cognitive approach

Question 1

People (behaviorists) used to think of psychology in terms of:
Stimulus and response
However, what happens between the stimulus and response?

Answer 1

1. Input/stimulus – through the senses.
2. Processing – this occurs using the currently installed software.
3. Out/Response – the resultant action or inaction.

Question 2

where is cognitive psychology involved

Answer 2

Cognitive psychology is involved in the middle section, the processing.

Question 3

define cognitive psychology

Answer 3

Cognitive psychology tries to understand how information is processed and what kind of choices are made.

Question 4

outline the processing stages from stimulus

Answer 4

Stimulus -> cognitive processes -> response

Question 5

Characterized by the information processing model:

Answer 5

The brain is like hardware and mental processes are like software. These mental processes are discussed in terms of how information is input, stored and retrieved. The mind is seen as a system which actively organizes and manipulates information.

Question 6

differences between mind and brain

Answer 6

Brain = biology
Mind = cognitive processes

Question 7

Fredrick Bartlett (1932)

Answer 7

When people remember stories, they regularly leave out some details and introduce rationalisations, which they use to fill in the gaps.
1. He asked people to read a story ‘The War of the Ghosts’.
2. Asked to recall it at intervals over time.

He found that the story seemed to alter over time and participants tended to change information that was inconsistent with previous experience in order to ‘make sense’ of the story.

• A mental framework of beliefs of expectations that influence cognitive processing. They are developed from experience.
• “Packages” of ideas and information developed through experience.

Question 8

Schemas

Answer 8

Each fact learned through experience becomes part of a schema. Schemas (or Schemata) are like packets of information about something.