coginitive approach Flashcards
What is meant by incidental learning
Incidental learning occurs when individuals acquire knowledge unintentionally or without conscious effort, often as a by-product of another activity. For example, picking up a new word while casually watching a movie.
What are the main assumptions of cognitive psychology?
Mental processes can and should be studied scientifically.
Human behavior is the result of information processing, where the mind operates like a computer.
Cognitive processes such as memory, attention, and perception actively mediate between stimulus and response.
Humans are active processors of information rather than passive responders to stimuli.
What is the information processing approach?
The information processing approach compares the mind to a computer, describing cognition as a sequence of stages, including input, processing, storage, and output.
What is input?
Input refers to information received by the senses from the environment.
What is output?
Output refers to the behavioral response or action resulting from processing information.
How is the mind like a computer?
The mind and computer both encode, store, and retrieve information. They process data systematically in logical steps.
How is the computer a useful analogy to the human mind?
It helps model cognitive processes like memory, attention, and decision-making.
It provides a framework for studying how information is processed and stored.
How do people differ in the way they process information?
Differences arise from individual cognitive capacities, experiences, and strategies.
Factors like age, attention, and prior knowledge influence processing styles.
What are the four cognitive processes?
Attention
Memory
Language
Thinking
What is attention?
Attention is the cognitive process of focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring others.
What is language
Language is a structured system of communication that uses symbols (words) to convey meaning.
What is thinking?
Thinking involves processing information to make decisions, solve problems, and form concepts.
What is memory?
Memory is the ability to encode, store, and retrieve information.
What is the methodology in the cognitive approach?
Experiments to study mental processes under controlled conditions.
Use of case studies and observations.
Computer models to simulate cognitive processes.
Who is Jackie Andrade?
Jackie Andrade is a cognitive psychologist known for her 2009 study investigating the relationship between doodling and concentration.
Why do you think doodling helps in concentration?
Doodling may help reduce daydreaming, keeping individuals’ minds focused on the task, and providing a low-level physical activity to enhance cognitive engagement.
What is the psychology being investigated?
The study explores cognitive processes, particularly attention and memory, and how doodling impacts these processes during a task.
What is the correlation between concentration and doodling?
Doodling is positively correlated with improved concentration and better memory recall, as shown by enhanced performance on a recall task.
Who is Andrade in brief?
Andrade is a researcher who conducted an experimental study to test whether doodling can improve concentration and memory recall.
What was the research methodology?
A laboratory experiment with independent measures design was used to ensure control over variables and to compare groups.
What is the independent variable?
The independent variable is whether participants were instructed to doodle (doodling group) or not (control group).
What is the dependent variable?
The dependent variable is the participants’ recall of names and places from an auditory task.
What is the sample?
40 participants (35 women and 5 men) aged 18–55.
Recruited from a research panel and given a small monetary reward.
What is the procedure?
Participants listened to a monotone mock phone call listing names of people and places.
Doodling group shaded shapes on paper while listening; control group did not.
After the call, participants were asked to recall names and places.
What are the results?
Doodlers recalled 29% more information than the control group.
They also had better recall of both names and places.
What are the conclusions?
Doodling aids concentration by preventing daydreaming.
It can improve memory recall for specific information presented during tasks.
What are the ethical issues?
Strengths: Informed consent was obtained, and participants were debriefed.
Concerns: The study involved mild deception as participants weren’t initially told they’d be tested on recall.
: How reliable is the study
The study is reliable due to its standardized procedures, such as consistent audio duration and doodling instructions, which allow replication.
How valid is the study?
High internal validity: Controlled lab conditions minimized extraneous variables.
Lower ecological validity: The artificial setting and task may not reflect real-life situations.
What are the strengths of the study?
Controlled experimental conditions ensure cause-and-effect relationships.
Use of a large and diverse sample improves generalizability.
Practical applications, such as techniques to improve concentration.
What are the weaknesses of the study?
Lack of ecological validity due to the artificial nature of the task.
Gender imbalance in the sample (more women than men).
Potential demand characteristics, as participants might have guessed the aim during debriefing.