Assumptions

Question 1

Computer analogy

Answer 1

Cognitive psychologists often compare the human mind to a computer.
It compares how we take in information (input), store it or change it (process), and then recall it when necessary (output). During the process stage, we actively use our internal mental processes.

Question 2

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

Answer 2

Multistore model.
It was proposed that information is input to the brain through the senses and moves to the short-term memory store and then to the long-term memory store.
Mind = hardware.
Cognitive processes = software.

Question 3

Internal mental processes

Answer 3

Humans = information processors.
The main concern of cognitive psychology is how information received from our senses is processed and how this processing directs how we behave.
Essential cognitive processes all work together to enable us to make sense of and respond to the world around us.
Some of the most studied cognitive processes include:
Perception.
Attention.
Memory.
Language.
These processes constantly work together to help the individual understand and make sense of the environment.

Question 4

Internal mental processes - example from psychology

Answer 4

It’s possible to see how these processes work if you consider the experience of recognising a dog.
When we see a dog, what enables us to know it’s a dog?
We have to pay attention to it, perceive its features, and search through our memory store to see if there is a “match” with something we’ve already seen / experienced.
To be able to name it, we use our knowledge of language.
Our mental processes work together within a split second to allow us to respond to the world around us – this is known as information processing.

Question 5

Investigating mental processes

Answer 5

Cognitive psychologists have to infer what’s going on inside your head using processes such as introspection.
Introspection was a technique developed by Wilhelm Wundt.
Wundt opened the first experimental psychology laboratory in Germany in 1879).
He tried to investigate thinking in a systematic and scientific way.
Highly trained research assistants would be given a stimulus and would report what the stimulus made them think and feel.
Some psychologists question the validity of introspection as an objective scientific tool. However, it’s still used today.

Question 6

Griffiths (1994)

Answer 6

Introspection was used in a study of gambling behaviour – Griffiths (1994)
The study investigated the thought processes of people who gambled regularly VS non-regular gamblers, proposing that the thought processes of gamblers would be more irrational.
To assess this, the participants were asked to “think aloud” while playing a fruit machine and being asked a list of instructions.
The study found gamblers used more irrational verbalisations.

Question 7

Schemas

Answer 7

Schemas are organised packets of information that are built up through experience and stored in our long-term memory.
Generally, schemas are derived from past experiences but can be refined through further interactions with people and the world around us.
Schemas don’t necessarily represent reality as they are often built up via social exchanges rather than personal interactions.