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The Future History of the Ape Language Controversy. Cambridge: MIT
Press. A personal look by one of the leading figures in primate communication into the major
issues surrounding the ape language controversy.
Reed, S. (1997). Cognition: Theory and Applications (4th ed.). Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Provides an overview of the major theories and experimental findings in the field of cognitive
psychology.
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
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CHAPTER 9: COGNITIVE PROCESSES
DISCOVERING PSYCHOLOGY
PROGRAM 10: COGNITIVE PROCESSES
Overview
An exploration into the higher mental processes—reasoning, planning, and problem solving—
and why the cognitive revolution is attracting such diverse investigators, from philosophers to
computer scientists.
Key Issues
The impact of the computer on the study of cognitive psychology, computers that think like
human beings, the parts of the brain used in reading, how human beings organize and
categorize concepts, and how the human mind and computers think alike.
Demonstration
Analysis of cerebral blood flow during cognitive tasks.
Interviews
Leading cognitive psychologist Howard Gardner discusses the impact of the computer on the
study of cognitive psychology.
Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon discusses his work on producing a computer that thinks
and solves problems like a human.
Michael Posner uses brain-imaging techniques to explore what parts of the brain are used
during reading.
Robert Glaser examines why some individuals have not developed basic skills in various types
of learning while others have developed high levels of comprehension.
PROGRAM 11: JUDGMENT AND DECISION MAKING
Overview
A look at the process of making judgments and decisions, how and why people make good and
bad judgments, and the psychology of risk taking.
Key Issues
The relationship between judgment and decision making, groupthink exhibited in The Bay of
Pigs cabinet meetings, Cognitive Dissonance theory and experiments, and good versus poor
negotiating techniques
Archival Demonstrations
Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman use “person in the street” respondents to illustrate
fallacies of human intuition.
Training program to improve decision making.
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
Classic early dissonance experiment by Festinger and Carlsmith.
Interviews
Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman examine the relationship between decision making and
the principles of availability, reasoning by similarity, anchoring effect, and risk aversion.
Psychologist Irving Janis discusses his study on the impact of groupthink on the Kennedy
administration’s decision to implement The Bay of Pigs operation.
Max Bazerman examines good and bad negotiating techniques.
Psychologist Leon Festinger examines how people come to love the things for which they suffer.
FILMS AND VIDEOS
Age of Intelligent Machines (1987). IU (AIMS), 29 minutes
Examines the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and expert systems. Looks at how a new
generation of machines can perform functions once thought impossible, such as diagnose illnesses,
create original art, and navigate jets. Explains that one of the major goals of AI research is to learn
how the human brain works and to duplicate the human ability to use judgment. Features
contributions by many leading researchers.
Can We Talk to the Animals?