APPROACHES- Cognitive

Question 1

What does cognition mean?

Answer 1

mental processes

Question 2

When was this approach developed?

Answer 2

1960s

Question 3

What are the key areas? of cognitive psychology?

Answer 3

-perception
-language acquisition
-problem-solving
-attention
-facial recognition

Question 4

What are the main assumptions?

Answer 4

-internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
-they investigate areas of behaviour neglected by behaviourists
-believe that schema are created within the brain based on past experiences and learning directly through our behaviour
-these processes cannot be observed so are studied indirectly by making inferences about human thinking

Question 5

What are computer models

Answer 5

Information processing in the mind is viewed as being similar to that of a computer (the ‘computer analogy’)
1-Encoding/input
Computer:
-Computers use alphanumeric codes to complete specific actions
Mind:
- interprets environmental stimuli

2-storage
Computer:
-store data on a hard drive
Mind
-stored into long-term memory

3-Output
Computer:
-text, music, images, video
Mind:
speech, behavioural responses, thoughts

Question 6

What is schema?

Answer 6

Packages of ideas and information developed
through experience
-Acts as a mental framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by the cognitive system

Question 7

Why are schemas helpful?

Answer 7

Help us to take shortcuts in our thinking

Question 8

Are we born with schemas?

Answer 8

Yes, basic ones that develop with experience

Question 9

What is the disadvantage of schemas?

Answer 9

They can lead to faulty conclusions and can distort interpretations of sensory information, leading to perceptual errors

Question 10

Define inference

Answer 10

The process whereby we draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate in the brain on the basis of observed behaviour

Question 11

Who conducted the Trigram study in 1959?

Answer 11

Peterson and Peterson

Question 12

How is cognitive neuroscience used?

Answer 12

To study processes indirectly by making inferences

Question 13

What is cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 13

The study of the influence of brain structure on mental processes

Question 14

What did Paul Broco suggest in the 1860s?

Answer 14

Brain damage to the frontal lobe affects how speech is processed

Question 15

What is FMRI?

Answer 15

-Based on the same technology as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
-Uses strong radio waves
-MRI looks at oragns+tissues, FMRI looks at blood flow and activity in the brain
-Changes in blood flow help to understand how the brain functions

Question 16

What are PET scans?

Answer 16

-Positron emission tomography
-3D images
-FDG is used (a radiotracer)
-Identifies any abnormalities

Question 17

What is EEG?

Answer 17

-Recording of brain activity
-Sensors pick up electrical signals

Question 18

What do these three techniques help us to understand?

Answer 18

Relationships between cognition and neural mechanisms, brain chemistry and brain structure

Question 19

Give 2 strengths of the cognitive approach

Answer 19

-In comparison to some of the other approaches the cognitive approach has a degree of flexibility
-It is an example of soft determinism compared to the hard determinism of the behaviourist approach
-This means that the cognitive approach does not take a completely rigid view of human behaviour; it acknowledges the existence of free will

-The cognitive approach has good application e.g.
-It has contributed significantly to the development of AI due to its use of theoretical and computer models
-Also used to develop effective teaching strategies, to treat mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, and to improve athletic performance by using mental imagery techniques.
-This is a strength as it highlights the usefulness of the theory

Question 20

Give 2 limitations of the cognitive approach

Answer 20

Machine reductionist- reduces the brain down to the operations of a computer, tells us how processes take place but not why they happen, ignores the influence of human emotion

-zBrain-imaging technologies are not infallible: Bennet & Miller (2010) reviewed the reliability of fMRI and found that:
-some fMRI machines may be affected by potential errors in calibration
-external factors, such as noise and light can affect the accuracy of the measurement
-researchers themselves can be a source of error depending on how well they handle the equipment
-participants may introduce a source of error: their cognitive state will vary over time, with differences in attention and arousal
-This means that using the test-retest method for checking reliability may not produce similar results to the first time of testing

Question 21

What does petersonb and peterson study show?

Answer 21

Peterson & Peterson (1959) inferred that short-term memory has a duration of around 18 seconds but they could not prove this

Question 22

Beck’s cognitive triad infers that depression is based on dysfunctional thought processes but there is no….

Answer 22

Proof of this

Question 23

What are computer models the basis of?

Answer 23

Artificial intelligence

Question 24

What has computer modelling highlighted?

Answer 24

how the brain carries out a range of functions e.g. anticipating a reward, planning and problem-solving

Question 25

What do schemas allow us to do?

Answer 25

predict what may happen and are based on previous experience

Question 26

What do schemas act as a mental framework for?

Answer 26

for the interpretation of incoming information

Question 27

Schemas are 1.____ to the individual but many schemas will be 2.____

Answer 27

1. unique
2. shared

Question 28

Give an example of how cognitive neuroscience has been used in psychology (linked to bio psych study)

Answer 28

-Maguire et al. (2000) found increased volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampi of London taxi drivers using MRI technology
-Thus, this part of the brain is localised to spatial navigation