Approaches (AS): Cognitive Approach Flashcards
What does the cognitive approach focus on?
how our mental processes affect behaviour.
The development of computers allowed cognitive psychologists a metaphor to explain mental the mental processes of:
Perception
Memory
Thinking
Language
What ways are mental processes studied?
Case studies of brain injuries
Brain mapping (MRI)
Testing theoretical and human models of memory (MSM and WMM
What is a schema
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing. They are developed form experience.
What does schema enable us to do?
to process lots of information quickly and this is useful as a mental shortcut as our schema becomes more detailed as we get older. It helps us not get overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
How do cognitive psychologists understand internal mental processes?
they use both theoretical and computer models
What does the information processing model suggest?
information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages: input, storage and retrieval.
What was Jacob’s study
Conducted lab experiments on STM
Participants required to memorise a series of numbers/letters
Increased one extra number each time
What did Maguire discover?
that London taxi drivers had more grey matter in their posterior hippocampi than those who were similar in age, education and intelligence. Taxi drivers had plumper memory centres than their peers as they had to memorise intricate routes which improved with experience.
What does Maguire’s study suggest?
This suggests that extensive practice with spatial navigation affects the hippocampus.
What could Maguires study help?
Stroke victims, Alzheimer’s and brain damage patients with exercises that can stimulate the brain
What are the strengths of the Cognitive approach?
Real life application (e.g., Maguire)
Uses scientific and objective methodology
Less deterministic than other approaches
What are the weaknesses of the cognitive approach?
Machine reductionism: human mind is more complex and sophisticated than a computer and it ignores emotions and motivations
Lack of ecological validity: can only explain mental processes from the behaviour that they observe which makes the approach abstract and too theory based
How do cognitive psychologists study the mind?
indirectly by making inferences
What are the three basic assumptions of the cognitive approach?
Between stimulus and response are complex mental processes, which can be studied scientifically.
Internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically
Mechanisms of computers and the human mind can become alike- they encode and store information and have outputs
