6 - The Cognitive Approach - Cognitive Neuroscience Flashcards
Outline cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive and biological processes integrated.
Scientific study of the neurological structures, mechanisms, processes and chemistry which are responsible for our thinking processes.
What has been used to help us learn more about the brain?
Non-invasive brain imaging techniques such as Position Emission Tomography (PET) and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
Helped to understand how brain supports different cognitive activities and emotions by showing us which parts of the brain become active under certain circumstances.
Able to locate different types of memory in different areas of the brain, for instance episodic
memories are in the hippocampus, semantic memories are in the temporal lobe, and procedural memories are in the cerebellum. This has led to more effective
treatments for memory disorders.
What are the positives of the cognitive approach?
Many applications in different areas of Psychology.
For example, social cognitions can help psychologists understand how people form impressions of others and how people might form cognitive errors and
biases.
Used to explain the development of faulty negative thinking which can aid our understanding of mental illnesses like depression. Vast influence on the
development of therapies in Psychology. For instance CBT aims to change negative thoughts into more positive thoughts to help treat depression.
Emphasises scientific methods such as laboratory
experiments when collecting data. High levels of control can be exercised in these settings and cause and effects relationships can be identified. However, laboratory experiments can be criticised for lacking
mundane realism.
What are the negatives of the cognitive approach?
Uses computer models. Phrases like ‘storage’ and
‘retrieval’ are taken directly from computing. However, there is an important difference between the sort of information processing that takes place within a
computer programme and the processing that takes place in the human mind. Computers do not make mistakes, or ignore available information, or forget what has been stored on their hard drives. Humans on the other hand do all of these things.
Tells us how different cognitive processes take place but does not tell us why they take place. Role of emotion and motivation has largely been ignored by this approach. Motivation is clearly irrelevant to a computer, but is very relevant to a human being.
