4.2.1 The Cognitive Aproach Flashcards
What does cognitive means?
Connected with thinking or internal metal processes
What are the key assumptions of the cognitive approach?
-Focuses on the examination of internal mental processes
-directly contrasts to the behaviourist approach
-study a wide range of behaviour such as cognitive development in children and how cognitive processes change due to ageing. They also study how cognitive processes influence our social and emotional lives
-studied in an objective and scientific way, using laboratory experiments and carefully controlled conditions
-the human mind actively processes information from the senses: (stimulus-organism-response) approach means that it assumes cognitive processes mediate stimulus and response
-make inferences from the observation and measurement of visible human behaviour, about mental processes that cannot be seen
-cognitive psychologists study indirectly by making inferences about what is going on in people’s minds, on the basis of their behaviour
What is an inference?
To go beyond the immediate evidence to make assumptions about mental processes which cannot be observed directly
What is a schema?
A schema is a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence the cognitive processing in the mind.
How are schema developed and used?
Schema are developed from past experiences, and are used in responding to new information or situations. They are an example of top-down information processing, as they provide us with expectations so we do not have to process new details all the time.
What are the positives of schemas?
Help predict what will happen in our world based on past experiences.
Process lots of information rapidly.
Prevent overwhelm due to environmental stimuli.
What are the negatives of schema?
Distort interpretation of sensory information.
Perceptual errors or false memories
Can cause biased recall
May have a negative impact on mental health
What are theoretical models?
Theoretical models are visual representations of internal mental processes that are used to help researchers to study complex processes.
Describe how the multi-store model of memory is an example of a theoretical model?
It uses computer terminology
Information is processed through a series of stages
Key processes include attention and rehearsal
Includes storage systems
Is represented as a flow diagram
What is a benefit of theoretical models?
Components of theoretical models can be tested individually, meaning if data doesn’t support the model at a particular stage, then the model can be altered at that stage.
What are computer models?
Computer models, introduced as the information processing approach, use computer analogies to describe behaviour. Individuals encode information, store or transform it, and provide output as a behaviour.
What are the two benefits of computer models?
They can explain many everyday behaviours.
They have been useful in the development of artificial intelligence (AI)
Define cognitive neuroscience
The scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes.
It bridges the gap between the cognitive and biological approaches.
How is cognitive neuroscience conducted?
It has been systematically observed and described in the last 20 years
It uses non-invasive brain scanning techniques such as PET and MRI to understand which parts of the brain are active when specific internal mental processes are being used.
Eg. Highlighted the regions of the brain associated with different types of long term memory, and established links to certain mental health disorders
Give 3 applications of cognitive neuroscience
-use of scanning techniques to locate different types of memory in different areas of the brain, leading to treatment for memory problems
-use of scanning techniques to study mental processing in patients with depression or OCD, or in children with autism and dyslexia
-use of imaging techniques to study the effects of ageing on the brain, or the effect of strokes on the brain
