readily available on internet, too much information can many a
times acts as a hindrance in decision making as the time and effort increases.
Type of context: when the actual context of the problem is not known or not been
understood then it leads to incompatibility between the problem and solution chosen.
Lack of feedback: when there is minimal external feedback or self feedback then there are
higher chances to indulge into similar mistakes as no follow up is being done.
Confirmation Biases: its human tendency to interpret information in terms of own beliefs
and ideology. This leads to hindrance in critical analysis of the problem and eventually leads
down to lower divergent thinking.
Cultural and Gender Barriers: cultural and gender practices and norms could act as a
barrier in certain situations.
Overconfidence/ Under confidence: a calculated risk is important while taking decisions.
Escalation of commitment: it is the tendency to become increasingly committed to wrong
decision even if the losses associated with it are increasing over time. It happens because a
person has invested a lot in terms of money, effort and time in the initial phase of decision-
making.
Heuristics: heuristic are mental rules that help us to make decision and judgments more
quickly and in efficient manner and hence, it makes our decision making process easier.
These act as cognitive shortcuts and reduce our time and effort while indulging into difficult
conflict situation. The quality and accuracy of the decision may or may not enhance but it
surely give a reasonably quick choice. The most frequently used heuristics are-
 Availability- it is the tendency to make judgments about likelihood of an event in
terms of how readily examples of that concept can be brought to mind.
 Representativeness- more closely an event or object resembles the typical example
of a particular concept, the more likely it is to belong to that concept. Hence, the
representation of the features of that concept makes its connection to the original
concept higher.
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 Anchoring and adjustment- in a difficult situation we always start with certain

subjective probability and then as the course proceeds we lower or raise it depending
upon the situations. Whenever we make these adjustments, the outcome is dependent
upon the starting point so the starting point acts as an anchor for the follow up
adjustments.
 Attribute Substitution- it can also be called substitution biases. Here a person is
solving problem by using incorrect substitution. This substitution may happen
unconsciously and we choose whatever is available to our mind rather than what
needs to be chosen.
Heuristics Examples/Studies
Adjustment and Study by Kahneman, one group of people were asked to estimate
Anchoring 8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1 in 5 seconds. The other group in the same time has
to estimate the product of 1x2x3x4x5x6x7x8. As they had different
anchor, the first group gave higher product and the second one a much
lower product whereas both product would be same, the anchoring
biases is clearly visible.
Availability Study conducted by Kahneman (1974)- Here the participants were
given list of names and then asked whether the list contained more
men's or Women's names. Although the numbers of male and female
names were nearly equal but 80%, participants reported that women's
names appeared more frequently. The reason was that the female names
on the list were more famous ones, so their names were remembered
easily.
Representativeness If we meet someone new who always wears formals and you are asked
to judge the persons occupation. So, you would first remember your
past experiences and then assume that formals are generally wore by
teacher so he must be a teacher but you eventually learned that he is a
chef. Therefore, the availability or the similarity among the situation
leads to such a decision.
Attribute Optical Illusions are the best examples of such substitution. In day
Substitution today life, we sometime perceive a three-dimensional figure as two-
dimensional. Another example is unconsciously talking about
something else, which is similar to what has been asked about.
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3.6.3 Factors affecting decision-making

Various factors affect decision making some of which are-
 Perceptual issues- influence of values, interest, memory, experience and expectation of
the perceiver.
 Personal Issues- Resilience, self-efficacy, lifestyle, status.
 Environmental Factors- the immediate environment like level of cleanliness, pollution
noise all impacts decision making.
 Psychological factors- factors like motivation level, zeal, fear of rejection, fear of
judgment or thinking/working differently.
 Cultural and Social Issues- adhering to traditional expectation, stereotyping, taboos,
confirmative aspect and extra dependency on others; effects the decision making
process.
Fig 2. Factors affecting Decision Making

The current professional scenario needs divergent thinking in problem solution and decision-
making. Original ideas and solutions, uniqueness of them are included in creative thinking
processes.
It is important to study creative thinking, as it is the need of the hour and in most academic
and professional setting this is what is being looked for. There are certain strategies, which
could be used to enhance creative thinking. Some of these are-
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 Independence in judgment
 Art of asking questions
 Noticing contradictions
 Generating diverse ideas
 Brainstorming
 Resistance to immediate gratification
 Visualization of the consequences and most importantly
 Self-positivity and confidence.
IN-TEXT QUESTIONS
8. Which one of the following does not act as a barrier to decision making.
a) Escalation of commitment
b) Information Overload
c) Confirmation Biases
d) Divergent Thinking
9. Representativeness and Availability are types of _________.
a) Heuristics
b) Information
c) Thinking
d) None of the above
10. Optical Illusion is an Example of:
a) Representativeness
b) Anchoring
c) Attribute Substitution
d) Adjustment
3.7 LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT
Our words and language also formulate an essential part of what we think. There is
interrelationship between language and thought processes. Many times, it is seen that our
thinking process depends on how we describe a concept or a process in language. Like in
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English language, only uncle or aunt generally connotes the kinship relationships where as in
Indian language we have different terminology for it. Linguistic relativity hypothesis
clearly defines it.
Many other psychologists like Piaget believed that thinking leads to the internal
representation of the word and hence language is a successor to thinking and acts as a vehicle
to it.
In conclusion, it can be said that language and thought are interdependent; depending on the
situation and circumstances, one could lead another.
IN-TEXT QUESTION
11. Dependency of thinking on language and words, is described by
a) Linguistic relativity hypothesis
b) Linguistic reasoning Hypothesis
c) Communicative Patterns
d) None of the Above
3.8 SOLVED ILLUSTRATIONS
All thinking processes could be used in real life situation. Some ways of doing it is-
 Think of two natural concepts from your life and try to come with their prototypes.
 Identify any recent problem in real life and try to solve it using Algorithm, Analogy or
Heuristic.
 Remember any conflicting situation where you had to choose between options- Now
follow the stages of Decision-making and think how you came up with the best option.
 Examine how many characteristics of a creative thinker, you possess and how can you
enhance it.
3.9 SUMMARY
 Cognition is an umbrella term which is being used to comprehend all the higher order
mental processes.
 Human thinking involves cognitive rearrangement of the symbols concepts and
information gathered through environment and associating them with stored memory.
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 Thinking in itself could be viewed in varied forms- Autistic Thinking and directed
Thinking.
 The symbolic construction, which represents certain common and general features of
the objects and events, are categorized as concepts. Concepts in itself could even be
categorized - Artificial/Logical Concept, Natural concepts.
 Thinking process generally involves manipulation of imagery. Purpose of thinking is to
relate one feature of the concept to the entire concept and one concept to the other one.
This is done through Propositions. Cluster of propositions are represented in the form
of Mental Models.
 Problem is any kind of mental conflict there could be different types of conflict-
Approach- Approach conflict, Avoidance- Avoidance conflict, Approach-Avoidance
conflict, Multiple Approach Avoidance conflict.
 The process of problems solving moves from different stages- Understanding and
defining the problem, Gathering information or formulation of possible solutions,
Evaluation of the possible solutions or testing the hypothesis, Choosing the right path
or option and evaluation of the result, Revision.
 Methods of Problem solving are- Trial and Error, Heuristics, Algorithms, Analogy,
Means end analysis. There are certain Barriers in Problem solving- Mental set and
Functional Fixedness.
 Reasoning involves attributing cause behind the behavior. Reasoning could be seen in
the form of formal and everyday reasoning.
 Making decision is the process of choosing and selecting certain appropriate options
from varied alternatives. Stages of Decision-making starts from Defining and analyzing
the problem- Developing alternative solutions- Evaluation of every alternative-
Choosing the best option and implementing it-Follow up.
 The common Hindrances to decision making are- Lack of information, Information
overload, Type of context, Lack of feedback, Confirmation Biases, Cultural and Gender
Barriers, Overconfidence/ Under confidence, Escalation of commitment, Heuristics.
 Heuristic are mental rules that help us to make decision and judgments more quickly
and in efficient manner and hence it makes our decision making process easier. The
most frequently used heuristics are-Availability, Representativeness, Anchoring and
adjustment, Attribute Substitution.
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 Certain strategies, which could be used to enhance creative thinking are- Independence
in judgment, Art of asking questions, Noticing contradictions, Generating diverse ideas,
Brainstorming, Resistance to immediate gratification, Visualization of the
consequences and most importantly Self-positivity and confidence.
 There is interrelationship between language and thought processes. Many times it seen
that our thinking process depends on how we describe a concept or a process in
language. Linguistic relativity hypothesis clearly defines it.
3.10 GLOSSARY
 Thinking- mental activity that goes on in brain while organizing and understanding
information
 Concepts- ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events or activities
 Mental Images- mental representation that stand for objects, events or people
 Proposition- sentences that relate one concept to another
 Problem solving- process that occur when goal must be reached by thinking in a
particular manner
 Trial and Error- trying possible solutions one after another till success is achieved
 Algorithms- sequences of procedures that automatically generate solution if followed
in a particular manner
 Analogy- using techniques that worked in similar situations in the past
 Heuristic- mental shortcuts or Rule of Thumb
 Mental set- already tried mental operations or steps, leading to mental rigidity
 Functional Fixedness- block to problem solving because of just thinking about objects
in terms of only their typical functions
 Reasoning- judging the causes behind an act
 Decision Making- choosing the best possible alternative for goal attainment
 Creative thinking- production of new original and practical idea
 Linguistic relativity Hypothesis: language determining thought
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3.11 ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS
1. (c) Autistic 6. (a) Functional Fixedness

2. (b) Logical concepts 7. (d) Algorithms
3. (d) All of the above 8. (d) Divergent Thinking
4. (c) Propositions 9. (a) Heuristics
5. (c) Affiliation 10. (c) Attribute illusion
11. (a) Language relativity hypothesis
3.12 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the nature of thinking.

2. What do you understand by concept? Discuss about propositions.
3. "Visualization is the core to concept formulation". Elaborate.
4. Highlight different stages of problem solving. Discuss barriers in effective problem
solving.
5. Discuss types of heuristics with examples.
6. Explain the barriers to decision making.
7. Elucidate methods of Problem solving with appropriate examples.
8. Explain the various factors affecting decision-making.
9. Examine relation between language and thought. Highlight the strategies for enhancing
creative thinking.
3.13 REFERENCES
 Braisby, N., & Gellatly, A. (2005). Cognitive Psychology. Oxford University Press.
 Chadha, N.K. & Seth, S. (2014). The Psychological Realm: An Introduction. Pinnacle
Learning, New Delhi.
 Feldman.S.R.(2009). Essentials of understanding psychology (7th Ed.) New Delhi :
Tata Mc Graw Hill.
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 Glassman,W.E.(2000). Approaches to Psychology (3rd Ed.) Buckingham: Open

University Press.
 Sternberg, K., & Sternberg, R. (2011). Cognitive Psychology. Cengage Learning.
 Passer, M.W. & Smith, R.E. (2010). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior.
Tata McGraw-Hill.
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/37367052_Thinking_and_problem_solving
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1.5.1 Information processing

1.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This lesson and reading will enable you-

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3. Problem-solving method (using clues or features or similarities)

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 Validity of causal inferences versus ecological validity: Thesis and antithesis

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 Applied versus basic research: It is a matter of concern whether to study cognitive

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1.3 BRIEF HISTORY

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1.4 RESEARCH METHODS

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 To achieve insights into any phenomenon

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The limitations are-

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The major strength is:

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1.8 ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

1. (b) Ulric Neisser 4. (d) Structuralist approach

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1.9 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

Braisby, N.,& Gellatly, A. (2005).Cognitive Psychology. Oxford University Press.

1.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

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2.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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Fig 2.1. Perceptual Process

2.3 SENSATION TO REPRESENTATIONS

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2.3.2 Human Eye

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Fig. 2.4 Diagram of Ear

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2.4 APPROACHES TO PERCEPTION

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2.5 PERCEPTION OF OBJECT AND FORMS

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2.6 PERCEPTION OF CONSTANCIES

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2.7 ATTENTION: NATURE AND THEORIES

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