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7th Edition
Cognitive Psychology
ROBERT J. KARIN
STERNBERG STERNBERG
Cornell University Cornell University
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Cognitive Psychology, Seventh Edition © 201 7, 2014 Cengage Learning
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Karin Sternberg
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Contents in Brief
1 Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

C H A P T E R
2 Cognitive Neuroscience 35
3 Visual Perception 71
4 Attention and Consciousness 117
5 Memory: Models and Research Methods 159

6 Memory Processes 203
7 Mental Images and Propositions 245
8 The Organization of Knowledge in the Mind 291

9 Language 329
10 Language in Context 367
11 Problem Solving and Creativity 399
12 Decision Making and Reasoning 439
13 Human Intelligence 479
Glossary 517
References 525
Name Index 579
Subject Index 589
Contents
CHAPTER 1
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology 1
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Now You See It, Now You Don’t! 2
Cognitive Psychology Defined 3
Philosophical Origins of Psychology: Rationalism versus Empiricism 5
Psychological Origins of Cognitive Psychology 7
Early Dialectics in the Psychology of Cognition 7
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Pragmatism 10
It’s Only What You Can See That Counts: From Associationism to Behaviorism 11
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Scientific Progress!? 13
The Whole Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts: Gestalt Psychology 14
Emergence of Cognitive Psychology 14
Early Role of Cognitive Neuroscience 14
Add a Dash of Technology: Engineering, Computation, and Applied
Cognitive Psychology 15
Research Methods in Cognitive Psychology 17
Goals of Research 17
Distinctive Research Methods 19
n In the Lab of Henry L. Roediger, III 22
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Self-Reports 27
Fundamental Ideas in Cognitive Psychology 28
Key Themes in Cognitive Psychology 30
Summary 31
Thinking about Thinking: Analytical, Creative, and Practical Questions 33
Key Terms 33
vi
Contents vii
CHAPTER 2
Cognitive Neuroscience 35
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Does Your Brain Use Less Power Than
Your Desk Lamp? 36
Cognition in the Brain: The Anatomy and Mechanisms of the Brain 37
Gross Anatomy of the Brain: Forebrain, Midbrain, and Hindbrain 37
n In the Lab of Martha Farah 43
Cerebral Cortex and Localization of Function 44
Neuronal Structure and Function 51
Viewing the Structures and Functions of the Brain 54
Postmortem Studies 54
Studying Live Nonhuman Animals 55
Studying Live Humans 55
Brain Disorders 65
Stroke 65
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Brain Surgery Can Be Performed While You Are
Awake! 66
Brain Tumors 66
Head Injuries 66
Key Themes 67
Summary 68
Key Terms 70
Media Resources 70
CHAPTER 3
Visual Perception 71
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: If You Encountered Tyrannosaurus Rex, Would
Standing Still Save You? 72
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Perception 73
From Sensation to Perception 73
Some Basic Concepts of Perception 75
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: The Ganzfeld Effect 76
Seeing Things That Aren’t There, or Are They? 77
How Does Our Visual System Work? 78
Pathways to Perceive the What and the Where 80
Approaches to Perception: How Do We Make Sense of What We See? 81
Bottom-Up Theories 82
Top-Down Theories 91
How Do Bottom-Up Theories and Top-Down Theories Go Together? 94
viii Contents
n In the Lab of Marvin Chun 95

Perception of Objects and Forms 96
Viewer-Centered versus Object-Centered Perception 96
The Perception of Groups—Gestalt Laws 97
Recognizing Patterns and Faces 100
n BELIEVEIT OR NOT: Do Two Different Faces Ever Look The Same
to You? 103
The Environment Helps You See 104
Perceptual Constancies 104
Depth Perception 106
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Depth Cues in
Photography 106
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Binocular Depth Cues 109
Deficits in Perception 110
Agnosias and Ataxias 110
Anomalies in Color Perception 112
Why Does It Matter? Perception in Practice 113
Key Themes 114
Summary 114
Key Terms 116
Media Resources 116
CHAPTER 4
Attention and Consciousness 117
n BELIEVEIT OR NOT: Does Paying Attention Enable You to Make
Better Decisions? 118
The Nature of Attention and Consciousness 119
Attention 120
Attending to Signals over the Short and Long Terms 121
Search: Actively Looking 123
Selective Attention 127
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Attenuation Model 130
n In the Lab of John F. Kihlstrom 132
Divided Attention 133
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Dividing Your Attention 134
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Are You Productive When You’re Multitasking? 135
Factors That Influence Our Ability to Pay Attention 138
Neuroscience and Attention: A Network Model 139
When Our Attention Fails Us 139
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 140
Change Blindness and Inattentional Blindness 141
Spatial Neglect—One Half of the World Goes Amiss 142
Contents ix
Automatic and Controlled Processes in Attention 143

Automatic and Controlled Processes 143
How Does Automatization Occur? 145
Automatization in Everyday Life 146
Mistakes We Make in Automatic Processes 148
Consciousness 149
The Consciousness of Mental Processes 150
Preconscious Processing 150
Key Themes 154
Summary 154
Key Terms 156
Media Resources 157
CHAPTER 5
Memory: Models and Research Methods 159
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Memory Problems? How about Flying Less? 160
Tasks Used for Measuring Memory 161
Recall versus Recognition Tasks 161
Implicit versus Explicit Memory Tasks 164
Two Contrasting Models of Memory 166
Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Multistore Model 166
The Levels-of-Processing Model 173
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Levels of Processing 175
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Elaboration Strategies 176
Working Memory: An Integrative Model 176
The Components of Working Memory 177
Neuroscience and Working Memory 180
Measuring Working Memory 183
Other Models of Memory 184
Multiple Memory Systems 184
n In the Lab of Marcia K. Johnson 186
A Connectionist Perspective 187
Exceptional Memory and Neuropsychology 190
Outstanding Memory: Mnemonists 190
Deficient Memory 192
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: You Can Be a Memory Champion, Too! 193
Key Themes 199
Summary 199
Key Terms 201
Media Resources 201
x Contents
CHAPTER 6
Memory Processes 203
n BelieveIt or Not: There’s a Reason You Remember Those
Annoying Songs 204
Encoding and Transfer of Information 205
Forms of Encoding 205
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Memory Strategies 214
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Test Your Short-Term Memory 215
Neuroscience: How Are Memories Stored? 216
Retrieval 219
Retrieval from Short-Term Memory 219
Retrieval from Long-Term Memory 221
Processes of Forgetting and Memory Distortion 222
Interference Theory 222
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Can You Recall Bartlett’s Legend? 225
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: The Serial-Position Curve 226
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Primacy and Recency Effects 226
Decay Theory 226
The Constructive Nature of Memory 228
Autobiographical Memory 228
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Caught in the Past!? 231
Memory Distortions 231
n In the Lab of Elizabeth Loftus 235
The Effect of Context on Memory 238
Key Themes 241
Summary 241
Key Terms 243
Media Resources 244
CHAPTER 7
Mental Images and Propositions 245
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: City Maps of Music for the Blind 246
Mental Representation of Knowledge 247
Communicating Knowledge: Pictures versus Words 248
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Representations in Pictures and
Words 250
Pictures in Your Mind: Mental Imagery 250
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Analogical and Symbolic Representations
of Cats 251
Contents xi
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Can Your Brain Store Images of

Your Face? 252
Dual-Code Theory: Images and Symbols 253
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Dual Coding 254
n In the Lab of Doug Medin 255
Storing Knowledge as Abstract Concepts: Propositional Theory 255
Do Propositional Theory and Imagery Hold Up to Their Promises? 257
Mental Manipulations of Images 261
Principles of Visual Imagery 261
Neuroscience and Functional Equivalence 261
Mental Rotations 263
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Try Your Skills at Mental Rotation 265
Zooming in on Mental Images: Image Scaling 267
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Image Scaling 268
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Image Scanning 269
Examining Objects: Image Scanning 270
Representational Neglect 271
Synthesizing Images and Propositions 272
Do Experimenters’ Expectations Influence Experiment Outcomes? 272
Johnson-Laird’s Mental Models 273
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Dual Codes 275
Neuroscience: Evidence for Multiple Codes 276
Spatial Cognition and Cognitive Maps 279
Of Rats, Bees, Pigeons, and Humans 280
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Memory Test? Don’t Compete with Chimpanzees! 282
Rules of Thumb for Using Our Mental Maps: Heuristics 282
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Mental Maps 285
Creating Maps from What You Hear: Text Maps 286
Key Themes 287
Summary 287
Key Terms 290
Media Resources 290
CHAPTER 8
The Organization of Knowledge in the Mind 291
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: The Savant in All of Us 292
Declarative versus Procedural Knowledge 293
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Testing Your Declarative and Procedural
Knowledge 293
Organization of Declarative Knowledge 294
Concepts and Categories 295
xii Contents
n Believe It or Not: Some Numbers Are Odd, and Some Are Odder 301
Semantic-Network Models 304
Schematic Representations 307
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Scripts—The Doctor 309
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Scripts in Your
Everyday Life 311
Representations of How We Do Things: Procedural Knowledge 312
The “Production” of Procedural Knowledge 312
Nondeclarative Knowledge 313
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Procedural Knowledge 314
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Priming 315
Integrative Models for Representing Declarative and Nondeclarative Knowledge 315
Combining Representations: ACT-R 316
Parallel Processing: The Connectionist Model 319
n In the Lab of James L. McClelland 323
How Domain General or Domain Specific Is Cognition? 325
Key Themes 326
Summary 327
Key Terms 328
Media Resources 328
CHAPTER 9
Language 329
n Believe It or Not: Do the Chinese Think about Numbers Differently
Than Americans? 330
What Is Language? 331
Properties of Language 331
The Basic Components of Words and Sentences 334
Language Comprehension 336
Understanding Words 336
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Understanding Schemas 340
Understanding Meaning: Semantics 341
n Believe It or Not: Can It Really Be Hard to Stop Cursing? 342
Understanding Sentences: Syntax 343
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Your Sense of Grammar 344
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Syntax 347
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Speaking with Non-Native
English Speakers 349
n In the Lab of Steven Pinker 350
Contents xiii
Reading 351
Perceptual Issues in Reading 351
Lexical Processes in Reading 352
Teaching How to Read 355
When Reading Is a Problem—Dyslexia 356
Understanding Conversations and Essays: Discourse 356
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Discourse 357
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Deciphering Text 357

n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Effects of Expectations in Reading 358
Comprehending Known Words: Retrieving Word Meaning from Memory 358
Comprehending Unknown Words: Deriving Word Meanings from Context 359
Comprehending Ideas: Propositional Representations 360
Comprehending Text Based on Context and Point of View 360
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Using Redundancy to Decipher Cryptic
Text 361
Representing Text in Mental Models 361
Key Themes 363
Summary 363
Key Terms 365
Media Resources 365
CHAPTER 10
Language in Context 367
B ELIEVE
n IT OR NOT: Is It Possible to Count without Words for
Numbers? 368
Language and Thought 369
Differences among Languages 369
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Do You See Colors to Your Left Differently Than Colors
to Your Right? 373
n In the Lab of Keith Rayner 375
Bilingualism and Dialects 376
Slips of the Tongue 382
Metaphorical Language 383
Language in a Social Context 384
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Language in Different Contexts 385
Characteristics of Successful Conversations 386
Gender and Language 387
Do Animals Have Language? 388
xiv Contents
Neuropsychology of Language 391

Brain Structures Involved in Language 391
Aphasia 394
Autism Spectrum Disorder 395
Key Themes 395
Summary 396
Key Terms 398
CHAPTER 11
Problem Solving and Creativity 399
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Can Novices Have an Advantage over Experts? 400
The Problem-Solving Cycle 401
Types of Problems 403
Well-Structured Problems 403
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Move Problems 404
Ill-Structured Problems and the Role of Insight 409
Obstacles and Aids to Problem Solving 414
Mental Sets, Entrenchment, and Fixation 415
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Luchins’s Water-Jar Problems 415
Negative and Positive Transfer 417
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Problems Involving Transfer 417
Incubation 420
Embodied Cognition and Problem Solving 420
Neuroscience and Planning during Problem Solving 421
Expertise: Knowledge and Problem Solving 422
Organization of Knowledge 422
n In the Lab of K. Anders Ericsson 426
Long-Term Working Memory and Expertise 429
Innate Talent and Acquired Skill 430
Creativity 431
Characteristics of Creative People 432
n BELIEVE IT OR NOT: When Will You Do Your Best Work? 434
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Creativity in Problem Solving 435
Neuroscience and Creativity 435
Key Themes 436
Summary 436
Key Terms 438
Media Resources 438
Contents xv
CHAPTER 12
Decision Making and Reasoning 439
n Believe It or Not: Can a Simple Rule of Thumb Outsmart a Nobel
Laureate’s Investment Strategy? 440
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: The Conjunction Fallacy 440
Judgment and Decision Making 441
Classical Decision Theory 441
Heuristics and Biases 442
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Framing Effects 449
Fallacies 451
Gambler’s Fallacy and the Hot Hand 451
Conjunction Fallacy 452
Do Heuristics Help Us or Lead Us Astray? 453
Opportunity Costs 454
Naturalistic Decision Making 454
Group Decision Making 455
n In the Lab of Gerd Gigerenzer 455
Neuroscience of Decision Making 457
Deductive Reasoning 459
What Is Deductive Reasoning? 459
Conditional Reasoning 459
Syllogistic Reasoning: Categorical Syllogisms 465
Aids and Obstacles to Deductive Reasoning 468
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Improving Your Deductive
Reasoning Skills 469
Inductive Reasoning 469
What Is Inductive Reasoning? 469
Causal Inferences 470
Categorical Inferences 471
Reasoning by Analogy 471
An Alternative View of Reasoning 472
Neuroscience of Reasoning 473
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: When There Is No “Right” Choice 474
Key Themes 475
Summary 476
Key Terms 478
Media Resources 478
xvi Contents
CHAPTER 13
Human Intelligence 479
n Believe It or Not: Can Our Expectations Really Affect Our
Cognitive Performance? 480
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Intelligence 481
Measures and Structures of Intelligence 483
Spearman: The “g” Factor 486
Thurstone: Primary Mental Abilities 489
Cattell, Vernon, and Carroll: Hierarchical Models 489
Information Processing and Intelligence 490
Process-Timing Theories 490
Working Memory 492
Componential Theory and Complex Problem Solving 492
n In the Lab of Ian Deary 494
Biological Bases of Intelligence 495
Alternative Approaches to Intelligence 497
Cultural Context and Intelligence 497
Gardner: Multiple Intelligences 501
Sternberg: The Triarchic Theory 502
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Intelligence and Culture 505
Improving Intelligence: Effective, Ineffective, and Questionable Strategies 505
Improving Children’s Intelligence 505
n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Teaching Intelligence 506
Development of Intelligence in Adults 507
Artificial Intelligence: Computer Simulations 510
Can a Computer Program Be “Intelligent”? 510
Applications of Artificial Intelligence 511
Intelligence versus the Appearance of Intelligence 511
n Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology: Cognitive Styles 512
Key Themes 512
Summary 513
Thinking about Thinking: Factual, Analytical, Creative, and Practical Questions 514
Key Terms 515
Glossary 517
References 525
Name Index 579
Subject Index 589
Preface
To the Instructor
Welcome to the seventh edition of Cognitive Psychology. As you have likely noticed, this
new edition is now published in four-color print. This greatly enhances the visual appeal
of the book and also allows for a whole new level of detail in the images of the book.
Most of the images in the book have been replaced or reworked to function even better
as learning aids.
A major focus of this revision was the readability and understandability of the text.
We have rewritten and modified many sections and have deleted or shortened a number
of tables that were long.
In the following sections, we will outline the changes we made to give you an over-
view of this new edition.
Please also note the section on ancillaries. These materials have been developed
to assist you in teaching your cognitive psychology class. A number of resources are
available, which are listed in the following sections. We have included additional Inter-
net addresses to the resources interest to students, including virtual tours of a magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) machine, a story about a snowboarder with a traumatic brain
injury, and visual description of how to use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMI) for
the treatment of depression.
Goals of this Book

Cognitive psychologists study a wide range of psychological phenomena, such as per-
ception, learning, memory, and thinking. In addition, cognitive psychologists study
seemingly less cognitively oriented phenomena, such as emotion and motivation. In
fact, almost any topic of psychological interest may be studied from a cognitive perspec-
tive. In this textbook, we describe some of the preliminary answers to questions asked
by researchers in the main areas of cognitive psychology. The goals of this book are to
accomplish the following:
• present the field of cognitive psychology in a comprehensive but engaging manner;
• integrate the presentation of the field under the general banner of human
intelligence; and
• interweave throughout the text key themes and key ideas that permeate
cognitive psychology.
Mission in Revising the Text

When revising the book, we had a number of goals that guided us through the revision,
such as the following:
• make the text more accessible and understandable;
• make cognitive psychology more fascinating and less intimidating; xvii
xviii Preface
• better integrate coverage of cognitive neuroscience in each chapter; and

• develop appealing images, illustrations, and tables.
Major Organizing and Special

Pedagogical Features
Several of the features that characterize this textbook are as follows:
• “Believe It or Not” boxes that present incredible and exciting information and
facts from the world of cognitive psychology.
• “Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology” boxes that help students think
about applications of cognitive psychology in their own lives.
• “Investigating Cognitive Psychology” boxes that present mini-experiments and
tasks that students can complete on their own.
• “Neuroscience and . . . ” features included in at least one section per chapter to
highlight the presentation of neuroscientific material.
• Concept checks after each major section to help students quickly check their
comprehension of the material.
New to the Seventh Edition

Following is an overview of what changes you generally can expect in this edition
followed by details of what was changed in each chapter:
• All In-the-Lab boxes were revised and two are completely new: Chapter 7, In the
Lab of Doug Medin and Chapter 13, In the Lab of Ian Deary.
• By popular demand, the content on human and artificial intelligence has been
removed from the 12 chapters and is now presented again in a separate chapter
at the end of the book (Chapter 13, Human Intelligence).
• The book is now printed in four colors.
• Almost all figures and images have been replaced, revised, or adjusted.
• The language has been reviewed and many sections changed or rewritten to
facilitate reading comprehension.
• We have added fun new websites to the instructor’s manual and companion
website to encourage readers to delve deeper into some matters, like stories
on traumatic brain damage, a virtual tour of an MRI, and the story of famous
neurologic patient H. M.
• The entire text has been rigorously updated.
And finally, here are the detailed changes for each chapter:
Chapter 1
• Rewrote the definition of heuristics and parts of Cognitive Psychology Defined
to facilitate comprehension
• Added a figure about the roots of cognitive psychology
• Updated sections on early dialectics in the psychology of cognition, structural-
ism, associationism, and behaviorism
• Added a new figure on the cycle of research
Preface xix
• Revised the section on experiments to facilitate comprehension

• Edited the Key Themes in Cognitive Psychology section
Chapter 2
• Updated the section on anatomy of the brain: forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain
• Updated section on cerebral cortex and reorganized information on the four
lobes to facilitate comprehension
• Updated the sections on studying live nonhuman animals, metabolic imaging,
and head injuries
• Added new description of new imaging techniques, including a combination of
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography
(MEG), functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD), and near-infrared
spectroscopy (NIRS)
Chapter 3
• Updated the introduction to clarify the difference between sensation and
perception
• Updated the section on the what and where pathways
• Extended the explanation on Selfridge’s feature-matching model to facilitate
comprehension
• Updated the section on physiology of the eye to facilitate comprehension
• Updated the section on feature matching theories
• Add a new section on CAPTCHAs (Completely Automated Public Turing Test
to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) to illustrate template theories
• Updated the sections on geons, viewer-dependent versus object-dependent rep-
resentation, prosopagnosia, size constancy, shape constancy, and optic ataxia
• Added a new section on recognition of emotions in faces in people with schizo-
phrenia to the section on face perception
• Updated the section on perception in practice
Chapter 4
• Updated the section on the nature of attention and consciousness
• Reorganized and streamlined Table 4.1 on the four main functions of attention
• Updated, shortened, and rewrote the section on search to facilitate
comprehension
• Revised the section on selective attention
• Reorganized and revised the section on divided attention
• Added new research about cell phone use or texting and driving to the section
on divided attention
• Updated the section on spatial neglect
• Updated the section on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Extended the figure caption for Treisman’s and Broadbent’s model to facilitate
comprehension
xx Preface
Chapter 5
• Restructured Table 5.1 on tasks for measuring memory
• Enhanced coverage of working memory
• Added new sections on alternative models of working memory, neuroscience of
working memory, and amnesia research to support distinction between short-
term and long-term memory
• Added research on bilingualism to the section on central executive, on how
memories are stored, and on formation of new synapses or loss of synapses and
brain oscillations
Chapter 6
• Revised discussion of short-term storage
• Revised discussion of Roediger’s study on mnemonic devices
• Revised the section on mnemonic devices
• Updated coverage of retrieval from short-term memory
• Added new coverage of connection between encoding specificity and levels
of processing approach, as well as brain research to the section on memory
consolidation
• Added new research on encoding specificity, reality monitoring and
autobiographical memory, sleep and memory consolidation, mnemonic devices,
interference theory, and flashbulb memory
Chapter 7
• Redesigned Table 7.1 on propositional representations to facilitate
comprehension
• Added a new section to mental maps section
• Added an all-new discussion of neuroscience and functional equivalence
• Updated and expanded the sections on neuroscience and mental rotation,
gender differences in mental rotation, and image scanning
• Added a discussion of research on border bias to the section on cognitive maps
Chapter 8
• Clarified the difference between concepts and categories
• Clarified difference between prototypes and exemplars
• Added family resemblance to the section on categorization
• Expanded the explanation of concepts
• Updated the sections on essentialism, network models, schemas and scripts,
typicality effect, adaptive control of thought–rational (ACT-R), and parallel
distributed processing (PDP)
• Added boundary extension to the section about schemas
• Enhanced the discussion of the differences between connectionist and network
representations and their differences with respect to learning
Preface xxi
Chapter 9
• Updated sections on properties of language, number of spoken languages in the
world, and examples of newly coined words
• Streamlined and updated sections on basic components of words, speech
perception as special, and speech perception as ordinary
• Rewrote parts of the section on transformational grammar to facilitate
comprehension
• Added a section on basic approaches to teaching reading
• Reorganized the section on reading
• Added Zwaan’s simulation model to representing text in mental models
Chapter 10
• Updated the section on verbal overshadowing effect and bilingualism
• Streamlined and updated sections on Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and linguistic
relativity and universals, metaphors, the brain and language, and autism
spectrum disorder and language
• Eliminated the section on speech acts
Chapter 11
• Added a new table to better represent the drug problem in the beginning of the
chapter and elaborated on the description of the problem
• Added definitions and explanations of key words like initial state, goal state,
and obstacles
• Updated the section on problem-solving cycle
• Extended the explanation of and figures on the Tower of Hanoi
• Added a new figure to illustrate the concept of problem space
• Updated the section on types of problems
• Added Duncker’s candle problem and two figures illustrating the concept
• Added stereotype threat to the section on mental sets, entrenchment, and
fixation
• Added a new section on embodied cognition and problem solving
• Rewrote the transfer of analogies section
• Redesigned Table 11.2 about correspondence between radiation and military
problem
• Updated research on analogical problem solving and incubation
• Revised the section on expertise to facilitate comprehension
• Added a new section on expertise and long-term working memory
• Updated the section on creativity
Chapter 12
• Extended and updated information relating to everyday life in sections on
availability, satisficing, and anchoring heuristics as well as framing effect
• Extended the explanation in the vaccine example of a framing effect
xxii Preface
• Added a new section on myside bias to the section on biases

• Added a new section on maximizers and satisficers and the effects of their
strategies on their well-being
• Updated sections on hindsight bias, gambler’s fallacy, and conjunction fallacy
• Extended and updated the section on conditional reasoning in everyday life
Chapter 13
• Added separate chapter to discuss human and artificial intelligence
Ancillaries
As an instructor, you have a multitude of resources available to you to assist you in the
teaching of your class. Here is a list of materials you can use:
Instructor’s Manual with Test Bank—The Instructor’s Manual contains chapter
outlines, in-class demonstrations, discussion topics, and suggested websites. The
Test Bank includes approximately 75 multiple-choice and 20 short-answer ques-
tions per chapter. Each multiple-choice item is labeled with the page reference and
level of difficulty.
PowerPoint Presentation Tool—With this one-stop presentation tool, instructors
can assemble, edit, and present custom lectures with ease. This tool includes
figures and tables from the text, as well as preassembled Microsoft PowerPoint
lecture slides. Instructors can use the material or add their own material for a truly
customized lecture presentation.
CogLab 5.0—CogLab 5.0 lets students do more than just think about cognition.
CogLab 5.0 uses the power of the web to teach concepts using important classic
and current experiments that demonstrate how the mind works. Nothing is more
powerful for students than seeing the effects of these experiments for themselves.
This resources includes such features as simplified student registration, a global
database that combines data from students all around the world, between-
subject designs that allow for new kinds of experiments, and a quick display of
student summaries. Also included are trial-by-trial data, standard deviations, and
improved instructions.
When you adopt Sternberg’s Cognitive Psychology, 7e, you will have access to a rich
array of online teaching and learning resources that you won’t find anywhere else.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank members of our Cengage Learning editorial and production
teams: Tim Matray, product manager; Tangelique Williams-Grayer, content developer;
Michelle Clark, senior content project manager; and Kimiya Hojjat, product assistant.
We also thank reviewers who assisted with the development of this seventh edition:
Thomas C. Davis, Nichols College
Jocelyn Folk, Kent State University
Stephen Brusnighan, Kent State University
Heather Labansat, Tarleton State University
Michael Poulakis, University of Indianapolis
Preface xxiii
Heather Bailey, Kansas State University

Kevin DeFord, King University
Charles P. Kraemer, LaGrange College
Natalie Costa , University of New Orleans
Sara Margolin, College of Brockport, SUNY
Xiaowei Zhao, Emmanuel College
Darryl Dietrich, College of St. Scholastica
Andreas Wilke, Clarkson University
Jennifer Perry, Baldwin Wallace University
John Lu, Concordia University, Irvine
Lisa Topp-Manriquez, University of Arkansas, Fort Smith
Kristi Bitz, University of Mary, Bismarck
We’d also like to thank reviewers who contributed feedback and suggestions to previous editions of
Cognitive Psychology:
Jane L. Pixley, Radford University
Martha J. Hubertz, Florida Atlantic University
Jeffrey S. Anastasi, Sam Houston State University
Robert J. Crutcher, University of Dayton
Eric C. Odgaard, University of South Florida
Takashi Yamauchi, Texas A & M University
David C. Somers, Boston University
Michael J. McGuire, Washburn University
Kimberly Rynearson, Tarleton State University
Foreword
To the Student
Why do we remember people whom we met years ago, but sometimes seem to forget
what we learned in a course shortly after we take the final exam (or worse, sometimes
right before)? How do we manage to carry on a conversation with one person at a party
and simultaneously eavesdrop on another more interesting conversation taking place
nearby? Why are people so often certain that they are correct in answering a question
when in fact they are not? These are just three of the many questions that are addressed
by the field of cognitive psychology.
Cognitive psychologists study how people perceive, learn, remember, and think.
Although cognitive psychology is a unified field, it draws on many other fields, most no-
tably neuroscience, computer science, linguistics, anthropology, and philosophy. Thus,
you will find some of the thinking of all these fields represented in this book. Moreover,
cognitive psychology interacts with other fields within psychology, such as cognitive
neuroscience, developmental psychology, social psychology, and clinical psychology.
For example, it is difficult to be a clinical psychologist in the twenty-first century
without a solid knowledge of developments in cognitive psychology because so much
of the thinking in the clinical field draws on cognitive ideas, both in diagnosis and in
therapy. Cognitive psychology also has provided a means for psychologists to investigate
experimentally some of the exciting ideas that have emerged from clinical theory and
practice, such as notions of unconscious thought.
Cognitive psychology will be important to you not only in its own right but also in
helping you in all of your work. For example, knowledge of cognitive psychology can
help you better understand how best to study for tests, how to read effectively, and how
to remember difficult-to-learn material.
Cognitive psychologists study a wide range of psychological phenomena, such as
perception, learning, memory, and thinking. In addition, cognitive psychologists study
seemingly less cognitively oriented phenomena, such as emotion and motivation. In
fact, almost any topic of psychological interest may be studied from a cognitive perspec-
tive. In this textbook, we describe some of the preliminary answers to questions asked by
researchers in the main areas of cognitive psychology.
• Chapter 1, Introduction to Cognitive Psychology: What are the origins of cogni-
tive psychology, and how do people do research in this field?
• Chapter 2, Cognitive Neuroscience: What structures and processes of the human
brain underlie the structures and processes of human cognition?
• Chapter 3, Visual Perception: How does the human mind perceive what the
senses receive? How does the human mind perceive forms and patterns?
• Chapter 4, Attention and Consciousness: What basic processes of the mind
govern how information enters our minds, our awareness, and our high-level
processes of information handling?
xxiv
Foreword xxv
• Chapter 5, Memory: Models and Research Methods: How are different kinds of
information (e.g., our experiences related to a traumatic event, the names of U.S.
presidents, or the procedure for riding a bicycle) represented in memory?
• Chapter 6, Memory Processes: How do we move information into memory, keep
it there, and retrieve it from memory when needed?
• Chapter 7, Mental Images and Propositions: How do we mentally represent
information in our minds? Do we do so in words, in pictures, or in some other
form representing meaning? Do we have multiple forms of representation?
• Chapter 8, The Organization of Knowledge in the Mind: How do we mentally
organize what we know?
• Chapter 9, Language: How do we derive and produce meaning through
language? How do we acquire language—both our primary language and any
additional languages?
• Chapter 10, Language in Context: How does our use of language interact with
our ways of thinking? How does our social world interact with our use of
language?
• Chapter 11, Problem Solving and Creativity: How do we solve problems? What
processes aid and impede us in reaching solutions to problems? Why are some
of us more creative than others? How do we become and remain creative?
• Chapter 12, Decision Making and Reasoning: How do we reach important
decisions? How do we draw reasonable conclusions from the information we
have available? Why and how do we so often make inappropriate decisions and
reach inaccurate conclusions?
• Chapter 13, Human Intelligence: What is intelligence? How can we measure
intelligence? Can intelligence be improved?
To acquire the knowledge outlined in the previous list, we suggest you make use of
the following pedagogical features of this book:
1. Chapter outlines, beginning each chapter, summarize the main topics covered
and thus give you an advance overview of what is to be covered in that
chapter.
2. Opening questions emphasize the main questions each chapter addresses.
3. Boldface terms, indexed at the ends of chapters and defined in the glossary,
help you acquire the vocabulary of cognitive psychology.
4. End-of-chapter summaries return to the questions at the opening of each
chapter and show our current state of knowledge with regard to these
questions.
5. End-of-chapter questions help you ensure both that you have learned the
basic material and that you can think in a variety of ways (factual, analytical,
creative, and practical) with this material.
6. “Investigating Cognitive Psychology” demonstrations, appearing throughout the
chapters, help you see how cognitive psychology can be used to demonstrate
various psychological phenomena.
7. “Practical Applications of Cognitive Psychology” demonstrations show how you
and others can apply cognitive psychology to your everyday lives.
8. “In the Lab of . . . ” boxes tell you what it really is like to do research in
cognitive psychology. Prominent researchers speak in their own words about
their research—what research problems excite them most and what they are
doing to address these problems.
9. “Believe It or Not” boxes present incredible and exciting information and facts
from the world of cognitive psychology.
xxvi Foreword
10. Key Themes sections, near the end of each chapter, relate the content of the
chapters to the key themes expressed in Chapter 1. These sections will help
you see the continuity of the main ideas of cognitive psychology across its
various subfields.
11. CogLab, an exciting series of laboratory demonstrations in cognitive psycholo-
gy provided by the publisher of this textbook (Cengage Learning), is available
for purchase with this text. You can actively participate in these demonstra-
tions and thereby learn firsthand what it is like to be involved in cognitive-
psychological research.
This book contains an overriding theme that unifies all of the diverse topics found
in the various chapters: Human cognition has evolved over time as a means of adapting
to our environment, and we can call this ability to adapt to the environment intelligence.
Through intelligence, we cope in an integrated and adaptive way with the many chal-
lenges with which the environment presents us.
Although cognitive psychologists disagree about many issues, there is one issue
about which almost all of them agree; namely, cognition enables us to successfully adapt
to the environments in which we find ourselves. Thus, we need a construct such as that
of human intelligence, if only to provide a shorthand way of expressing this fundamental
unity of adaptive skill. We can see this unity at all levels in the study of cognitive psy-
chology. For example, diverse measures of the psychophysiological functioning of the
human brain show correlations with scores on a variety of tests of intelligence. Selective
attention, the ability to tune in certain stimuli and tune out others, is also related to
intelligence, and it has even been proposed that an intelligent person is one who knows
what information to attend to and what information to ignore. Various language and
problem-solving skills also are related to intelligence, pretty much without regard to how
it is measured. In brief, then, human intelligence can be seen as an entity that unifies and
provides direction to the workings of the human cognitive system.
We hope you enjoy this book, and we hope you see why we are enthusiastic about
cognitive psychology and proud to be cognitive psychologists.
About the Authors
Robert J. Sternberg is professor of Human Development at Cornell University
and honorary professor of psychology at Heidelberg University, Germany. For-
merly, he was IBM professor of psychology and education in the Department
of Psychology at Yale University.
Dr. Sternberg received his B.A. summa cum laude from Yale and his Ph.D. in
psychology from Stanford University. He also holds 13 honorary doctorates.
He has received numerous awards, including the James McKeen Cattell Award
from the American Psychological Society; the Early Career and McCandless
Awards from the American Psychological Association (APA); and the Out-
standing Book, Research Review, Sylvia Scribner, and Palmer O. Johnson
Awards from the American Educational Research Association.
Dr. Sternberg has served as president of the APA, the Eastern Psychological
Association, and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sci-
ences. He currently is editor of Perspectives on Psychological Science and previ-
ously was editor of the Psychological Bulletin and the APA Review of Books:
Contemporary Psychology. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, the National Academy of Education, and the Society of Exper-
imental Psychologists. He is a fellow of APA, Association for Psychological
Science, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was
the director of the Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and
Expertise at Yale University.
Karin Sternberg is a research associate at Cornell University. She has a Ph.D.

in psychology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, as well as an MBA
with a specialization in banking from the University of Cooperative Education
in Karlsruhe, Germany. Karin completed some of her doctoral research at Yale
and her postdoctoral work in psychology at the University of Connecticut.
Afterward, she worked as a research associate at Harvard University’s Kennedy
School of Government and School of Public Health. She currently is working
on projects pertaining to admissions in undergraduate, graduate, and profes-
sional schools, based on theories in cognitive psychology.
xxvii
Introduction to
Cognitive Psychology 1
Cognitive Psychology Defined
Philosophical Origins of Psychology: Rationalism versus Empiricism
O U T L I N E
Psychological Origins of Cognitive Psychology

Early Dialectics in the Psychology of Cognition
Understanding the Structure of the Mind: Structuralism
Understanding the Processes of the Mind: Functionalism
An Integrative Synthesis: Associationism
It’s Only What You Can See That Counts: From Associationism to Behaviorism
Proponents of Behaviorism
Criticisms of Behaviorism
Behaviorists Daring to Peek into the Black Box
The Whole Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts: Gestalt Psychology
Emergence of Cognitive Psychology
Early Role of Cognitive Neuroscience
Add a Dash of Technology: Engineering, Computation, and Applied Cognitive
Psychology
C H A P T E R
Research Methods in Cognitive Psychology

Goals of Research
Distinctive Research Methods
Experiments on Human Behavior
Neuroscientific Research
Self-Reports, Case Studies, and Naturalistic Observation
Computer Simulations and Artificial Intelligence
Putting It All Together
Fundamental Ideas in Cognitive Psychology
Key Themes in Cognitive Psychology
Summary
Thinking about Thinking: Analytical, Creative, and Practical Questions
Key Terms
2 CHAPTER 1 • Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Here are some of the questions we will explore in this chapter:

1. What is cognitive psychology?
2. How did psychology develop as a science?
3. How did cognitive psychology develop from psychology?
4. How have other disciplines contributed to the development of theory
and research in cognitive psychology?
5. What methods do cognitive psychologists use to study how people
think?
6. What are the current issues and various fields of study within cognitive
psychology?
B E LIE VE I T O R N O T Now You See It, Now You Don’t!
Note: Do not read on before you have watched the video.
Cognitive psychology yields all kinds of surprising Now view the following video. Your task will be
findings. Dan Simons of the University of Illinois is to count the number of times that students in white
a master of surprises (see Simons, 2007; Simons shirts pass the basketball. You must not count
& Ambinder, 2005; Simons & Rensink, 2005). Try it passes by students wearing black shirts:
out yourself! Watch the following videos and see if viscog.beckman.illinois.edu/flashmovie/15.php
you have any comments on them.
Well, it doesn’t really matter how many passes
viscog.beckman.illinois.edu/flashmovie/23.php there were. Did you notice the person in the
Did you notice that the person who answers the gorilla outfit walk across the video as the stu-
phone is not the same as the one who was at the dents were throwing the balls? Most people don’t
desk? Note that they are wearing distinctively dif- notice. This video demonstrates a phenomenon
ferent clothing. You have just seen an example called inattentional blindness. You will learn more
of change blindness—our occasional inability to about this concept in Chapter 4. Throughout
recognize changes. You will learn more about this this book, we will explore these and many other
concept in Chapter 3. phenomena.
Think back to the last time you went to a party or social gathering. There were probably
tens and maybe hundreds of students in a relatively small room. Maybe music played
in the background, and you could hear chatter all around. Yet, when you talked to your
friends, you were able to figure out and even concentrate on what they said, filtering out
all the other conversations that were going on in the background. Suddenly, however,
your attention might have shifted because you heard someone in another conversation
nearby mention your name. What processes would have been at work in this situation?
How were you able to filter out irrelevant voices in your mind and focus your attention
on just one of the many voices you heard? And why did you notice your name being
mentioned, even though you did not purposefully listen to the conversations around you?
Our ability to focus on one out of many voices is one of the most striking phenomena in
cognitive psychology, and this phenomenon is known as the “cocktail party effect.”
2

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology • CHAPTER 1 3
Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com

When you are at a party, you are usually able to filter out many irrelevant voice streams to
concentrate on the conversation you are leading. However, you will likely notice somebody
saying your name in another conversation even if you were not listening intently to that
conversation.
Cognitive processes are continuously taking place in your mind and in the minds
of the people around you. Whether you pay attention to a conversation, estimate the
speed of an approaching car when crossing the street, or memorize information for a
test at school, you are perceiving information, processing it, and remembering or think-
ing about it. This book is about those cognitive processes that are often hidden in plain
sight and that we take for granted because they seem so automatic to us. This chapter will
introduce you to some of the people who helped form the field of cognitive psychology
and make it what it is today. The chapter also will discuss methods used in cognitive-
psychological research.
Cognitive Psychology Defined

What will you study in a textbook about cognitive psychology?
Cognitive psychology is the study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and
think about information. A cognitive psychologist might study how people perceive
various shapes, why they remember some facts but forget others, or how they learn lan-
guage. Consider some examples:
• Why do objects look farther away on foggy days than they really are?
• Why do many people remember a particular experience (e.g., a very happy
moment or an embarrassment during childhood), yet they forget the names of
people whom they have known for many years?
• Why are many people more afraid of traveling in planes than in automobiles?
• Why do you often easily remember people you met in your childhood but not
people you met a week ago?
• Why do marketing executives in large companies spend so much company
money on advertisements?
These are some of the kinds of questions that we can answer through the study of cogni-
tive psychology.
Consider just the last of these questions: Why does Apple, for example, spend so
much money on advertisements for its iPhone? After all, how many people remember
the functional details of the iPhone, or how those functions distinguish it from the func-
tions of other phones? One reason Apple spends so much is because of the availability
heuristic, which you will study in Chapter 12. Heuristics are mental shortcuts we use to
process information. When we think about an issue and certain examples immediately
come to mind, we are using the “availability heuristic” (Tversky & Kahneman, 1973). For
example, when we are thinking about buying a new cell phone, we are much more likely
to buy a brand and model of a phone that is familiar. Similarly, Microsoft paid a lot of
money to market its rollout of Windows 8.1 to make the product cognitively available to
potential customers and thus increase the chances that the potential customers would
become actual ones. The bottom line is that understanding cognitive psychology can
help us understand much of what goes on in our everyday lives.
Why study the history of cognitive psychology? If we know where we came from,
we may better understand where we are heading. In addition, we can learn from past
mistakes. For example, there are numerous newspaper stories about how one educa-
tional program or another has resulted in particular gains in student achievement. It
is relatively rare, however, to read that a control group has been used. A control group
might tell us about the achievement of students who did not have that educational
program or who were in an alternative program. It may be that these students also
showed a gain. We need to compare the students in the experimental group to those in
the control group to determine whether the gain of the students in the experimental
group was greater than the gain of those in the control group. We can learn from the
history of our field that it is important to include control groups, but not everyone
learns this fact.
The fundamental questions in cognitive psychology remain the same, but the ways
of addressing these issues have changed. Ultimately, cognitive psychologists hope to
learn how people think by studying how people have thoughts about thinking.
The approaches and ways scientists use to study issues in cognitive psychology
change over time. These changes often are the result of a dialectic. A dialectic is a devel-
opmental process whereby ideas evolve over time through a back-and-forth exchange
of ideas; in a way, it is like a discussion spread out over an extended period of time. The
dialectical process looks like this:
1. A thesis is proposed. A thesis is a statement of belief. For example, some
people believe that human nature (i.e., the effects of our genes) influences
many aspects of human behavior (e.g., intelligence or personality; Sternberg,
1999). After a while, however, certain individuals notice apparent flaws in
the thesis.
2. An antithesis emerges. Eventually, or perhaps even quite soon, an antithesis
emerges. An antithesis is a statement that counters a thesis. For example, an
alternative view is that our environment (whose effects are called “nurture”)
almost entirely determines many aspects of human behavior.
3. A synthesis integrates the viewpoints. Sooner or later, the debate between the
thesis and the antithesis leads to a synthesis, which integrates the most credible
features of each of two (or more) views. For example, in the debate over nature

versus nurture, the interaction between our innate (inborn) nature and envi-
ronmental nurture may govern human nature.
The dialectic is important because we may be tempted to think that if one view is
right, another seemingly contrasting view must be wrong. For example, in the field of
intelligence, many tend to believe that intelligence is either all or mostly genetically
determined, or all or mostly environmentally determined. A similar debate has raged in
the field of language acquisition. It is better to examine such issues as different forces that
interact with and influence each other than to view these issues as either–or questions.
Indeed, the most widely accepted current contention is that the “nature or nurture” view
is incomplete. Nature and nurture work together in our development.
Nurture can work in different ways in different cultures. Some cultures, espe-
cially Asian cultures, tend to be more dialectical in their thinking, whereas other cul-
tures, such as European and North American ones, tend to be more linear (Nisbett,
2003). In other words, Asians are more likely to be tolerant of holding beliefs that are
contradictory, expecting that at some point a resolution will resolve the conflict in
their beliefs. Europeans and Americans expect their belief systems to be consistent
with each other.
Similarly, people from Asian cultures tend to take a different viewpoint than
Westerners when seeing or hearing something new (e.g., a movie of fish in an ocean;
Nisbett & Masuda, 2003). So if people see a movie of fish swimming around in the
ocean, Europeans or Americans will tend to pay more attention to the fish, and Asians
may attend more to the surround of the ocean in which the fish are swimming. That
is, people from Western cultures generally tend to process objects independently of
the context, whereas people from many Eastern cultures look at objects embedded
in their surrounding context (Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005). Asians may emphasize the
context more than the objects embedded in those contexts. The evidence suggests that
culture influences many cognitive processes, including intelligence (Lehman, Chiu, &
Schaller, 2004).
If a synthesis advances our understanding of a subject, it then serves as a new thesis.
A new antithesis then follows it, then a new synthesis, and so on. You will see in this
chapter that psychology also evolved as a result of dialectics: Psychologists had ideas
about how the mind works and pursued their line of research; then other psychologists
pointed out weaknesses and developed alternatives as a reaction to the earlier ideas.
Eventually, characteristics of the different approaches are often integrated into a newer
and more encompassing approach.
Philosophical Origins of Psychology:

Rationalism versus Empiricism
Where and when did the study of cognitive psychology begin? Historians of psychology
usually trace the earliest roots of psychology to two approaches to understanding the
human mind:
• philosophy, which seeks to understand the general nature of many aspects of the
world, in part through introspection, the examination of inner ideas and experi-
ences (from intro, “inward, within,” and spect, “look”)
• physiology, which seeks a scientific study of life-sustaining functions in living
matter, primarily through empirical (observation based) methods
Fancy Photography/Veer Images
Fancy Photography/Veer Images

Figure 1.1 Rationalism and Empiricism. (a) According to the rationalist, the only route to truth is
reasoned contemplation; (b) according to the empiricist, the only route to truth is meticulous observation.
Cognitive psychology, like other sciences, depends on the work of both rationalists and empiricists.
Two Greek philosophers, Plato (ca. 428–348 b.c.) and his student Aristotle
(384–322 b.c.), have profoundly affected modern thinking in psychology and many
other fields. Plato and Aristotle disagreed regarding how to investigate ideas.
Plato was a rationalist. A rationalist believes that the route to knowledge is through
thinking and logical analysis. That is, a rationalist does not need any experiments to
develop new knowledge. A rationalist who is interested in cognitive processes would
appeal to reason as a source of knowledge or justification.
In contrast, Aristotle (a naturalist and biologist as well as a philosopher) was an
empiricist. An empiricist believes that we acquire knowledge via empirical evidence—
that is, we obtain evidence through experience and observation (Figure 1.1 ). To
explore how the human mind works, empiricists would design experiments and con-
duct studies in which they could observe the behavior and processes of interest to
them. Empiricism therefore leads directly to empirical investigations of psychology.
Later in this chapter, we will discuss the empirical research methods that are used in
cognitive psychology.
In contrast, rationalism is important in theory development. Rationalist theories
without any connection to observations gained through empiricist methods may not
be valid; but mountains of observational data without an organizing theoretical frame-
work may not be meaningful. We might see the rationalist view of the world as a thesis
and the empirical view as an antithesis. Most twenty-first-century psychologists seek
a synthesis of the two. They base empirical observations on theory to explain what
they have observed in their experiments. In turn, they use these observations to revise
their theories when they find that the theories cannot account for their real-world
observations.
The contrasting ideas of rationalism and empiricism became prominent with the
French rationalist René Descartes (1596–1650) and the British empiricist John Locke
(1632–1704). Descartes viewed the introspective, reflective method as being superior
to empirical methods for finding truth. The famous expression cogito, ergo sum (I think,
therefore I am) stems from Descartes. He maintained that the only proof of his existence
is that he was thinking and doubting. Descartes felt that one could not rely on one’s
senses because those very senses have often proven to be deceptive (e.g., think of optical
illusions). Locke, in contrast, had more enthusiasm for empirical observation (Leahey,
2003). Locke believed that humans are born without knowledge and therefore must seek
knowledge through empirical observation. Locke’s term for this view was tabula rasa
(meaning “blank slate” in Latin). The idea is that life and experience “write” knowledge

on us. For Locke, then, the study of learning was the key to understanding the human
mind. He believed that there are no innate ideas.
In the eighteenth century, German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) syn-
thesized the views of Descartes and Locke, arguing that both rationalism and empiricism
have their place. Both must work together in the quest for truth. Most twenty-first-cen-
tury psychologists accept Kant’s synthesis. The roots of cognitive psychology discussed
here and in the next sections are summarized in Figure 1.2 .
Psychological Origins of Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology has roots in many different ideas and approaches (see, e.g., King,
Woody, & Viney, 2013; Leahey, 2012). The approaches that will be examined include
early approaches such as structuralism and functionalism, followed by a discussion of
associationism, behaviorism, and Gestalt psychology.
Early Dialectics in the Psychology of Cognition

Psychology only recently emerged as a new and independent field of study (Hergen-
hahn & Henley, 2013). It developed in a dialectical way. Typically, an approach to
studying the mind would be developed; people then would use it to explore the human
psyche. At some point, however, researchers would find that the approach they used had
some weaknesses, or they would disagree with some fundamental assumptions of that
approach. They then would develop a new approach. Future approaches might integrate
the best features of past approaches or reject some or even most of those characteristics.
In the following section, we will explore some of the ways of thinking early psycholo-
gists employed and trace the development of psychology through the various schools
of thinking. Take note that there is not, and never has been, just one right approach to
studying cognitive psychology. Rather, researchers have used one or more approaches as
bases for their work but also appreciated the value of other approaches.
Understanding the Structure of the Mind: Structuralism
Archives of the History of American

Psychology—University of Akron
An early dialectic in the history of psychology is that between structuralism and
functionalism (Kardas, 2013; Leahey, 2012; Morawski, 2000). Structuralism was the
first major school of thought in psychology. Structuralism seeks to understand the
structure (configuration of elements) of the mind and its perceptions by analyzing
those perceptions into their constituent components (affection, attention, memory,
and sensation).
Consider, for example, the perception of a flower. Structuralists would analyze this Wilhelm Wundt was no
perception in terms of its colors, geometric forms, size relations, and so on. In terms of great success in school,
the human mind, structuralists sought to deconstruct the mind into its elementary com- failing time and again and
frequently finding himself
ponents; they were also interested in how those elementary components work together subject to the ridicule of
to create the mind (Benjamin, 2014). others. However, Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) was a German psychologist whose ideas contributed later showed that school
to the development of structuralism (Wertheimer, 2011). Wundt is often viewed as the performance does not
founder of structuralism in psychology (Structuralism, 2009). Wundt used a variety of always predict career
success because he is
methods in his research. One of these methods was introspection. Introspection is the considered to be among
conscious observation of one’s own thinking processes. The aim of introspection is to the most influential psy-
look at the elementary components of an object or process. chologists of all time.
Methods To Gain Knowledge How Knowledge Is Gained
Rationalism Through reflective thinking and logical analysis
Empiricism Through observation
Synthesis Through the use of observation as well as thinking and logical analysis
Aristotle René Descartes Immanuel Kant

(384–322 B.C.) (1596–1650) (1724–1804)
1500 1600 1700
Plato John Locke

(c. 428–348 B.C.) (1632–1704)
Approaches to Studying the Mind Methods Used What Is Studied
Structuralism Introspection Content/structure of the mind
Functionalism Various; depends on question asked Processes of how the mind works
Pragmatism Various Research that can be applied to the

real world
Synthesis: Associationism Experiments: Ebbinghaus used

How learning takes place by associating
himself as a subject; Thorndike
things with each other
used cats as well as humans.
Behaviorism Use of animals in research in addition Relations between observable

(extreme form of associationism) to humans behavior and environmental events/stimuli
Quantitative analysis
Gestalt psychology Introspection, experiments Psychological phenomena studied

as organized wholes
Experiments, computer simulation, Understand behavior through the ways

Synthesis: Cognitivism
protocol analysis people think
Figure 1.2 Roots of Cognitive Psychology.
The introduction of introspection as an experimental method was an important

change in the field because the main emphasis in the study of the mind shifted from a
rationalist approach to the empiricist approach of observing behavior to draw conclusions
about the subject of study. In experiments involving introspection, individuals reported
on their thoughts as they were working on a given task (Goodwin, 2011). Researchers
interested in problem solving could ask their participants to think aloud while they were
working on a puzzle so the researchers could gain insight into the thoughts that go on in
the participants’ minds. In introspection, then, we can analyze our own perceptions.

Wilhelm Wundt Edward Titchener Wolfgang Koehler Max Wertheimer

1832–1920 1867–1927 1887–1967 1880–1943
Hermann Ebbinghaus E. L. Thorndike George Miller Ulric Neisser

1850–1909 1874–1949 1920–2012 1928–2012
1800 1900 2000
Herbert Simon
1916–2001
John Dewey
1859–1952
William James
1842–1910
Ivan Pavlov John Watson B. F. Skinner

1849–1936 1878–1958 1904–1990
The method of introspection has some challenges associated with it. First, people
may not always be able to say exactly what goes through their mind or may not be able
to put it into adequate words. Second, what they say may not be accurate. Third, the fact
that people are asked to pay attention to their thoughts or to speak out loud while they
are working on a task may itself alter the processes that are going on.
Wundt had many followers. One was an American student, Edward Titchener
(1867–1927). Titchener (1910) is sometimes viewed as the first full-fledged structuralist.
In any case, he certainly helped bring structuralism to the United States. His experi-
ments relied solely on the use of introspection, exploring psychology from the vantage
point of the experiencing individual. Other early psychologists criticized both the
method (introspection) and the focus (elementary structures of sensation) of structural-
ism. These critiques gave rise to a new movement—functionalism.
Understanding the Processes of the Mind: Functionalism

Functionalism was developed as an alternative to structuralism, and suggested that
psychologists should focus on the processes of thought rather than on its contents.
Functionalism seeks to understand what people do and why they do it. This principal
question about processes was in contrast to that of the structuralists, who had asked
what the elementary contents (structures) of the human mind are. Functionalists held
that the key to understanding the human mind and behavior was to study the processes
of how and why the mind works as it does, rather than to study the structural contents
and elements of the mind. They were particularly interested in the practical applications

of their research.
Functionalists were unified by the kinds of questions they asked but not necessarily
by the answers they found or by the methods they used for finding those answers. Because
functionalists believed in using whichever methods best answered a given researcher’s
questions, it seems natural for functionalism to have led to pragmatism. Pragmatists
believe that knowledge is validated by its usefulness: What can you do with it? Pragma-
Many cognitive tists are concerned not only with knowing what people do; they also want to know what
psychologists regard we can do with our knowledge of what people do. For example, pragmatists believe in
William James, a the importance of the psychology of learning and memory. Why? Because it can help
physician, philosopher, us improve children’s performance in school. It can also help us learn to remember the
and brother of author
Henry James, as among
names of people we meet.
the greatest psycholo- A leader in guiding functionalism toward pragmatism was William James (1842–1910).
gists ever, although His chief functional contribution to the field of psychology was a single book: his landmark
James himself seems to Principles of Psychology (1890/1970). Even more than a century later, cognitive psychologists
have rejected psychol- frequently point to the writings of James in discussions of core topics in the field, such as
ogy later in his life.
attention, consciousness, and perception. John Dewey (1859–1952) was another early prag-
matist who profoundly influenced contemporary thinking in cognitive psychology. Dewey is
remembered primarily for his pragmatic approach to thinking and schooling.
Although functionalists were interested in how people learn, they did not really
specify a mechanism by which learning takes place. This task was taken up by another
group, associationists.
An Integrative Synthesis: Associationism

Associationism, like functionalism, was more of an influential way of thinking than a
rigid school of psychology. Associationism examines how elements of the mind, such as
events or ideas, can become associated with one another in the mind to result in a form
of learning. For example, associations may result from
• contiguity (associating things that tend to occur together at about the same time);
• similarity (associating things with similar features or properties); or
practical applications of COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Pragmatism
Take a moment right now to put the idea of pragma- explain a new app to a friend, a good way to start
tism into use. How can you make the information you would be to ask your friend, “Do you have any
are learning in this course more useful to you? questions?” That way, the information you provide
1. This chapter begins and ends with the same ques- is more directly useful to your friend rather than
tions to make the information more coherent and forcing your friend to search for the information by
useful. Come up with your own questions and listening to a long, one-sided lecture.
organize your notes in the form of answers to your How can pragmatism be useful in your life (other than
questions. in your college coursework)?
2. Connect this chapter’s material to your other
courses and activities. For example, if asked to

First Learned Reviewed Reviewed Reviewed
100%
90%
Retention
80%
70%
60%
50%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Time Remembered (Day)
Figure 1.3 Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve. The Ebbinghaus Forgetting
Curve shows that the first few repetitions result in a steep learning curve. Later
repetitions result in a slower increase of remembered words.
• contrast (associating things that show polarities, such as hot/cold, light/dark,

day/night).
In the late 1800s, Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909) was the first experimenter to
apply associationist principles systematically (Benjamin, 2014). Specifically, Ebbinghaus
studied his own mental processes. He made up lists of nonsense syllables that consisted
of a consonant and a vowel followed by another consonant (e.g., zax). He then took
careful note of how long it took him to memorize those lists. He counted his errors
and recorded his response times. Through his self-observations, Ebbinghaus studied
how people learn and remember material through rehearsal, the conscious repetition
of material to be learned (Figure 1.3 ). Among other things, he found that frequent
repetition can fix mental associations more firmly in memory. Thus, repetition aids in
Bettmann/CORBIS
learning (see Chapter 6).
Another influential associationist, Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949), held
that the role of “satisfaction” is the key to forming associations. Thorndike termed
this principle the law of effect (1905): A stimulus will tend to produce a certain German experimental
response over time if an organism is rewarded for that response. Thorndike believed psychologist Hermann
that an organism learns to respond in a given way (the effect) in a given situation if Ebbinghaus.
it is rewarded repeatedly for doing so (the satisfaction, which serves as a stimulus to
future actions). Thus, a child given treats for solving arithmetic problems learns to
solve arithmetic problems accurately because the child forms associations between
valid solutions and treats. These ideas were the predecessors of the development of
behaviorism.
It’s Only What You Can See That Counts: From

Associationism to Behaviorism
Other researchers who were contemporaries of Thorndike used animal experiments to
probe stimulus–response relationships in ways that differed from those of Thorndike
and his fellow associationists. These researchers straddled the line between association-
ism and the emerging field of behaviorism. Behaviorism focuses only on the relation
between observable behavior and environmental events or stimuli. The idea was to
make physical whatever others might have called “mental” (Lycan, 2003). Some of these
researchers, such as Thorndike and other associationists, studied responses that were
voluntary (although perhaps lacking any conscious thought, as in Thorndike’s work).
Other researchers studied responses that were involuntarily triggered in response to
what appear to be unrelated external events.
In Russia, Nobel Prize–winning physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) studied
involuntary learning behavior of this sort. He began with the observation that dogs sali-
vated in response to the sight of the lab technician who fed them. This response occurred
before the dogs even saw whether the technician had food. To Pavlov, this response
indicated a form of learning (classically conditioned learning), over which the dogs had
no conscious control. In the dogs’ minds, some type of involuntary learning linked the
technician to the food (Pavlov, 1955). Pavlov’s landmark work paved the way for the
development of behaviorism. His ideas were made known in the United States especially
through the work of John B. Watson (see next section). Classical conditioning involves
more than just an association based on temporal contiguity (e.g., the food and the con-
ditioned stimulus occurring at about the same time; Ginns, 2006; Rescorla, 1967). Effec-
tive conditioning requires contingency (e.g., the presentation of food being contingent
[i.e., dependent] on the presentation of the conditioned stimulus; Rescorla & Wagner,
1972; Wagner & Rescorla, 1972). Contingencies in the form of reward and punishment
are still used in the twenty-first century, for example, in the treatment of substance abuse
(Cameron & Ritter, 2007).
Behaviorism may be considered an extreme version of associationism. It focuses
entirely on the association between the environment and an observable behavior.
According to strict, extreme (“radical”) behaviorists, any hypotheses about internal
thoughts and ways of thinking are nothing more than speculation (Benjamin, 2014).
Radical behaviorists have tried to influence the way people handle problems in everyday
life, from child-rearing, to schooling, even to close personal relationships (Benjamin &
Baker, 2014).
Proponents of Behaviorism
The “father” of radical behaviorism is John Watson (1878–1958). Watson had no use
for internal mental contents (thoughts) or mechanisms. He believed that psychologists
should concentrate only on the study of observable behavior (Doyle, 2000). He dismissed
thinking as nothing more than subvocalized speech. Behaviorism also differed from pre-
vious movements in psychology by shifting the emphasis of experimental research from
human to animal participants. Historically, much behaviorist work has been conducted
(and still is) with laboratory animals, such as rats or pigeons, because these animals
allow for much greater behavioral control of relationships between the environment and
the behavior emitted in reaction to it (although behaviorists also have conducted experi-
ments with humans). One problem with using nonhuman animals, however, is deter-
mining whether the research can be generalized to humans (i.e., applied more generally
to humans instead of just to the kinds of nonhuman animals that were studied).
B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), a radical behaviorist, believed that virtually all forms
of human behavior, not just learning, could be explained by reactions to the envi-
ronment. Skinner conducted research primarily with nonhuman animals. He rejected
mental mechanisms. He believed instead that operant conditioning—involving the
strengthening or weakening of behavior, contingent on the presence or absence of
reinforcement (rewards) or punishments—could explain all forms of human behavior.
Skinner applied his experimental analysis of behavior to many psychological phenom-
ena, such as learning, language acquisition, and problem solving. Largely because of
Skinner’s towering presence, behaviorism dominated the discipline of psychology for
several decades.

Criticisms of Behaviorism
Behaviorism was challenged on many fronts such as language acquisition, production,
and comprehension. First, although it seemed to work well to account for certain kinds
of learning, behaviorism did not account as well for complex mental activities, such
as language learning and problem solving. Second, more than understanding people’s
behavior, some psychologists wanted to know what went on inside the head. Third, using
the techniques of behaviorism to study nonhuman animals was often easier than study-
ing human ones. Nonetheless, behaviorism continues as a school of psychology, although
not one that is particularly sympathetic to the cognitive approach, which involves meta-
phorically and sometimes literally peering inside people’s heads to understand how they
learn, remember, think, and reason. Other criticisms emerged as well, as discussed in
the next section.
Behaviorists Daring to Peek into the Black Box

Some psychologists rejected radical behaviorism. They were curious about the contents
of the mysterious black box. Behaviorists regarded the mind as a black box that is best
understood in terms of its input and output, but whose internal processes cannot be
accurately described because they are not observable. For example, a critic, Edward Tol-
man (1886–1959), thought that understanding behavior required taking into account
the purpose of, and the plan for, the behavior. Tolman (1932) believed that all behavior
is directed toward a goal. For example, the goal of a rat in a maze may be to try to find
food in that maze. Tolman is sometimes viewed as a forefather of modern cognitive
psychology.
B E L I E VE I T O R N O T Scientific Progress!?
The progress of science can take unbelievable Howard Dully was lobotomized at age 12 years
turns at times. From the early 1930s to the 1960s, old and did not find out about the procedure until
lobotomies were a popular and accepted means much later in life
of treating mental disorders. A lobotomy involves
(Helmes & Velamoor, 2009; MSNBC, 2005).
cutting the connections between the frontal lobes
of the brain and the thalamus. Psychiatrist Walter
Freeman developed a particular kind of lobotomy
in 1946—the transorbital or “ice pick” lobotomy. In
this procedure, he inserted an ice pick–like instru-
ment through the orbit of the eyes into the frontal
lobes where it was moved back and forth. The
patient had been previously rendered unconscious
by means of a strong electrical shock. By the late
1950s, tens of thousands of Americans had been
subjected to this “psychosurgery.” According to
some accounts, people felt reduced tension and
anxiety after the surgery; however, many people
Bettmann/Corbis
died or were permanently incapacitated after the

lobotomy. One famous lobotomy patient included
John F. Kennedy’s sister Rosemary. Unbelievably,
lobotomies were even performed on patients who In a lobotomy, connections between the frontal
were not aware they were receiving the surgery. lobes of the brain and the thalamus are severed.
Bandura (1977) noted that learning appears to result not merely from direct rewards
for behavior, but it also can be social, resulting from observations of the rewards or punish-
ments given to others. Learning through observation is well documented and can be seen
in humans, monkeys, dogs, birds, and even fish (Brown & Laland, 2001; Laland, 2004). In
humans, this ability spans all ages; it is observed in both infants and adults (MejiaArauz,
Rogoff, & Paradise, 2005). This view emphasizes how we observe and model our own
behavior after the behavior of others. We learn by example. This consideration of social
learning opens the way to considering what is happening inside the mind of the individual.
The Whole Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts:

Gestalt Psychology
Of the many critics of behaviorism, Gestalt psychologists may have been among the
most avid. Gestalt psychology states that we best understand psychological phenomena
when we view them as organized, structured wholes. According to this view, we cannot
fully understand behavior when we only break phenomena down into smaller parts. For
example, behaviorists tended to study problem solving by looking for subvocal process-
ing (when people murmur to themselves). They were looking for the observable behav-
ior through which problem solving can be understood. Gestaltists, in contrast, studied
insight, to understand the unobservable mental event by which someone goes from hav-
ing no idea about how to solve a problem to understanding it fully in what seems a mere
moment of time.
The maxim “the whole is more than the sum of its parts” aptly sums up the Gestalt
perspective. To understand the perception of a flower, for example, we would have to
take into account the whole of the experience. We could not understand such a percep-
tion merely in terms of a description of forms, colors, sizes, and so on. Similarly, as noted
in the previous paragraph, we could not understand problem solving merely by looking
at minute elements of observable behavior (Köhler, 1927, 1940; Wertheimer, 1945/1959).
We will have a closer look at Gestalt principles in Chapter 3.
Emergence of Cognitive Psychology

In the early 1950s, a movement called the “cognitive revolution” took place in response
to behaviorism. Cognitivism is the belief that most human behavior explains how peo-
ple think. It rejects the behavioristic notion that psychologists should avoid studying
mental processes just because they are unobservable. Cognitivism is, in part, a synthesis
of earlier forms of analysis, such as behaviorism and Gestaltism. Like behaviorism, it
adopts precise quantitative analysis to study how people learn and think; like Gestaltism,
it emphasizes internal mental processes.
Early Role of Cognitive Neuroscience

Ironically, one of Watson’s former students, Karl Spencer Lashley (1890–1958), brashly
challenged the behaviorist view that the human brain is a passive organ merely respond-
ing to environmental contingencies outside the individual (Gardner, 1985). Instead, Lash-
ley considered the brain to be an active, dynamic organizer of behavior. Lashley sought
to understand how the macro-organization of the human brain made possible complex,
planned activities such as musical performance, game playing, and using language. None
of these activities were, in his view, readily explicable in terms of simple conditioning.

In the same vein, but at a different level of analysis, Donald Hebb (1948) proposed
the concept of cell assemblies as the basis for learning in the brain. Cell assemblies are
coordinated neural structures that develop through frequent stimulation. They develop
over time as the ability of one neuron (nerve cell) to stimulate firing in a connected
neuron increases. Behaviorists did not jump at the opportunity to agree with theorists
such as Lashley and Hebb. In fact, Skinner (1957) wrote an entire book describing how
language acquisition and usage could be explained purely in terms of environmental
contingencies. This work stretched Skinner’s framework too far, leaving Skinner open
to attack. An attack was indeed forthcoming. Linguist Noam Chomsky (1959) wrote
a scathing review of Skinner’s ideas. In his article, Chomsky stressed both the biologi-
cal basis and the creative potential of language. He pointed out the infinite numbers of
sentences we can produce with ease. He thereby defied behaviorist notions that we learn
language by reinforcement. Even young children continually are producing novel sen-
tences for which they could not have been reinforced in the past.
Add a Dash of Technology: Engineering,

Computation, and Applied Cognitive Psychology
By the end of the 1950s, some psychologists were intrigued by the tantalizing notion that
machines could be programmed to demonstrate the intelligent processing of information
(Rychlak & Struckman, 2000). Turing (1950) suggested that soon it would be hard to dis-
tinguish the communication of machines from that of humans. He suggested a test, now
called the “Turing test,” that judges whether a computer program’s output was indistin-
guishable from the output of humans (Cummins & Cummins, 2000). In other words, sup-
pose you communicated with a computer and you could not tell that it was a computer. The
computer then had passed the Turing test (Schonbein & Bechtel, 2003). (See Figure 1.4 .)
Figure 1.4 The Turing Test. An interrogator communicates via computer screen and
keyboard with a real human and a computer. The interrogator’s task is to find out who is the
computer by asking as many and varied questions as necessary.
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Kanó, while the bleached calico and the cambric attract the wealthier
people on account of their nobler appearance. In Timbúktu on the
contrary, where the native cloth is dearer, unbleached calico is in
request; and it would be so in an extraordinary degree, if it were
dyed dark blue. It is very interesting to observe that a small
proportion of the calico imported into Kanó is again exported, after
having been dyed, returning even the long way to Ghadámes. I
estimate the whole amount of Manchester goods imported into Kanó
at about forty millions; but it may be somewhat more. The sale of
tanjips is very considerable; and the import of this article into Kanó
certainly equals in value that of the former.
The very coarse silk, or rather refuse, which is dyed in Tripoli, is
imported to a very considerable amount, this forming the principal
merchandise of most of the caravans of the Ghadamsíye merchants,
and about one-third of their whole commerce, amounting certainly to
not less than from three to four hundred camel-loads annually, worth
in Kanó each about two hundred thousand kurdí; this would give a
value of about seventy millions imported. But according to some
well-informed people, even as many as one thousand loads of this
article pass annually through Ghadámes; so that, if we take into
consideration that the supply of the northerly markets (as Tasáwa,
Zínder) may well be compensated by what is brought by way of
Múrzuk, the value of the import of this article into Kanó may be much
more. A great deal of this silk, I have no doubt by far the greatest
part, remains in the country, being used for ornamenting the tobes,
sandals, shoes, and other things.
Woollen cloth of the most ordinary quality, chiefly red, but about
one-third of the whole amount of green colour, was formerly imported
to a great extent; but it has gone out of fashion, and I think a better
quality, like that with which the market of Timbúktu is supplied by
way of Mogador or Swaira, would succeed. I estimate this branch at
present at only fifteen millions.
Beads, in very great variety,[31] form an important article of import;
but the price has become so low of late years that there has been
very little profit, and the supply has been kept back to raise the
prices. The import of this article certainly amounts to more than fifty
millions of kurdí, of which sum the value of twenty may remain in the
country.
Of sugar, I think about one hundred camel-loads are imported
every year, each containing eighty small loaves, of two and a half
pounds each, which are sold in general at fifteen hundred kurdí; so
that the import of this article would amount to about twelve millions. It
is very remarkable that in all Central Negroland the large English
sugar-loaf is scarcely ever seen, while it is the only one seen in
Timbúktu. However, I was greatly surprised when, on my return from
that place in 1854, ʿAlíyu, the Emír el Mumenín of Sókoto, presented
to me an English loaf of sugar; and I heard that he had received
several of them as presents from a merchant of Tawát. The small
loaf has certainly a great advantage in such a country, where money
is scarce; and I found in 1854 that its weight had even been reduced
to two pounds.
Common paper, called on the coast “tre lune,” from the mark of
three moons which it bears, is imported in great quantity, being used
for wrapping up the country cloth; but it is a bulky, heavy article, and
in larger quantities is sold at a very cheap rate. The whole amount of
this import may be about five millions of kurdí.
Needles, with the emblem of the pig,[32] and small looking-glasses
called “lemmʿa” in boxes, form important but very cheap articles, and
I think their amount together will not much exceed the value of eight
millions. Generally, the needles in large quantities are sold for one
“urí” or shell each, but often even cheaper; and I was obliged to sell
a thousand for six hundred kurdí. Also, fine needles for silk-work are
in request, but only in small quantity, while large darning-needles are
not at all wanted here, where the cotton cloth is fine, but are the
most profitable thing in Eastern Negroland, from Bagírmi inclusive to
Abyssinia.
Sword-blades, which are set here, are imported in considerable
quantity; as not only the Kél-owí and the neighbouring Tárki tribes,
but also the Háusáwa, Fúlbe, Nyffáwa, and Kanúri or Bórnu people,
are supplied from this market. Fifty thousand may be the general
annual amount of this article, which produces (the blade being
reckoned at one thousand kurdí) fifty millions. Almost all of them that
I saw, not only here, but even among the Tuarek near Timbúktu,
were from Solingen. Only a small proportion of the import remains in
the country; but the setting of the blades, which are again exported,
secures a great profit to the natives.
Very few firearms, as far as I became aware, are imported into this
market, although common muskets have begun to be imported by
way of Nýffi at extraordinarily cheap prices by the Americans. Pistols
and blunderbusses are privately sold by the merchants to princes or
great men.
The common razors made in Styria, with black, wooden handles,
bad as they are, are very much liked by the inhabitants, who know
how to sharpen them most beautifully, and strengthen the wretched
handle with a guard of copper. I had a tolerable supply of English
razors, and found that those bought for sixpence at home would sell
profitably, but that nobody would give, for a good razor, though ever
so excellent, more than one thousand kurdí; however, the better sort
are very fit for presents to men of importance, who know well their
value. In any case the handles ought to be strong, and not likely to
break. This commodity does certainly not much exceed two or three
millions.
French silks, called “hattáya,” were formerly in great request, but
at present seem to be a little out of vogue; and most of what is
imported here is exported again by second-hand buyers to Yóruba
and Gónja. The amount of this import into the Kanó market, I think,
does not exceed twenty millions.
An important branch of import is formed by articles of Arab dress,
chiefly bernúses, caftans, sedríyas, trousers, red caps, red sashes,
shawls. It is difficult to state, even approximately, the value of these
articles; but it cannot certainly be much less than fifty millions
altogether. The sort of dress most in request comes from Tunis, but a
good deal also from Egypt; and from the latter country come all the
white shawls with red borders, called “subéta” in Arabic, “aliyáfu” in
Háusa, and very much liked by the negroes as well as by the Tuarek.
The import of this article alone exceeds the value of ten millions. The
common articles of dress, of coarser workmanship, are made in
Tripoli. Red caps of very coarse description are now imported from
Leghorn, and find a sale, but are not liked by the free people.
Frankincense and spices—principally jáwi, benzoin, the resin
obtained from a species of styrax, “símbil” or Valeriana Celtica, and
cloves—form a not inconsiderable article of import, perhaps
amounting to fifteen millions. However, I exclude from this sum the
value of the rose oil which is annually imported in considerable
quantity, and begin a dear article, forms also an important one; but
very little of it comes into the general trade, almost all of it being
disposed of privately to the princes and great men, or given to them
in presents. I am inclined to estimate the value of this article
imported at about forty millions. Tin and many other smaller articles
may together be estimated at ten millions.
In the trade of Kanó there is another very interesting article, which
tends to unite very distant regions of Africa; this is copper—“ja-n-
kárfi.” A good deal of old copper—say fifty loads, together with about
twenty loads of zinc—is imported from Tripoli; but a considerable
supply of this useful and handsome metal is also imported every
year by the Jellába of Nímro in Wadáy, who bring it from the
celebrated copper-mine, “el hófra,” situate to the south of Dar-Fúr, of
which I shall have occasion to speak later.[33] I estimate the whole
import of this metal at about from fifteen to twenty millions; but it is to
be remarked that, so far from being to the disadvantage of the
Kanáwa, it proves a new material of industry, while only the smaller
part remains in the country.
With regard to the precious metals, a small supply of silver is
imported by the merchants, but rather exceptionally, most of the
latter being but agents or commissioners engaged to effect the sale
of the merchandise forwarded from Tripoli and Fezzán. The silver
likewise supplies a branch of industry, the silversmiths, who are
generally identical with the blacksmiths, being very clever in making
rings and anklets. In Kanó scarcely any tradesman will object to
receive a dollar in payment. With regard to iron, which forms a very
considerable branch of industry in the place, I will only say that it is
far inferior to that of Wándala or Mándara and Bubanjídda, which I
shall mention in the course of my proceedings. Spears, daggers,
hoes, and stirrups are the articles most extensively produced in iron.
As for gold, though a general standard, of the mithkál at four
thousand kurdí, is usually maintained, in Timbúktu its price greatly
varies, from three thousand five hundred up to four thousand five
hundred kurdí; but this unreasonable fluctuation is but nominal, gold
being scarcely ever bought in Timbúktu for ready money, but for
túrkedís, when a túrkedí bought in Kanó for eighteen hundred, or at
the utmost two thousand, fetches there a mithkál. One hundred
mithkáls of gold may easily be bought in Kanó at any time. Even the
common currency of the Kanó market, the “uri” (pl. kurdí) or shell
(Cypræa moneta), two thousand five hundred of which are equal to
the Spanish or Austrian dollar,[34] forms an important article of import
and commerce, though I have not been able to ascertain that a large
quantity is ever introduced at a time. Nevertheless that must
sometimes happen, as a great amount of shells has been exported
to Bórnu, where they have been recently introduced as currency;
and this obviously explains why since the year 1848 the demand for
these shells has so greatly increased on the coast.
These merely approximative figures cannot be reduced to the form
of a balance-sheet; but they will give a general idea of the
commercial activity of the place. I will conclude these few remarks by
observing that the market of Kanó is better supplied with articles of
food than any other market in Negroland; but meat as well as corn is
dearer here than in Kúkawa, particularly the latter. Besides the great
market-place, there are several smaller ones dispersed through the
town, the most noted of which are the káswa-n-kurmí, Mandáweli,
Hanga, káswa-n-máta, káswa-n-áyagi, káswa-n-Jírba, káswa-n-
Yákase, káswa-n-kófan Wámbay, and the káswa-n-kófan Náyisa.
The province of Kanó, which comprises a very fertile district of
considerable extent, contains, according to my computation, more
than two hundred thousand free people, besides at least an equal
number of slaves; so that the whole population of the province
amounts to more than half a million; though it may greatly exceed
this number. The governor is able to raise an army of seven
thousand horse, and more than twenty thousand men on foot. In the
most flourishing state of the country, the governor of Kanó is said to
have been able to bring into the field as many as ten thousand
horse.
The tribute which he levies is very large, considering the state of
the country, amounting altogether to about one hundred millions of
kurdí, besides the presents received from merchants. The most
considerable item of his revenue consists in, the “kurdí-n-kása” (what
is called in Kanúri “lárderám”), or the ground-rent. It is said to
amount to ninety millions, and is levied, both here and in the
province of Kátsena, not from the ground under cultivation, but every
head of a family has to pay two thousand five hundred kurdí, or just
a Spanish dollar; in the province of Zégzeg, on the contrary, the
kurdí-n-kása is a tax of five hundred kurdí levied on every fertáña or
hoe, and a single hoe will cultivate a piece of ground capable of
producing from one hundred to two hundred “démmi” or sheaves of
grain (sorghum and pennisetum), each of which contains two kél,
while fifty kél are reckoned sufficient for a man’s sustenance during a
whole year. Besides the kurdí-n-kása, the governor levies an annual
tax called “kurdí-n-korófi,” of seven hundred kurdí[35] on every
dyeing-pot or korófi, of which there are more than two thousand in
the town alone; a “fítto” of five hundred kurdí on every slave sold in
the market; an annual tax, “kurdí-n-debíno,” of six hundred kurdí on
every palm-tree, and a small tax called “kurdí-n-ráfi” on the
vegetables sold in the market, such as dánkali or sweet potatoes,
gwáza or yams, rísga, rógo, etc. This latter is very singular, as the
meat, or the cattle brought into the town, as far as I know, does not
pay any tax at all. Clapperton was mistaken in stating that all the
date-trees in the town belong to the governor, which is not more true
than that all the sheds in the market belong to him.
The authority of the governor is not absolute, even without
considering the appeal which lies to his liege lord in Sókoto or
Wúrno, if the subjects’ complaints can be made to reach so far; a
sort of ministerial council is formed, to act in conjunction with the
governor, which in important cases he cannot well avoid consulting.
At the head of this council stands the ghaladíma, whose office
originated, as we shall see, in the empire of Bórnu, and who very
often exercises, as is the case in Kanó, the highest influence,
surpassing that of the governor himself; then follows the “serkí-n-
dáwakay” (the master of the horse), an important charge in
barbarous countries, where victory depends almost always on the
cavalry; then the “bánda-n-Kanó” (a sort of commander-in-chief);
then the “alkáli” or chief justice, the “chiróma-n-Kanó” (the eldest son
of the governor, or some one assuming this title), who exercises the
chief power in the southern part of the province; the “serkí-n-báy”
(properly, the chief of the slaves), who has the inspection of the
northern districts of the province as far as Kazáure; then the “gadó”
or lord of the treasury, and finally the “serkí-n-sháno” (the master of
the oxen, or rather the quartermaster-general), who has all the
military stores under his care; for the ox, or rather the bull, is the
ordinary beast of burden in Negroland. It is characteristic that, when
the governor is absent paying his homage to his liege lord, it is not
the ghaladíma, but the gadó and the serkí-n-sháno who are his
lieutenants or substitutes.
With regard to the government in general, I think, in this province,
where there is so much lively intercourse, and where publicity is
given very soon to every incident, it is not oppressive, though the
behaviour of the ruling class is certainly haughty, and there is, no
doubt, a great deal of injustice inflicted in small matters. The
etiquette of the court, which is far more strict than in Sókoto, must
prevent any poor man from entering the presence of the governor.
The Fúlbe marry the handsome daughters of the subjugated tribe,
but would not condescend to give their own daughters to the men of
that tribe as wives. As far as I saw, their original type has been well
preserved as yet, though, by obtaining possession of wealth and
comfort, their warlike character has been greatly impaired, and the
Féllani-n-Kanó have become notorious for their cowardice
throughout the whole of Negroland.
CHAPTER XXVI.
STARTING FOR KÚKAWA.—THE FRONTIER
DISTRICT.
Sunday, March 9.—The traveller who would leave a place where

he has made a long residence, often finds that his departure involves
him in a great deal of trouble, and is by no means an easy affair.
Moreover my situation when, after much delay, I was about to leave
Kanó, was peculiarly embarrassing. There was no caravan; the road
was infested by robbers; and I had only one servant upon whom I
could rely, or who was really attached to me, while I had been so
unwell the preceding day as to be unable to rise from my couch.
However, I was full of confidence; and with the same delight with
which a bird springs forth from its cage, I hastened to escape from
these narrow, dirty mud-walls into the boundless creation.
There being scarcely anyone to assist my faithful Gatróni, the
loading of my three camels took an immense time, and the
horseman destined to accompany me to the frontier of the Kanó
territory grew rather impatient. At length, at about two o’clock in the
afternoon, I mounted my unsightly black four-dollar nag, and
following my companion, who (in a showy dress, representing very
nearly the German costume about the time of the Thirty Years’ War,
and well mounted), gave himself all possible airs of dignity, started
forth from the narrow streets of Dalá, into the open fields.
I felt my heart lightened, and, forgetting what had passed, began
to think only of the wide field now opening before me, if fresh means
should reach us in Kúkawa. We had taken a very circuitous road in
order to pass through the widest of the fourteen gates of the town;
but the long passage through the wall was too narrow for my
unwieldy luggage; and my impatient, self-conceited companion fell
into despair, seeing that we should be unable to reach the night’s
quarters destined for us. At length all was again placed upon the
patient animals; and my noble Bú-Séfi taking the lead of the short
string of my caravan, we proceeded onwards, keeping at a short
distance from the wall, till we reached the highroad from the Kófa-n-
Wámbay. Here too is a considerable estate belonging to a ba-
Ásbenchí (a man from Asben), who has a company of slaves always
residing here. Going slowly on through the well-cultivated country,
we reached a small watercourse. Being anxious to know in what
direction the torrent had its discharge, and unable to make it out from
my own observation, I took the liberty of asking my companion; but
the self-conceited courtier, though born a slave, thought himself
insulted by such a question, and by the presumption that he ever
paid attention to such trivial things as the direction of a watercourse,
or the name of a village!
Having watered our horses here, I and my friend went on in
advance, to secure quarters for the night, and chose them in a small
hamlet, where, after some resistance, a mʿallem gave us up part of
his courtyard surrounded with a fence of the stalks of Guinea-corn.
When the camels came up we pitched our tent. The boy ʿAbdallah,
however, seeing that my party was so small, and fearing that we
should have some misadventure, had run away and returned to
Kanó.
Though there was much talk of thieves, who indeed infest the
whole neighbourhood of this great market-town, and, excited by the
hope of remaining unpunished under an indolent government, very
often carry off camels during the night even from the middle of the
town, we passed a tranquil night, and got off at a tolerably early hour
the next morning. The character of the country is almost the same as
that during our last day’s march in coming from Kátsena, small
clusters of huts and detached farms being spread about over the
cultivated country, where we observed also some tobacco-fields just
in flower: my attention was more attracted by a small range of hills in
the distance on our left. I was also astonished at the little traffic
which I observed on this route, though we met a considerable
natron-caravan coming from Zínder, the ass and the bullock going on
peaceably side by side, as is always the case in Negroland. The
country continued to improve; and the fields of Charó, shaded as
they were by luxuriant trees, looked fertile and well cared for, while
the clusters of neat huts scattered all about had an air of comfort.
Here we ought to have passed the previous night; and my
companion had gone in advance to deliver his order, and probably to
get a good luncheon instead of his missed supper. Beyond this
village, or rather district, cultivation seemed to be less careful; but
perhaps the reason was only that the villages were further from the
road.
The quiet course of domestic slavery has very little to offend the
mind of the traveller; the slave is generally well treated, is not
overworked, and is very often considered as a member of the family.
Scenes caused by the running away of a slave in consequence of
bad and severe treatment occur every day with the Arabs, who
generally sell their slaves, even those they have had some time, as
soon as occasion offers; but with the natives they are very rare.
However, I was surprised at observing so few home-born slaves in
Negroland—with the exception of the Tuarek, who seem to take
great pains to rear slaves—and I have come to the conclusion that
marriage among domestic slaves is very little encouraged by the
natives; indeed I think myself justified in supposing that a slave is
very rarely allowed to marry. This is an important circumstance in
considering domestic slavery in Central Africa; for if these domestic
slaves do not of themselves maintain their numbers, then the
deficiency arising from ordinary mortality must constantly be kept up
by a new supply, which can only be obtained by kidnapping or, more
generally, by predatory incursions, and it is this necessity which
makes even domestic slavery appear so baneful and pernicious. The
motive for making these observations in this place was the sight of a
band of slaves, whom we met this morning, led on in two files, and
fastened one to the other by a strong rope round the neck.
Our march was to be but a short one, as we were to pass the
remainder of the day and the following night in Gezáwa; and as it
was still long before noon, and we had the hottest time of the day
before us, I was anxious to encamp outside the town in the shade of
some fine tree, but my escort would not allow me to do so. We
therefore entered the town, which is surrounded with a clay wall in
tolerable repair, and moreover by a small ditch on the outside; but
the interior presents a desolate aspect, only about a third part of the
space being occupied by detached cottages. Here I was lodged in a
small hot shíbki (reed hut), and passed the “éni” most uncomfortably,
cursing my companion and all the escorts in the world, and resolved
never again to take up my quarters inside a town, except where I
was to make a stay of some length. I was therefore delighted, in the
course of the afternoon, to hear from the man who had taken the
camels outside the town upon the pasture-ground, that the sheríf
Konché had arrived and sent me his compliments.
I had once seen this man in Kanó, and had been advised to wait
for him, as he was likewise on his way to Kúkawa; but knowing how
slow Arabs are, and little suspecting what a sociable and amiable
man he was, I thought it better to go on; whereupon he, thinking that
my company was preferable to a longer stay, hastened to follow me.
To-day, however, I did not see him, as he had encamped outside the
town; still I had already much reason to thank him, as he had
brought back my fickle runaway servant ʿAbdallah, whom after some
reprimand, and a promise on his side to remain with me in future, I
took back, as I was very much in want of a servant. He was a native
of the country, a Baháushe with a little Arab blood in him, and had
been reduced to slavery. Afterwards, in Bórnu, a man claimed him as
his property. His mother, who was living not far from Gérki, was also
about this time carried into slavery, having gone to some village
where she was kidnapped. Such things are of daily occurrence in
these countries on the borders of two territories. The lad’s sister had
a similar fate.
The inhabitants of Gezáwa seem to be devoted almost entirely to
cattle-breeding; and in the market which was held to-day (as it is
every Monday) outside the town, nothing else was offered for sale
but cattle and sheep, scarcely a piece of cotton cloth being laid out,
and very little corn. Also round the town there are scarcely any
traces of cultivation. The mayor seemed not to be in very enviable
circumstances, and bore evident traces of sorrow and anxiety;
indeed the laziness and indolence of the governor of Kanó in
neglecting the defence of the wealth and the national riches of his
province are incredible, and can only be tolerated by a liege lord just
as lazy and indifferent as himself. But at that period the country still
enjoyed some tranquillity and happiness, while from the day on
which the rebel Bokhári took possession of Khadéja, as I shall soon
have occasion to relate, the inhabitants of all the eastern part of this
beautiful province underwent daily vexations, so that the towns on
this road were quite deserted when I passed a second time through
this country, in December 1854.
Early next morning we loaded our camels and left the town, in
order to join our new travelling companion, who by this time had also
got ready his little troop. It consisted of himself on horseback, his
“sirríya,” likewise on horseback, three female attendants, six natives,
and as many sumpter-oxen. He himself was a portly Arab, with fine,
sedate manners, such as usually distinguish wealthy people of the
Gharb (Morocco); for he was a native of Fás, and though in reality
not a sheríf (though the title of a sheríf in Negroland means scarcely
anything but an impudent, arrogant beggar), yet, by his education
and fine, noble character, he deserved certainly to be called a
gentleman. The name “Konché” (Mr. Sleep) had been given to him
by the natives, from his very reasonable custom of sleeping, or
pretending to sleep, the whole day during the Ramadan, which
enabled him to bear the fasting more easily. His real name was ʿAbd
el Khafíf.
Our first salutation was rather cold; but we soon became friends;
and I must say of him that he was the most noble Arab merchant I
have seen in Negroland. Though at present he had not much
merchandise of value with him, he was a wealthy man, and had
enormous demands upon several governors and princes in
Negroland, especially upon Múniyóma, or the governor of Múniyo,
who was indebted to him for about thirty millions—shells, of course,
but nevertheless a very large sum in this country. Of his “sirríya,”
who always rode at a respectful distance behind him, I cannot speak,
as she was veiled from top to toe; but if a conclusion might be drawn
from her attendants, who were very sprightly, well-formed young
girls, she must have been handsome. The male servants of my
friend were all characteristically dressed, and armed in the native
fashion with bows and arrows,—knapsacks, water-bottles, and
drinking vessels all hanging around them in picturesque confusion;
but among them there was a remarkable fellow, who had already
given me great surprise in Kanó. When lying one day in a feverish
state on my hard couch, I heard myself saluted in Romaic or modern
Greek. The man who thus addressed me had long whiskers, and
was as black as any negro. But I had some difficulty in believing him
to be a native of Negroland. Yet such he was, though by a stay in
Stambúl of some twenty years, from his boyhood, he had not only
learned the language perfectly, but also adopted the manners, and I
might almost say the features, of the modern Greeks. In such
company we continued pleasantly on, sometimes through a
cultivated country, at others through underwood, meeting now and
then a motley caravan of horses, oxen, and asses, all laden with
natron, and coming from Múniyo. Once there was also a mule with
the other beasts of burden; and on inquiry, on this occasion, I learnt
that this animal, which I had supposed to be frequent in Negroland,
is very rare, at least in these parts, and in Kanó always fetches the
high price of from sixty to eighty thousand kurdí, which is just double
the rate of a camel. In Wángara and Gónja the mule seems to be
more frequent. But there is only one in Kúkawa and in Timbúktu, the
latter belonging to one of the richest Morocco merchants.
Animated scenes succeeded each other:—now a well, where the
whole population of a village or zángo were busy in supplying their
wants for the day; then another, where a herd of cattle was just being
watered; a beautiful tamarind-tree spreading a shady canopy over a
busy group of talkative women selling victuals, ghussub-water, and
sour milk, or “cotton.” About ten o’clock detached dúm-palms began
to impart to the landscape a peculiar character, as we approached
the considerable but open place Gabezáwa, which at present
exhibited the busy and animated scene of a well-frequented market.
In this country the market days of the towns succeed each other by
turns, so that all the inhabitants of a considerable district can take
advantage every day of the traffic in the peculiar article in which
each of these places excels.
While pushing our way through the rows of well-stocked sheds, I
became aware that we were approaching the limits of the Kanúri
language; for being thirsty, I wished to buy ghussub-water (“furá” in
Háusa), but in asking for it, received from the woman fresh butter
(“fulá” in Kanúri), and had some difficulty in making them understand
that I did not want the latter. Continuing our march without stopping,
we reached at noon the well-known (that is to say, among the
travelling natives) camping ground of Kúka mairuá, an open place
surrounded by several colossal specimens of the monkey-bread-
tree, kúka or Adansonia digitata, which all over this region of Central
Africa are not of that low, stunted growth which seems to be peculiar
to them near the coast, but in general attain to a height of from sixty
to eighty feet. Several troops of native traders were already
encamped here, while a string of some thirty camels, most of them
unloaded, and destined to be sold in Kanó, had just arrived. A wide-
spreading tamarind-tree formed a natural roof over a busy market-
scene, where numbers of women were selling all the eatables and
delicacies of the country. The village lay to the south-east. Here we
pitched our tents close together, as robbers and thieves are very
numerous in the neighbourhood; and I fired repeatedly during the
night, a precaution which the event proved to be not at all useless.
The name of the place signifies “the Adansonia with the water.”
However, the latter part of the name seemed rather ironical, as I had
to pay forty kurdí for filling a water-skin, and for watering my horse
and my camels; and I would therefore not advise a future traveller to
go to a neighbouring village, which bears the name of “Kúka
maífurá,” in the belief that he may find there plenty of cheap furá or
ghussub-water.
Wednesday, March 12.—Our encampment was busy from the very
first dawn of day, and exhibited strong proof of industry on the part of
the natives; for even at this hour women were offering ready-cooked
pudding as a luncheon to the travellers. Some of our fellow-sleepers
on this camping-ground started early; and the two Welád Slimán
also, who led the string of camels, started off most imprudently in the
twilight. As for us we waited till everything was clearly discernible,
and then took the opposite direction through underwood; and we had
advanced but a short distance when a man came running after us,
bringing us the exciting news that a party of Tuarek had fallen upon
the two Arabs, and after wounding the elder of them, who had made
some resistance, had carried off all their camels but three. I
expressed my surprise to my horseman that such a thing could
happen on the territory of the governor of Kanó, and urged him to
collect some people of the neighbouring villages, in order to rescue
the property, which might have been easily done; but he was quite
indifferent, and smiling in his self-conceit, and pulling his little straw
hat on one side of his head, he went on before us.
Small villages belonging to the district of Zákara were on each
side, the inhabitants indulging still in security and happiness; the
following year they were plunged into an abyss of misery, Bokhári
making a sudden inroad on a market-day, and carrying off as many
as a thousand persons. I here had a proof of the great
inconvenience which many parts of Negroland suffer with regard to
water, for the well at which we watered our horses this morning
measured no less than three and thirty fathoms; but I afterwards
found that this is a very common thing as well in Bórnu as in
Bagírmi, while in other regions I shall have to mention wells as much
as sixty fathoms deep. Beyond this spot we met a very numerous
caravan with natron, coming from Kúkawa; and I therefore eagerly
inquired the news of that place from the horsemen who
accompanied it. All was well; but they had not heard either of the
arrival or of the approach of a Christian. This natron, which is
obtained in the neighbourhood of the Tsád, was all in large pieces
like stone, and is carried in nets, while that coming from Múniyo
consists entirely of rubble, and is conveyed in bags, or a sort of
basket. The former is called “kílbu tsaráfu,” while the name of the
latter is “kílbu bóktor.” We soon saw other troops laden with this
latter article; and there were even several mules among the beasts
of burden. The commerce of this article is very important; and I
counted to-day more than five hundred loads of natron that we met
on our road.
I then went on in advance with “Mr. Sleep,” and soon reached the
village Dóka, which by the Arabs travelling in Negroland is called, in
semi-barbarous Arabic, “Súk el karága,” karága being a Bórnu word
meaning wilderness. The village belongs to the ghaladíma. Here we
sat tranquilly down near the market-place, in the shade of some
beautiful tamarind-trees, and indulged in the luxuries which my
gentlemanlike companion could afford. I was astonished, as well as
ashamed at the comfort which my African friend displayed, ordering
one of the female attendants of his sirríya to bring into his presence
a basket which seemed to be under the special protection of the
latter, and drawing forth from it a variety of well-baked pastry, which
he spread on a napkin before us, while another of the attendants
was boiling the coffee. The barbarian and the civilized European
seemed to have changed places; and, in order to contribute
something to our repast, I went to the market and bought a couple of
young onions. Really is incredible what a European traveller in these
countries has to endure; for while he must bear infinitely more
fatigue, anxiety, and mental exertion than any native traveller, he is
deprived of even the little comfort which the country affords—has no
one to cook his supper, and to take care of him when he falls sick, or
to shampoo him;
“And, ah! no wife or mother’s care

For him the milk or corn prepare.”
Leaving my companion to indulge in the “kief” of the Osmánli, of

which he possessed a great deal, I preferred roving about. I
observed that during the rainy season a great deal of water must
collect here, which probably explains the luxurious vegetation and
the splendid foliage of the trees hereabouts; and I was confirmed in
my observation by my companion, who had travelled through this
district during the rainy season, and was strongly impressed with the
difficulties arising from the water, which covers a great part of the
surface.
Having allowed our people, who by this time had come up, to have
a considerable start in advance of us, we followed at length, entering
underwood, from which we did not emerge till we arrived near Gérki.
According to instructions received from us, our people had already
chosen the camping ground on the north-west side of the town; but
my horseman, who had gone in advance with them, thought it first
necessary to conduct me into the presence of the governor, or rather
of one of the five governors who rule over this place, each of them
thinking himself more important than his colleague. The one to whom
he presented me was, however, a very unprepossessing man, and
not the same who on my return from the west in 1854 treated me
with extraordinary respect. Yet he did not behave inhospitably to me:
for he sent me a sheep (not very fat indeed), with some corn and
fresh milk. Milk during the whole of my journey formed my greatest
luxury; but I would advise any African traveller to be particularly
careful with this article, which is capable of destroying a weak
stomach entirely; and he would do better to make it a rule always to
mix it with a little water, or to have it boiled.
The town of Gérki is a considerable place, and under a strong
government would form a most important frontier-town. As it is, it
may probably contain about fifteen thousand inhabitants; but they
are notorious for their thievish propensities, and the wild state of the
country around bears ample testimony to their want of industry. The
market, which is held here before the south-west gate, is of the most
indifferent description. The wall with its pinnacles is in very good
repair. In order to keep the thievish disposition of the natives in
check, I fired some shots late in the evening; and we slept
undisturbed. On my return journey, however, in 1854, when I was
quite alone with my party, I was less fortunate, a most enterprising
thief returning thrice to his task, and carrying away, one after the
other, first the tobe, then the trousers, and finally the cap from one of
my people.
Thursday, March 13.—Not waiting for the new horseman whom I
was to receive here early in the morning, I went on in advance with
my companion, in order to reach Gúmmel before the heat of the day;
and we soon met in the forest a string of twelve camels, all laden
with kurdí or shells, and belonging to the rich Arab merchant Bú-
héma, who resides in Múniyo, and carries on a considerable
commerce between Kanó and Kúkawa. I will here mention, that in
general one hundred thousand kurdí are regarded as a camel-load;
a fine animal, however, like these will carry as much as a hundred
and fifty thousand, that is, just sixty dollars or twelve pounds’ worth.
It is easy to be understood that, where the standard coin is of so
unwieldy a nature, the commerce of the country cannot be of great
value.
About two miles before we reached the frontier town of the Bórnu
empire in this direction, we were joined by the horseman of the
governor of Gérki; and we here took leave of Háusa with its fine and
beautiful country, and its cheerful and industrious population. It is
remarkable what a difference there is between the character of the
ba-Háushe and the Kanúri—the former lively, spirited, and cheerful,
the latter melancholic, dejected, and brutal; and the same difference
is visible in their physiognomies—the former having in general
pleasant and regular features, and more graceful forms, while the
Kanúri, with his broad face, his wide nostrils, and his large bones,
makes a far less agreeable impression, especially the women, who
are very plain and certainly the ugliest in all Negroland,
notwithstanding their coquetry, in which they do not yield at all to the
Háusa women.
Birmenáwa is a very small town, but strongly fortified with an
earthen wall and two deep ditches, one inside and the other outside,
and only one gate on the west side. Around it there is a good deal of
cultivation, while the interior is tolerably well inhabited. Konché, who
was in a great hurry to reach Gúmmel, would have preferred going
on directly without entering the town: but as I was obliged to visit it in
order to change my horseman, it being of some importance to me to
arrive in Gúmmel with an escort, he accompanied me. The
population consists of mixed Háusa and Kanúri elements.
Having obtained another man, we continued our march through a
country partly under cultivation, partly covered with underwood, and
were pleased, near the village Tókun, to find the Háusa custom of a
little market held by the women on the roadside still prevailing; but
this was the last scene of the kind I was to see for a long time. We
reached the considerable town of Gúmmel just when the sun began
to shine with great power; and at the gate we separated, the sheríf
taking his way directly towards his quarters in the southern part of
the town, while I was obliged to go first to the house of the governor,
the famous Dan-Tanóma (the son of Tanóma, his own name being
entirely unknown to the people); but on account of his great age,
neither on this nor on a later occasion did I get a sight of him.
Indeed, he was soon to leave this world, and by his death to plunge
not only the town wherein he resided, but the whole neighbouring
country, into a destructive civil war between his two sons.
However, on my first visit Gúmmel was still a flourishing place, and
well inhabited, and I had to pass through an intricate labyrinth of
narrow streets enclosed between fences of mats and reeds
surrounding huts and courtyards, before I reached the dwellings of
the few Arabs who live here: and after looking about for some time I
obtained quarters near the house of Sálem Maidúkia (the Rothschild
of Gúmmel), where my Morocco friend was lodged. But my lodgings
required building in the first instance, as they consisted of nothing
but a courtyard, the fence of which was in a state of utter decay, and
a hut entirely fallen in, so that there was not the least shelter from
the sun, whereas I had to wait here two days at least for my new
friend, whose company I was not inclined to forego, without very
strong reasons, on my journey to Kúkawa.
However, building is not so difficult in Negroland as it is in Europe;
and a most comfortable dwelling, though rather light, and liable to
catch fire, may be erected in a few hours; even a roof is very
sufficiently made, at least such as is here wanted during the dry
season, with those thick mats, made of reed, called “síggedi” in
Bórnu. But most fortunately Sálem had a conical roof just ready,
which would have afforded satisfactory shelter even from the
heaviest rain. I therefore sent immediately my whole remaining
supply of kurdí to the market to buy those mats and sticks; and
getting four men practised in this sort of workmanship, I immediately
set to work, and, long before my camels arrived, had a well-fenced
private courtyard, and a splendid cool shade, while my tent served
as a store for my luggage, and as a bedroom for myself.
Having, therefore, made myself comfortable, I was quite prepared
to indulge in the luxurious luncheon sent me by the maidúkia,
consisting of a well-cooked paste of Negro millet with sour milk; after
which I received visits from the few Arabs residing here, and was
pleased to find one among them who had been Clapperton’s
servant, and was well acquainted with the whole proceedings of the
first expedition. He had been travelling about a good deal, and was
able, with the assistance of a companion of his, to give me a
tolerably complete itinerary of the route from Sókoto to Gónja, the
gúro-country and the northern province of Asianti. These Arabs
necessarily lead here a very miserable sort of existence; Sálem,
however, a native of Sókna, has succeeded in amassing a
considerable fortune for these regions, and is therefore called by the
natives maidúkia. He had a freed slave of the name of Mohammed
Abbeakúta, who, though not at all an amiable man, and rather self-
conceited, nevertheless gave me some interesting information.
Among other things, he gave me a very curious list of native names
of the months, which are not, however, those used by the Háusáwa,
nor, I think, by the Yórubáwa, he having been evidently a native of
Yóruba. He also gave me the following receipt for an antidote in the
case of a person being wounded by poisoned arrows: a very young
chicken is boiled with the fruits of the chamsínda, the áddwa
(Balanites), and the tamarind-tree; and the bitter decoction so
obtained, which is carried in a small leathern bag ready for use, is
drunk immediately after receiving the poisonous wound, when, as he
affirmed, the effect of the poison is counteracted by the medicine.
The chicken would seem to have very little effect in the composition,
but may be added as a charm. The next morning I went with ʿAbd el
Khafíf to pay our compliments to old Dan-Tanóma. His residence,
surrounded by high clay walls, and including, besides numbers of
huts for his household and numerous wives, some spacious halls of
clay, was of considerable extent; and the courtyard, shaded by a
wide-spreading, luxuriant tamarind-tree, was a very noble area.
While we sat there awaiting the governor’s pleasure, I had a fair
insight into the concerns of this little court, all the well-fed, idle
parasites coming in one after the other, and rivalling each other in
trivial jokes. The Háusa language is the language of the court; and
the offices are similar to those which I mentioned above with regard
to Kanó. Having waited a long time in vain, the weak old man
sending an excuse, as he could not grant us an interview, we
returned to our quarters.

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Cognitive Psychology, 7th Ed 7th

Edition Robert J. Sternberg

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Conceptions of Giftedness and Talent Robert J.

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(eBook PDF) Educational Psychology, 7th Canadian

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1 Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

4 Attention and Consciousness 117

5 Memory: Models and Research Methods 159

7 Mental Images and Propositions 245

8 The Organization of Knowledge in the Mind 291

10 Language in Context 367

11 Problem Solving and Creativity 399

12 Decision Making and Reasoning 439

13 Human Intelligence 479

Name Index 579

Subject Index 589

n In the Lab of Marvin Chun 95

Automatic and Controlled Processes in Attention 143

n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Can Your Brain Store Images of

n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Deciphering Text 357

Neuropsychology of Language 391

Goals of this Book

Mission in Revising the Text

• better integrate coverage of cognitive neuroscience in each chapter; and

Major Organizing and Special

New to the Seventh Edition

• Revised the section on experiments to facilitate comprehension

• Added a new section on myside bias to the section on biases

Heather Bailey, Kansas State University

Karin Sternberg is a research associate at Cornell University. She has a Ph.D.

Psychological Origins of Cognitive Psychology

Research Methods in Cognitive Psychology

Here are some of the questions we will explore in this chapter:

B E LIE VE I T O R N O T Now You See It, Now You Don’t!

Note: Do not read on before you have watched the video.

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Cognitive Psychology Defined

Philosophical Origins of Psychology:

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Fancy Photography/Veer Images

Psychological Origins of Cognitive Psychology

Early Dialectics in the Psychology of Cognition

Understanding the Structure of the Mind: Structuralism

Archives of the History of American

Methods To Gain Knowledge How Knowledge Is Gained

Rationalism Through reflective thinking and logical analysis

Empiricism Through observation

Aristotle René Descartes Immanuel Kant

1500 1600 1700

Plato John Locke

Approaches to Studying the Mind Methods Used What Is Studied

Structuralism Introspection Content/structure of the mind

Pragmatism Various Research that can be applied to the

Synthesis: Associationism Experiments: Ebbinghaus used

Behaviorism Use of animals in research in addition Relations between observable

7 Mental Images and Propositions 245

n Investigating Cognitive Psychology: Can Your Brain Store Images of