Eysenck Michael W. - Cognitive Psychology_ A Student_s Handbook_ 6th Edition

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Cognitive
Psychology
Michael W. Eysenck and Mark T. Keane
SIXTH EDITION
A Student’s Handbook
CognitivePsychology
Eysenck
Keane
SIXTH EDITION
“Top of the premier league of textbooks on cognition, each edition of this classic improves on the previous one.
Whether you are a keen student or an active researcher, keep this book close at hand.”
Mick Power, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
“The new edition of this book improves a text that was already a leader. The authors have injected more
information about the neuroscientific bases of the cognitive phenomena they discuss, in line with recent trends in
the field. Students will greatly profit from this text, and professors will enjoy reading it, too.”
Henry L. Roediger III, James S. McDonnell Professor of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
“I have recommended Eysenck and Keane from the very first version, and will continue to do so with this exciting
new edition. The text is among the very best for the breadth and depth of material, and is written in a clear,
approachable style that students value in an area that they often find to be one of the more difficult parts of
psychology.”
Trevor Harley, Dean and Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Dundee, UK
“This excellent new edition has reinforced my view that this is the best textbook on advanced undergraduate
cognitive psychology available to support student learning. I very much welcome the increase in cognitive
neuroscience elements throughout the chapters.”
Robert H. Logie, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK
“Eysenck and Keane present a fresh look at cutting-edge issues in psychology, at a level that can engage even
beginning students. With the authority of experts well-known in their fields they organize a welter of studies into a
coherent story that is bound to capture everyone’s interest.”
Bruce Bridgeman, Professor of Psychology and Psychobiology, University of California at Santa Cruz, USA
Previous editions have established this as the cognitive psychology textbook of choice, both for its academic rigour
and its accessibility. This substantially updated and revised sixth edition combines traditional approaches with cutting-
edge cognitive neuroscience to create a comprehensive, coherent, and totally up-to-date overview of all the main
fields in cognitive psychology.
New to this edition:
• Increased emphasis on cognitive neuroscience
• A new chapter on cognition and emotion
• A whole chapter on consciousness
• Increased coverage of applied topics such as recovered memories, medical expertise, and informal reasoning
• More focus on individual differences throughout.
Written by leading textbook authors in psychology, this thorough and user-friendly textbook will continue to be
essential reading for all undergraduate students of psychology. Those taking courses in computer science, education,
linguistics, physiology, and medicine will also find it an invaluable resource.
This edition is accompanied by a rich array of online multimedia materials, which will be made available to
qualifying adopters and their students completely free of charge. See inside front cover for more details.
www.psypress.com/ek6
Cognitive Psychology
C O G N I T I V E
P S Y C H O L O G Y
Dedication
To Christine with love
(M.W.E.)
Doubt everything. Find your own light.
(Buddha)
C O G N I T I V E
P S Y C H O L O G Y
A Student’s Handbook
Sixth Edition
M I C H A E L W. E Y S E N C K
Royal Holloway University of London, UK
M A R K T . K E A N E
University College Dublin, Ireland
This edition published 2010
By Psychology Press
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
By Psychology Press
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© 2010 Psychology Press
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
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from the publishers. The publisher makes no representation, express or
implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this
book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors
or omissions that may be made.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Eysenck, Michael W.
Cognitive psychology : a student’s handbook / Michael W. Eysenck, Mark T. Keane.
—6th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84169-540-2 (soft cover)—ISBN 978-1-84169-539-6 (hbk)
1. Cognition—Textbooks. 2. Cognitive psychology—Textbooks. I. Keane,
Mark T., 1961– II. Title.
BF311.E935 2010
153—dc22
2010017103
ISBN: 978-1-84169-539-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-84169-540-2 (pbk)
Typeset in China by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Cover design by Aubergine Design
9781841695402_1_prelims.indd iv9781841695402_1_prelims.indd iv 9/23/10 1:26:48 PM9/23/10 1:26:48 PM
Preface viii
1. Approaches to human cognition 1
Introduction 1
Experimental cognitive psychology 2
Cognitive neuroscience: the brain
in action 5
Cognitive neuropsychology 16
Computational cognitive science 20
Comparison of major approaches 28
Outline of this book 29
Chapter summary 30
Further reading 31
PART I: VISUAL
PERCEPTION AND
ATTENTION 33
2. Basic processes in visual
perception 35
Introduction 35
Brain systems 35
Two visual systems: perception and
action 47
Colour vision 56
Perception without awareness 62
Depth and size perception 68
Chapter summary 77
Further reading 78
3. Object and face recognition 79
Introduction 79
Perceptual organisation 80
Theories of object recognition 85
Cognitive neuroscience approach
to object recognition 92
Cognitive neuropsychology of object
recognition 96
Face recognition 100
Visual imagery 110
Chapter summary 117
Further reading 118
4. Perception, motion,
and action 121
Introduction 121
Direct perception 121
Visually guided action 125
Planning–control model 133
Perception of human motion 137
Change blindness 143
Chapter summary 149
Further reading 150
5. Attention and performance 153
Introduction 153
Focused auditory attention 154
Focused visual attention 158
Disorders of visual attention 170
Visual search 176
Cross-modal effects 182
C O N T E N T S
vi COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: A STUDENT’S HANDBOOK
Divided attention: dual-task
performance 185
Automatic processing 193
Chapter summary 199
Further reading 201
PART II: MEMORY 203
6. Learning, memory, and
forgetting 205
Introduction 205
Architecture of memory 205
Working memory 211
Levels of processing 223
Implicit learning 227
Theories of forgetting 233
Chapter summary 247
Further reading 249
7. Long-term memory systems 251
Introduction 251
Episodic vs. semantic memory 256
Episodic memory 259
Semantic memory 263
Non-declarative memory 272
Beyond declarative and non-declarative
memory: amnesia 278
Long-term memory and the brain 281
Chapter summary 285
Further reading 286
8. Everyday memory 289
Introduction 289
Autobiographical memory 291
Eyewitness testimony 305
Prospective memory 315
Chapter summary 323
Further reading 324
PART III: LANGUAGE 327
Is language innate? 327
Whorfian hypothesis 329
Language chapters 331
9. Reading and speech perception 333
Introduction 333
Reading: introduction 334
Word recognition 336
Reading aloud 340
Reading: eye-movement research 349
Listening to speech 353
Theories of spoken word recognition 360
Cognitive neuropsychology 369
Chapter summary 373
Further reading 374
10. Language comprehension 375
Introduction 375
Parsing 376
Theories of parsing 377
Pragmatics 386
Individual differences: working
memory capacity 391
Discourse processing 394
Story processing 400
Chapter summary 413
Further reading 415
11. Language production 417
Introduction 417
Speech as communication 418
Planning of speech 422
Basic aspects of spoken language 424
Speech errors 426
Theories of speech production 427
Cognitive neuropsychology: speech
production 436
Writing: the main processes 442
Spelling 449
Chapter summary 453
Further reading 455
PART IV:THINKING AND
REASONING 457
12. Problem solving and
expertise 459
Introduction 459
Problem solving 460
Transfer of training and analogical
reasoning 477
Expertise 483
Deliberate practice 492
Chapter summary 496
Further reading 498
CONTENTS vii
13. Judgement and decision
making 499
Introduction 499
Judgement research 499
Decision making 513
Basic decision making 514
Complex decision making 525
Chapter summary 531
Further reading 532
14. Inductive and deductive
reasoning 533
Introduction 533
Inductive reasoning 534
Deductive reasoning 539
Theories of deductive reasoning 546
Brain systems in thinking and
reasoning 553
Informal reasoning 558
Are humans rational? 562
Chapter summary 566
Further reading 568
PART V: BROADENING
HORIZONS 569
Cognition and emotion 569
Consciousness 569
15. Cognition and emotion 571
Introduction 571
Appraisal theories 572
Emotion regulation 577
Multi-level theories 580
Mood and cognition 584
Anxiety, depression, and cognitive
biases 595
Chapter summary 604
Further reading 605
16. Consciousness 607
Introduction 607
Measuring conscious experience 612
Brain areas associated with
consciousness 615
Theories of consciousness 619
Is consciousness unitary? 624
Chapter summary 627
Further reading 628
Glossary 629
References 643
Author index 711
Subject index 733
In the five years since the fifth edition of
this textbook was published, there have been
numerous exciting developments in our under-
standing of human cognition. Of greatest
importance, large numbers of brain-imaging
studies are revolutionising our knowledge
rather than just providing us with pretty
coloured pictures of the brain in action. As a
consequence, the leading contemporary approach
to human cognition involves studying the brain
as well as behaviour. We have used the term
“cognitive psychology” in the title of this book
to refer to this approach, which forms the basis
for our coverage of human cognition. Note,
however, that the term “cognitive neuroscience”
is often used to describe this approach.
The approaches to human cognition covered
in this book are more varied than has been
suggested so far. For example, one approach
involves mainly laboratory studies on healthy
individuals, and another approach (cognitive
neuropsychology) involves focusing on the
effects of brain damage on cognition. There is
also computational cognitive science, which
involves developing computational models of
human cognition.
We have done our level best in this book
to identify and discuss the most significant
research and theorising stemming from the above
approaches and to integrate all of this informa-
tion. Whether we have succeeded is up to our
readers to decide. As was the case with previous
editions of this textbook, both authors have
had to work hard to keep pace with developments
in theory and research. For example, the first
author wrote parts of the book in far-flung places
including Macau, Iceland, Istanbul, Hong Kong,
Southern India, and the Dominican Republic.
Sadly, there have been several occasions on
which book writing has had to take precedence
over sightseeing!
I (Michael Eysenck) would like to express
my continuing profound gratitude to my wife
Christine, to whom this book (in common with
the previous three editions) is appropriately
dedicated. What she and our three children (Fleur,
William, and Juliet) have added to my life is
too immense to be captured by mere words.
I (Mark Keane) would like to thank everyone
at the Psychology Press for their extremely friendly
and efficient contributions to the production
of this book, including Mike Forster, Lucy
Kennedy, Tara Stebnicky, Sharla Plant, Mandy
Collison, and Becci Edmondson.
We would also like to thank Tony Ward,
Alejandro Lleras, Elizabeth Styles, Nazanin
Derakhshan, Elizabeth Kensinger, Mick Power,
Max Velmans, William Banks, Bruce Bridgeman,
Annukka Lindell, Alan Kennedy, Trevor Harley,
Nick Lund, Keith Rayner, Gill Cohen, Bob
Logie, Patrick Dolan, Michael Doherty, David
Lagnado, Ken Gilhooly, Ken Manktelow, Charles
L. Folk who commented on various chapters.
Their comments proved extremely useful when
it came to the business of revising the first draft
of the entire manuscript.
Michael Eysenck and Mark Keane
P R E F A C E
between cognitive psychology and cognitive
neuroscience is often blurred – the term “cognitive
psychology” can be used in a broader sense to
include cognitive neuroscience. Indeed, it is in
that broader sense that it is used in the title of
this book.
There are several ways in which cognitive
neuroscientists explore human cognition. First,
there are brain-imaging techniques, of which
PET (positron emission tomography) and fMRI
(functional magnetic resonance imaging) (both
discussed in detail later) are probably the best
known. Second, there are electrophysiological
techniques involving the recording of electrical
INTRODUCTION
Wearenowseveralyearsintothethirdmillennium,
and there is more interest than ever in unravelling
the mysteries of the human brain and mind.
This interest is reflected in the recent upsurge
of scientific research within cognitive psychology
and cognitive neuroscience. We will start with
cognitive psychology. It is concerned with the
internal processes involved in making sense
of the environment, and deciding what action
might be appropriate. These processes include
attention, perception, learning, memory, language,
problem solving, reasoning, and thinking. We
can define cognitive psychology as involving
the attempt to understand human cognition by
observing the behaviour of people performing
various cognitive tasks.
The aims of cognitive neuroscientists are
often similar to those of cognitive psychologists.
However, there is one important difference –
cognitive neuroscientists argue convincingly
that we need to study the brain as well as
behaviour while people engage in cognitive
tasks. After all, the internal processes involved
in human cognition occur in the brain, and we
have increasingly sophisticated ways of studying
the brain in action. We can define cognitive
neuroscience as involving the attempt to use
information about behaviour and about the
brain to understand human cognition. As is well
known, cognitive neuroscientists use brain-
imaging techniques. Note that the distinction
C H A P T E R 1
A P P R O A C H E S T O H U M A N
C O G N I T I O N
cognitive psychology: an approach that aims
to understand human cognition by the study of
behaviour.
cognitive neuroscience: an approach that
aims to understand human cognition by
combining information from behaviour and the
brain.
positron emission tomography (PET): a
brain-scanning technique based on the detection
of positrons; it has reasonable spatial resolution
but poor temporal resolution.
functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI): a technique based on imaging blood
oxygenation using an MRI machine; it provides
information about the location and time course
of brain processes.
KEY TERMS
2 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: A STUDENT’S HANDBOOK
these approaches is discussed throughout the
rest of this book. We will shortly discuss each of
these approaches in turn, and you will probably
find it useful to refer back to this chapter when
reading other chapters. You may find the box
on page 28 especially useful, because it provides
a brief summary of the strengths and limitations
of all four approaches.
EXPERIMENTAL
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
It is almost as pointless to ask, “When did
cognitive psychology start?” as to inquire,
“How long is a piece of string?” However,
the year 1956 was of crucial importance. At
a meeting at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Noam Chomsky gave a paper on
his theory of language, George Miller discussed
the magic number seven in short-term memory
(Miller, 1956), and Newell and Simon discussed
their extremely influential model called the
General Problem Solver (see Newell, Shaw, &
Simon, 1958). In addition, there was the first
systematic attempt to study concept formation
from a cognitive perspective (Bruner, Goodnow,
& Austin, 1956).
At one time, most cognitive psycholo-
gists subscribed to the information-processing
approach. A version of this approach popular
in the 1970s is shown in Figure 1.1. According
to this version, a stimulus (an environmental
event such as a problem or a task) is presented.
This stimulus causes certain internal cognitive
processes to occur, and these processes finally
produce the desired response or answer. Processing
directly affected by the stimulus input is often
described as bottom-up processing. It was
typically assumed that only one process occurs
signals generated by the brain (also discussed
later). Third, many cognitive neuroscientists
study the effects of brain damage on human
cognition. It is assumed that the patterns of
cognitive impairment shown by brain-damaged
patients can tell us much about normal cognitive
functioning and about the brain areas responsible
for different cognitive processes.
The huge increase in scientific interest in the
workings of the brain is mirrored in the popular
media – numerous books, films, and television
programmes have been devoted to the more
accessible and/or dramatic aspects of cognitive
neuroscience. Increasingly, media coverage
includes coloured pictures of the brain, showing
clearly which parts of the brain are most activated
when people perform various tasks.
There are four main approaches to human
cognition (see the box below). Bear in mind,
however, that researchers increasingly combine
two or even more of these approaches. A
considerable amount of research involving
Approaches to human cognition
1. Experimental cognitive psychology: this
approach involves trying to understand human
cognition by using behavioural evidence.
Since behavioural data are of great impor-
tance within cognitive neuroscience and
cognitive neuropsychology, the influence
of cognitive psychology is enormous.
2. Cognitive neuroscience:this approach involves
using evidence from behaviour and from
the brain to understand human cognition.
3. Cognitive neuropsychology: this approach
involves studying brain-damaged patients
as a way of understanding normal human
cognition.It was originally closely linked to
cognitive psychology but has recently also
become linked to cognitive neuroscience.
4. Computational cognitive science:this approach
involves developing computational models
to further our understanding of human
cognition; such models increasingly take
account of our knowledge of behaviour
and the brain.
bottom-up processing: processing that is
directly influenced by environmental stimuli; see
top-down processing.
KEY TERM
1 APPROACHES TO HUMAN COGNITION 3
phrase (i.e., top-down processing) dominated
the information actually available from the
stimulus (i.e., bottom-up processing).
The traditional approach was also over-
simplified in assuming that processing is
typically serial. In fact, there are numerous
situations in which some (or all) of the processes
involved in a cognitive task occur at the same
time – this is known as parallel processing. It
is often hard to know whether processing on
a given task is serial or parallel. However, we
are much more likely to use parallel processing
when performing a task on which we are highly
practised than one we are just starting to learn
(see Chapter 5). For example, someone taking
their first driving lesson finds it almost impossible
to change gear, to steer accurately, and to pay
attention to other road users at the same time.
In contrast, an experienced driver finds it easy
and can even hold a conversation as well.
For many years, n...