Approaches - Cognitive Flashcards
What do cognitive psychologists believe behaviour is a result of?
Behaviour is the result of information processing. Thoughts are both conscious and non-conscious, these thoughts pass through stages called internal mental processes.
What are mental processes?
Mental processes are information processing completed by the brain, and the processing can be compared to that of a computer
What are models used for as part of the cognitive approach?
Used to provide testable theories about mental processing and these can be studied scientifically and inferences made.
What are schemas?
Cognitive frameworks formed from prior experience that help us navigate life easily. Helps us organise the large amount of new information we experience every moment.
What role does inference play as part of the cognitive approach?
Internal mental processes cannot be directly observed, an inference is going beyond the immediate evidence that has been observed to make assumptions about the underlining structure of mental processes.
What are computer models?
How we think of the structure of the mind/brain system as similar to a computer, such as CPU = Brain, Coding = turning stimuli into thoughts , Memory stores = Specialist memory areas in the brain. Output = behavioural responses
What are theoretical models?
Like flow chart models used in computer programming and are a representation of how information flows and is processed through a mental system such as memory or attentions.
What do models produce
Models produce testable theories that can be studied with scientific methods, and inferences made from experiments
What is assimilation?
When we add new information to existing schema.
What is accommodation?
When an old schema has to be adapted, or a new schema has to be created.
Who first used the term ‘‘schema’’ in psychology?
Piaget - suggested as children developed they acquired new schema through interaction with the world and others
Why are schemas helpful but can also be unhelpful?
They help us make assumptions about the world quickly, many times this may be correct however can lead us to make incorrect assumptions (stereotypes, prejudice,and bias)
What is cognitive neuroscience ?
Investigates how cognition is produced by the interaction of neural mechanisms, brain structure and chemistry and is part of neuroscience
What way of studying the brain is used as part of cognitive neuroscience?
Functional neuroimaging - fMRI/PET scans are used to investigate brain activity while engaged in various cognitive tasks to see the interaction between separate brain regions
How are clinical case studies used to investigate cognitive neuroscience?
Brain damage patients with cognitive deficits are compared to healthy brains and are very useful in showing how some aspects of cognition are separate.
How is brain mapping used?
These techniques have been used to provide a map of the brain, showing localised functional areas for memory, language and a range of individual tasks
Applications of cognitive neuroscience?
Identifying areas associated with memory, ageing, psychopathology and language can help develop treatments. Findings can be used in the development of AI.
Is the cognitive approach an example of determinism or free will?
Soft determinism. Thoughts are influenced by previous experience (schemas) and brain structure, however conscious thought can override as an expression of free will.
Is the cognitive approach an example of reductionism or holism?
Machine reductionism. Can be seen as overly mechanical in describing human thinking as processing like a computer. This does not explain human irrationality in many decisions and the role of emotions.
Is the cognitive approach an example of nature or nurture?
Both. There is an inheritance of general brain structure that leads to the development of mental processes. However the development of schema is down to experiences within the environment.
Is the cognitive approach ideographic or nomothetic?
Cogntive psychologists use large scale experiments to make general rules of human behaviour, so nomothetic. However does use unusual case studies of people with brain injuries to make suggestions about structure of mental processes
Strengths of the cognitive approach?
+ High level of control/objectivity in research is scientific; the use of models for ease of understanding has helped the development of neuroscience and other applications
Limitations of the cognitive approach?
- What can be recalled by participants in controlled environments may not be generalisable to everyday uses of memory, due to the experimental tasks being artificial/ lacking mundane realism
- Using inference to assume underlying processes in thinking, is unscientific as internal mental processes cannot be directly tested and inferences may be mistaken
- Individual mental processes such as attention are seen as distinct. However there is little explanation as to how these mental events work together
- Reliability is questionable as self-report as a method of data collection
