PSYC 2400H Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Ophthalmology, Franciscus Donders, Wilhelm Wundt
2 Feb 2018
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Psyc 2400 week 1: syllabus review, class break, sip of two glasses of water, one containing 1 teaspoon of sugar, one not, lecture. No power points posted on blackboard * Definition of cognition, 2 components: creates representations of the world for survival/adaptation/goals, creates and controls mental functions, such as perception, attention, memory, emotion, language, decisions, thinking, reasoning. Term (cid:1688)cognitive psychology(cid:1689): 1967: grandparent disciplines: philosophy & physiology, interesting family relations: computer science, linguistics, very recent development. (cid:1688)all our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason. (cid:1689: studying cognition relies on making inferences. Must look at visible consequences from invisible causes. Donder (ophthalmologist): physiological limits of perception, judgement, decision making, reaction time studies, *subtractive technique, (cid:1688)good exam question(cid:1689) Examples of absolute thresholds: absolute threshold = better than chance. A drop of perfume in a six room house. A teaspoon of sugar in a gallon of water.
