Cognitive Approach

Question 1

Assumptions of the approach

Answer 1

• Mental processes are private and can’t be observed. Cognitive psychologists study them indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside people’s head
• Our mental processes are affected by schema formed through experience
• Our internal mental processes work in a similar way to a computer

Question 2

Internal mental processes

Answer 2

• Humans are basically seen as information processers
• Information received from our senses are processed by the brain and how this processing directs how we behave

Question 3

Schemas

Answer 3

• They are the mental representation of experience and knowledge and understanding
• They help us predict what will happen in the world based on past experience
• We can process a lot of information quickly using schemas
• They develop and evolve with experience. They become more detailed and sophisticated

Question 4

Issues with schemas

Answer 4

• They can lead to faulty conclusions and unhelpful behaviour
• They may also cause us to exclude important information to instead focus only on things that confirm our pre-existing ideas
• We may develop stereotypes that are difficult to confirm
• Distort interpretation of sensory information
• They can lead to errors in EWT
• Can cause bias recall based on what we expect to see

Question 5

Cognitive psychologists use computer models to represent the mind

Answer 5

• The brain is described as the processor (it has data input and output from it)
• Some parts of the brain form networks (interconnected parts)

1) Information coming in from the world through sense organs
2) Signals pass through neurons to the brain
3) Signals pass through neurons back out for action

Question 6

Issues with using computer models (differences between humans and computers)

Answer 6

• Humans are often influenced by emotional and motivational factors, unlike computers
• Humans have an unlimited but unreliable memory, unlike computers
• Humans also have free will, unlike computers

Question 7

Cognitive neuroscience

Answer 7

• This is the scientific study of mapping human behaviour to brain function
• Advances in brain scanning technology means scientists have been able to describe the neurological basis of mental processing
• Neuroimaging techniques have helped to establish the neurological basis for some disorders such as enlarged ventricles in schizophrenia, however they cannot tell us if this is a cause or consequence of the disorder

Question 8

Evaluation of cognitive approach

Answer 8

Positives:
- The methods it uses are highly scientific, so are objective and ensure control
- Findings have provided the basis for therapies such as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy)
- It has developed into the most approach
- Real life applications include EWT memory and cognitive based therapies

Negatives:
- Lab experiments seen as artificial (lack eco validity)
- We can’t see what happens in someone’s head, so inferences made rely on observation of behaviour. As a result findings could be influenced by demand characteristics and investigator effects, reducing validity
- Too simplistic to view minds as computers
- Comparison between humans and computers have their limitations
- Soft determinism