Chapter 6

A Transition in Modern Cognitivism: Hebb, Tolman, and the Gestaltists

Chapter Outline

Modified: 2008-06-11

• I. This Chapter
• II. Hebb's Theory: Higher Mental Processes: Or, thinking
  • A. Higher Mental Processes: Between Stimulus and Response
    • Processes that link stimuli and responses, often over long periods
    • Known inferentially, not directly
    • It might be scientifically useful to consider mental states
    • Hebb's mediational constructs have a physiological basis
  • B. The Physiology of Learning
    • Pseudobehavioristic theory
    • Mental processes intervene between stimulus and response
  • C. Functioning of the Central Nervous System
    • Neurons
    • Nerves
    • Neural transmission
    • Neurotransmitters
    • Synapses
  • D. Hebb's Neurophysiological Assumptions
    • Repeated transmission leads to permanent facilitation (e.g., definition of learning)
    • Cell assemblies: groups of cells that fire together
    • Phase sequences: collections of cell assemblies
  • E. Neurological Changes Underlying Learning
    • Aplysia (sea slug) graphic
      • Habituation
      • Sensitization
      • Eric Kandel's Nobel Prize (2000)
  • F. The Neurology of Reactivity and Plasticity
    • Reactivity: react to external stimuli
    • Plasticity: change with repeated stimulation (learning)
    • Hebb Rule: long term potentiation and long term depression have a physiological basis
  • G. Mediating Processes: Hypotheses and Assumptions
    • 1. Basic Hypothesis: Thinking consists of cell assembly activity or phase sequence activity
    • 2. Assumption 1
      • Cell assemblies form with repetition
    • 3. Assumption 2
      • Cell assemblies firing at the same time will become associated (contiguity)
    • 4. Assumption 3
      • Active cell assemblies will form associations with active efferent pathways (Pavlovian conditioning)
    • 5. Assumption 4
      • Cell assemblies are linked to simple sensory inputs, large groups of cell assemblies working together explain perception
  • H. Learning and Thinking in Hebb's Theory
    • Mediation = Thinking
    • Activated area of cortex determines thinking
    • Learning = permanent facilitation of neural conduction
    • Higher learning = combination of phase sequences
  • I. Set and Attention
    • Set: selectivity among responses
    • Attention: selectivity among inputs
  • J. Educational Applications of Hebb's Theory
    • Arousal is related to set and attention
    • Optimality and arousal
  • K. Hebb's Theory: An Appraisal
    • Transition from behaviorism to cognitivism
    • Physiology of learning
    • Arousal theory
    • Sensory deprivation image
    • Hebb Rule
• III. From Behaviorism to Cognitivism
• IV. Mechanistic Behaviorism
• V. Tolman's Purposive Behaviorism: S-S theory
  • A. Do Rats Have Purpose?
    • 1. The Blocked Path Study Tolman and Honzik (1930)
      • Compare to Hull's habit family hierarchy
    • 2. An Expectation Study (Tinklepaugh, 1928)
      • Substitute lettuce for banana, monkey is upset
    • 3. A Place Learning Study
      • Tolman, Ritchie, and Kalish (1946)
        • Direction of reinforcer, not of of original (and then blocked) response
      • Macfarlane (1930)
        • Rats wading then swimming and vice-versa
    • 4. A Latent Learning Experiment
      • Three groups: fed, not fed, switched from not fed to fed
      • Graphic
      • What happens?
  • B. Educational Implications and Summary Principles of Tolman's System
    • 1. Behavior is Purposive: goal directed
    • 2. Behavior is Cognitive: expectations are cognitions
    • 3. Reinforcement Establishes and confirms Expectancies: reinforcements only confirm expectations
    • 4. A Theory of Purposive Behaviorism is Molar, not Reductionist: We learn bigger responses
    • 5. Signs and Expectancies (back to the light switch)
    • 6. Chaining-explains complex behaviors
    • 7. Cognitive Maps and Isomorphism (from Gestalt Psychology)
    • 8. Inferences-couples?
  • C. Tolman's Purposive Behaviorism: An Appraisal
    • "Grandfather" of cognitive psychology
    • more of a critic than a provider of an alternative theory
• VI. Gestalt Psychology: Basic Beliefs
  • Problem solving in apes: Kohler
  • A. Insight Versus Trial and Error in Ape Learning Famous Chimps
    • Ape and banana problem
    • Ape and stick problem
  • B. Gestalt Means "Whole"
    • Easily perceptible whole
  • C. Gestalt Theory: The Laws of Perception
    • 1. Prägnanz: Good Form (best solution to percept or learning)
    • 2. Principle of Closure
    • 3. Principle of Continuity1 Continuity2
    • 4. Principle of Similarity
    • 5. Principle of Proximity
  • D. Gestalt Views of Learning and Memory: formation of memory traces
    • 1. Leveling: making things symmetrical or dampnening it
    • 2. Sharpening: focusing on the peculiar aspects of an object (e.g., caricatures)
    • 3. Normalizing: re-representing a stimulus to a more familiar form
  • E. Beyond Perception: The Behavioral Field
    • 1. The Lake of Constance: who knew?
    • 2. The Behavioral Field: the environment depends on the perception
    • 3. Appearance Versus Reality: I see the bird... (show ppt)
  • F. Gestalt Psychology and Contemporary Cognitivism
    • Beginning of modern cognitive psychology
    • Topics: problem solving, decision making, information processing, and understanding
    • (all future topics in this course!)
  • G. Educational Implications of Gestalt Psychology
    • Rejects trial and error
    • Rejects reductionism
    • Response set is a problem

• Solution
• Constructivism-learner centered
• Direct teaching-teacher centered
• H. Gestalt Psychology: An Appraisal
  • Vague theories but led to much research and application
• VII. Metaphors in Psychology Conceptual Metaphors
  • A. Metaphors in Behaviorism
    • robots
    • cognitive maps
    • expectancies
    • evolution
  • B. Metaphors in Cognitivism
    • operations
    • memory
    • networks
• VIII. Summary

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