Dr. Michael Öllinger

Michael Öllinger, Parmenides Center for the Study of Thinking:

Studying higher cognitive function challenges the conceptual and methodological repertoire of cognitive scientist. To learn more about the mechanisms and processes that characterize human thinking we need a highly interdisciplinary approach. We will demonstrate by various experimental paradigms using EEG the advantages, problems and limits of standard approaches. We will further show how the cognitive rational is conveyed in a neurophysiological model and what methodological problems occur. Moreover, we will outline the problems that occur, investigating the development of thinking in young children. We conclude with a wish list that summarizes the methodological tools that might be necessary and helpful to study human thinking in the future.