Approaches: The Cognitive Approach

Question 1

What is the cognitive approach??

Answer 1

The influence of mental processes on behaviour

Question 2

What are 3 assumptions of the Cognitive Approach??

Answer 2

• Studies areas of behaviour that behaviourists neglected
• Internal mental processes (IMP) are private so inferences must be made about what’s inside someone’s head based on their behaviour
• Theoretical and computer models are use to understand IMP (provide testable theories using scientific methodology)

Question 3

Give an example of a theoretical model

Answer 3

The MSM

Question 4

What is the information-processing approach??

Answer 4

Information flows through the cognitive system in stages such as input, storage and output

Question 5

What is the computer analogy??

Answer 5

• Brain is like a computer’s CPU
• Both computers and brains use coding to convert information into a format they can use
• Both use stores to hold info. STM (RAM) & LTM (hard drive)

Question 6

What are schemas??

Answer 6

‘Packages’ of info and ideas developed through experience.
Babies are born with simple motor schema for innate behaviour, as we get older our schemas become more detailed & sophisticated

Question 7

What can cause perceptual errors??

Answer 7

Schemas distorting our interpretation of sensory info

Question 8

What is cognitive neuroscience??

Answer 8

The scientific study of the influence of brains structures on mental processes!

Question 9

Who, when and what was the earliest discovery in cognitive neuroscience??

Answer 9

1860s
Paul Broca
Identified how damage to ana rea of the frontal lobe could permanently impair speech production

Question 10

What are 2 brain imaging techniques??

Answer 10

fMRI (Measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow)

PET (Measures changes in physiological activity using radiotracers

Question 11

What are the 2 studies that use brain imaging techniques??

Answer 11

Tulving et al (1994) -> Asked ppts to do memory tests in PET scan. Left prefrontal cortex stores semantic memory & right stores episodic

Braver et al (1997) -> Ppts given tasks involving CE during brain scan. Activity increased with task difficulty as demand on CE increases.

Question 12

What are the 3 evaluation points of the Cognitive Approach??

Answer 12

• Scientific & objective (lab experiments & cognitive neuroscience)
• Machine reductionism (computer analogy ignores influence of emotion & motivation on cognition)
• Application to everyday life (low application as it can only work off of observable behaviour & artificial stimuli -> low mundane realism)