Approaches: L5-8

Question 1

What is an inference

Answer 1

When psychologists make assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed, and this goes beyond immediate research evidence (it is difficult to gather data and evidence about these, typically behaviour is analysed which relies of the conscious & unconscious mind)
- Used in the cognitive model

Question 2

Key features of the cognitive approach

Answer 2

In order to understand behaviour, cognitive psychologists focus on attention, memory, as well as how people perceive, store and manipulate information

Question 3

The information processing model

Answer 3

Information is received through the senses & processed by the brain
- Key feature of the cognitive approach

Question 4

Assumptions of the cognitive approach

Answer 4

Psychologists cannot study processes directly, instead using inferences to study;
- Attention
- Thinking
- How information is stored & retrieved in memory
- How information is perceived

Question 5

Schemas

Answer 5

• Packets of information/ideas/cognitive frameworks that are developed through experience and expectations about how we should behave
• Can help organise & interpret vast amounts of information in the mind and may act as a shortcut whereby the mind can fill in missed information
• Can cause exclusion of anything that does not conform/is inconsistent

Role: About expected behaviour from people in a particular role
Event: About what to expect from an event

Question 6

Strengths of the cognitive approach

Answer 6

• Applications: Social cognitions can help psychologists understand how to form impressions of other people and how we might form cognitive errors & biases. Cognitive psychology might also explain the development of faulty negative thinking which can aid our understanding of abnormal psychology eg phobias
• Scientific: Emphasis on using laboratory experiments when collecting data allows for high levels of control which enables cause & effect relationships to be identified between the independent and dependent variable — Allows the research to be more objective & scientific

Question 7

Weaknesses of the cognitive approach

Answer 7

• Biological approach: The cognitive approach focuses heavily on internal mental processes which are often ignored by other models. Eg, the biological approach would focus on genetics & biochemistry while the cognitive approach would focus solely on thoughts
• Inferences: Due to its reliance on inferences then a full picture may not be granted due to limited information available
• Soft determinism: Idea that behaviour is constrained by the environment/biology. The cognitive approach views behaviour as being determined by internal cognitive factors but ignore the environment/biology. However, biology may have a big impact upon cognitive thinking eg the link between depression and genetics

Question 8

War of the ghosts by Bartlett

Answer 8

• Conducted in a laboratory setting
• English pps read ‘the war of the ghosts’ which was an unfamiliar Native American folktale
• After different lengths of time pps had to recall the story (to test recall and schemas)
• English pps reconstructed the story based on their own schemas, details become more ‘English’
  Concluded that schemas are important in recall

Question 9

Evaluation of the ‘war of the ghosts’ study

Answer 9

Strengths:
- Conducted in a lab allowing high control over IV & allows replication
- Confirms the importance of schemas during internal cognitive processes

Weaknesses:
- Pps may have been affected by demand characteristics
- Biased sample was used and therefore difficult to generalise to

Question 10

Similarities between the human mind and computer

Answer 10

• Both have input
• Memory
• Output
• Malfunction

Question 11

Differences between human mind and computer

Answer 11

• Organic v plastic
• Computers have limited memory
• Computers do not have emotion

Question 12

The information processing model

Answer 12

Input -> Senses encode info from the environment
Processing -> Info is processed through schemas
Output -> Behavioural response

Question 13

Emergence of cognitive neuroscience

Answer 13

Looks at the biological basis of thought processes - Combines the cognitive & biological approaches
- Uses computers to map & locate specific cognitive functions eg through computer generated models, fMRI & PET scans

Question 14

Strengths of using theoretical computer models & the emergence of cognitive neurosciences

Answer 14

• Soft determinism: Humans recognise their cognitive thinking system operates within the limits of what they know & humans are free to think before responding to stimuli. The Cognitive approach is more interactionist than other approaches and isn’t as deterministic as the behavioural approach
• Scientific: Emphasis is placed on laboratory experiments when collecting data allowing for high evils of control & enables the determining of a cause and effect relationship between IV and DV

Question 15

Weaknesses of using theoretical computer models & the emergence of cognitive neurosciences

Answer 15

• Inaccurate: Comparing humans to computers ignores the various differences between the two, with computers being mechanistic and having no free will, while humans are emotional and irrational, therefore comparisons between the two ignore this
• Simplification: The use of computer models simplify human behaviours and reduce them into simple sets and processes that could be regarded as reductionist and mechanistic. The role of emotions in decision main is also ignored when looking at theoretical models

Question 16

Maguire (2000)

Answer 16

Aim: If brain anatomy is predetermined or susceptible to plastic changes

Procedure: MRI scans were taken of taxi drivers brains and compared against a control group that had never driven taxis before

Results: In taxi drivers the right posterior hippocampus was larger than the control groups, and this positively correlated to the length of time they had been working for
- the right posterior hippocampus is responsible for storing visual representations of the environment

Question 17

Evaluation of Maurice (2000)

Answer 17

Strength: Supports key aspects of cognitive neuroscience, combing biological & cognitive approaches to explain internal thought processes. Emphasis is places on how the Brian is ‘like a muscle’ and therefore grows with use

Weaknesses: Lacks ecological validity as the study only involved males and therefore cannot be generalised to females. Individual differences are an important factor as every brain is different

Question 18

Definition of genetics

Answer 18

The extent to which psychological characteristics are determined by genes and/or the environment

Question 19

Definition of genotype

Answer 19

The genetic code written in the DNA of individual cells which are inherited from our parents and consists of a persons dominant & recessive genes

Question 20

Definition of phenotype

Answer 20

The characteristics of a person determined by the expression of physical, behavioural and psychological traits

Question 21

Evaluation of genetics

Answer 21

Strengths:
- Gene mapping can allow scientists to locate genes on chromosomes which is highly scientific and objective — involving precise methods of investigation

• Allows preventative testing to screen if a person carries the genes for a specific illness such as cancer or depression

Weaknesses: Reductionist as it takes complex human behaviour and reduces it to small components ie genes — inaccurate as other factors may affect behaviour eg IQ has many other factors associated

Question 22

Gottesman and Shields

Answer 22

The role of genes in developing schizophrenia
- Investigated 224 sets of twins (106 MZ & 118 DZ)
- Longitudinal study over 25 years that relied on one twin already having schizophrenia & concordance rates were investigated
Schizophrenia was diagnosed through in depth interviews, doctors notes and the DSM
Results: 48% of MZ twins & 17% of DZ twins were concordat for schizophrenia by the end of the study

Question 23

Evaluation of Gottesman and Shields

Answer 23

Strength: Supports the biological approach through results & supports the biological argument that schizophrenia can be transmitted via genetics

Weaknesses: Ignored the behavioural approach. Twins tend to copy & model each others behaviour therefore the illness may have been gained through copying rather than genetics

Question 24

Evolution

Answer 24

• Darwin focused on natural selection & adaptation to the environment over time
• Lea (2005) found that aggression may be genetic. The warrior gene is found without 33% of males — More aggressive males may have had a higher likelihood of passing down their genes

Question 25

Evaluation of the evolutionary approach

Answer 25

Strength: Advantageous as species will compete with each other in order to seek the best mate to reproduce with. This maximises chances o heathy offspring who can ass their genes on

Weaknesses: Evolution does not clearly explain certain behaviours and how or why they might be adaptive. For instance OCD is genetic,, but it is not clear how it may aid survival of the fittest

Question 26

Buss (1989)

Answer 26

• Investigated what males and females looked for in long term partners
• 10,000 pps across 37 cultures
• Rated 18 characteristics on a 4 point scale eg finances, physical attraction etc
• Results show that females desire males with good financial prospects, resources & ambition
• Males desired females who had reproductive value and were fertile, as well as being younger than them
• Supports evolutionary explanations for partner preferences

Question 27

Evaluation of Buss

Answer 27

Strengths: Cross culture acidity when examining evolutionary explanations of behaviour. 37 cultures were assessed and from an evolutionary perspective their views help aid in forming family units

Weaknesses: Buller has criticised Buss’s research findings & the evolutionary explanation. Buller questioned the idea that females universally prefer high status males with resources as many women nowadays are independent with their own resources and therefore do not rely on a mate to support them

Question 28

Evaluation of biological structures

Answer 28

Strengths: Uses highly scientific evidence via PET scans and fMRI, which adds to the scientific evidence and helps support the biological approach — can be viewed as one of the most scientific models

Weaknesses: Able to only explain the causes of some behaviours, not all of them. For example, infection or neuroanatomy can cause schizophrenia but there are some behaviours, such as phobias, which cannot be explained by these ideas

Question 29

Swayze

Answer 29

• Reviewed 50 studies of schizophrenic patients & examined their brains using MRIs
  Determined that schizophrenic patients have structural abnormalities in their brains, such as;
• Decrease in brain weight
• Smaller hypothalamus
• Less grey matter
• Enlarged ventricles (Which are filled with water)

Question 30

Evaluation of Swayze

Answer 30

Weaknesses:
- Andreason criticised neural correlates as he found that the extent to which the ventricles are enlarged is not significant — very little difference in the neural correlates of schizophrenic patients and normal people

• Case and effect needs to be established — it is unclear if abnormal neural correlates cause schizophrenia or vice versa

Question 31

Evaluation of neurochemistry

Answer 31

Strengths: Can be measured objectively and scientifically eg through measuring neurotransmitters in spinal fluid allowing for accurate measurements

Weaknesses:
- Can be viewed as reductionist as it is very simplistic to view complex human behaviour as being controlled purely by neurotransmitters

• The cognitive approach would state that behaviour is caused by thought patterns rather than neurochemistry or chemicals — would view depression as being due to negative thoughts, not chemicals

Question 32

Davis and Neale — The dopamine hypothesis

Answer 32

• Schizophrenics have high levels of dopamine in the brain
• When patients are given drugs that block dopamine, the positive symptoms (hallucinations etc) seem to increase
• Increasing dopamine (eg through dopamine agonists) such as with LSD can induce symptoms
  Patients dopamine, metabolisms also see to be abnormal

Question 33

Evaluation of the dopamine hypothesis

Answer 33

Strengths: There is a great deal of research support that schizophrenics have high levels of dopamine, for instance Davidson found that giving schizophrenics L-Dopa can worsen schizophrenic symptoms

Weaknesses:
- Cause and effect is unclear on if increased dopamine causes schizophrenia or vice versa

• Dopamine is also associated with other illnesses, such as mania (Bipolar depression) and this I illness is not alleviated by dopamine blocking drugs. Therefore dopamines complex role in the brain can be associated with many psychological illnesses