Approaches: The cognitive approach Flashcards
What is the cognitive approach concerned with?
The cognitive approach is focused on how our mental processes affect our behaviour. It argues that internal mental processes (operations of the mind e.g. perception of memory that mediates between stimulus and response) should be studied scientifically. It was developed as a reaction against the behaviourist approach.
What are the assumptions of the cognitive approach?
The main assumption of the cognitive approach is that information received from our senses is processed by the brain and that this processing directs how we behave.
These internal mental processes cannot be observed directly but we can infer what a person is thinking based on how they act.
What are theoretical models?
A way of studying internal processes. One important theoretical model is the information processing approach, which suggests that information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages that include input, storage and retrieval.
Theoretical models in cognitive psychology, models such as the MSM or the WMM are simplified representations based on current research evidence. Models are often pictorial representations with boxes and arrows to indicate cause and effect or the stages of a particular mental process.
What are computer models?
The mind is compared to a computer. These models use the concepts of a central processing unit (brain), the concept of coding and the use of stores to hold information.
What are schema?
A schema is a “packet of information” or cognitive framework that helps us organise and interpret information. They are based on our previous experience.
What is the role of schema?
Cognitive processing can often be affected by the schema. Schema enables us to process lots of information quickly and this is useful as it prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli. However, the schema may also distort our interpretations of sensory information, leading to perceptual errors.
What are the 6 mental processes/
- Perception
- Attention
- Memory
- Language
- Thinking
- Problem solving
What is inference/ inferring?
Make assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed/going beyond the immediate research evidence.
What is cognitive neuroscience?
The scientific study of biological structures that underpin cognitive processes. The use of non-invasive neuroimaging techniques such as PET and fMRI helps understand the brain and supports different cognitive activities and emotions by showing what parts of the brain become active in certain circumstances.
How has cognitive neuroscience progressed the cognitive approach?
In the last 20 years, with FMRI and PET scans, scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes. They help psychologists understand how the brain supports different cognitive activities and emotions by showing what parts of the brain become active in specific circumstances.
Examples of brain mapping: Braver et al. (1997) found that when their participants were performing activities involving the central executive while being scanned the prefrontal cortex showed greater activity. This suggests that the central executive is situated in the prefrontal cortex.
A03: Cognitive approach
+ Practical application
+ Scientific
- Studies may lack ecological validity
- The cognitive theory ignores emotion and motivation
AO3: Practical application
Assumptions have led to the development of cognitive behavioural therapy. It has been shown to be successful in treating depression by helping patients replace their irrational thoughts with more rational alternatives. For e.g beck found in a meta-analysis of 14 studies 80% of adults with depression benefited from CBT and that it has a lower relapse rate than drug therapy. This means that the idea of internal mental processes affecting behaviours can be used to improve the lives of people in the real world.
A03: Scientific
Cognitive psychologists’ emphasis on scientific methods is a particular strength of this approach. The use of experimental methods provides researchers with a rigorous method for collecting and evaluating evidence in order to reach accurate conclusions about how the mind works. This means that conclusions about how the mind works are based on far more than common sense and introspection, as these can give a misleading picture or mental processes, many of which are not consciously accessible.
A03: Studies may lack ecological validity
Theories based on the cognitive approach (e.g. the working memory model) are often based on laboratory studies, but these results might not translate to real life. For example, experiments in memory use artificial test materials that are relatively meaningless in everyday life e.g random word lists rather than being based on the way in which memory is used everyday life. As a result, it’s unlikely that we would be able to generalise these findings to real-life situations. Therefore, much of the research in cognitive psychology might be criticised as lacking ecological validity. i.e. it fails to reflect the behaviours that occur in real-life settings.
A03: The cognitive theory ignores emotion and motivation
A problem with the approach is that although it can tell us how different cognitive processes take place, it fails to tell us why. In other words, the role of emotion and motivation has largely been ignored by this approach. This is not surprising given that approaches that focus on the motivational processes in behaviour are largely ignored in the cognitive processes involved in behaviour. The lack of focus on motivational states may be explained by the over-dependence on information processing analogies, as motivation is clearly irrelevant to a computer, but not to a human being.
