Cognitive Flashcards
Mental processes
Refers to the processes that occur during thinking. They are private and internal.
Examples: memory, perception, problem solving and language
Inferences
Going beyond the immediate evidence to make assumptions about mental processes that can’t be directly observed.
Schemas
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influences cognitive processing. They are cognitive ‘shortcuts’. They are developed from experiences.
Schemas are useful
Schemas help us predict what will happen in our world based on our experiences.
They prevent us from becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
Schemas enable us to process vast amounts of information rapidly.
Schemas are not useful
Schemas can distort our interpretation of sensory information.
They can lead to perceptual errors or inaccurate eyewitness testimony.
They can also cause biased recall by seeing what we expect.
Negative schema may have a negative impact on mental health.
Theoretical models
Typically diagrams or flowcharts that show how information is passed between the different systems that manipulate it.
Cognitive neuroscience
This refers to the study of how brain structures and biology affect mental processes. The development of brain scanning techniques in the last thirty years has allowed us to associate specific brain areas with particular actions, mood and emotions.
Example: an area of the frontal lobe called the Brocas area has been linked with speech production.
Biological processes that have been linked with mental processes due to cognitive neuroscience
Broca’s area - speech production
Pre-frontal cortex - episodic and semantic memory
The parahippocwmpal gyrus - unpleasant emotions
Strength - RWA
CBT
According to the cognitive approach, depression is caused by negative or irrational thought processes. It’s been developed to treat depression.
Increases QOL and boosts the economy.
Improving eyewitness testimony
Research into memory has found how factors such as leading questions, post event discussion and anxiety can lead to inaccurate recall of events. This has led to major reforms in police procedure, like the use of cognitive interview. This works by preventing individuals recalling their expectations (schema) by using techniques such as reversing the order and reinstating the context.
Less errors in court trails, less re-trials
Strength - often used in highly controlled methods of research
For example, when experimenting on memory, lab experiments are used. These experiments can be easily replicated as they have standardised procedures. This means the experiments have high reliability.
Weakness - Mundane realism
These lab experiments have low mundane realism as the task of recalling words does not reflect how memory works in real life so it can’t be generalised to everyday life.
Weakness - machine reductionism
This is because the belief that all behaviour can be broken down into information processing systems like a computer, such as memory having input, storage and output systems. Therefore it’s too simplistic.
