AS APPROACHES - THE COGNITIVE APPROACH

Question 1

Describe the assumptions of the cognitive approach

Answer 1

Internal mental processes can and should be studied; cog psychologists are interested in what goes on in the “black box” between stimulus and response, e.g. attention, perception, memory and thinking

IMPs can’t be studied directly so we must study them indirectly by making inferences based on beh

Inference = an assumption based on evidence

Question 2

Describe the key features of the cognitive approach

Answer 2

Schemas: mental packages that represent lots of info that’s often gained by experience. They act as a shortcut to prevent us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli

Theoretical models: used to study IMPs as a result of making inferences about observed behaviour, e.g. MSM. These models are often in a series of steps and each component can be tested individually

Computer model: compares the mind to a computer by suggesting similarities in information processing bet the two, e.g. CPU = brain, coding occurs in both brain and computer, and info stores i.e. memory

Question 3

Describe the emergence of cognitive neuroscience

Answer 3

Psychologists have been mapping certain areas of the brain to have certain functions for a long time e.g. Broca’s area in the 1860s, but technology advances in the last 20 years allow us to systematically observe the neurological basis for internal mental processes, e.g. use of PET and fMRI, e.g. Tulving’s PET scans for different types of LTM

Question 4

Evaluate the cognitive approach

Answer 4

(+) Soft determinism so more accommodating and less extreme; some control over our beh
(-) Machine reductionism
(+) Real life application for treatment of depression; CBT
(-) Only making inferences; cog approach may be a bit too theoretical sometimes