Cognitive approach Flashcards
Main Assumptions
(In contrast to behaviourist approach) CA communicates that internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically.
Main Assumptions 2
CA investigated those areas that behaviourists neglected for example perception, memory and thinking.
Main Assumptions 3
Cognitive psychologists study indirectly by making inferences about what’s going on in people’s minds due to their behaviour.
Internal mental processes
‘Private operations’ of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response.
Inference
The process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate based on observed behaviour.
The role of the schema
A mental frame - works of belief and expectations that influence cognitive processing. They are developed from experience.
Theoretical and computer models
In cognitive psychology, models are simplified, usually pictorial, representations of a particular mental process based in current research evidence. The approach uses computer models, where the mind is compared to a computer. (‘the computer analogy’: input, storage, retrieval, output.
Cognitive neuroscience
The scientific study of the influence of the brain structures on mental processes.
Schemas
Packages of ideas and information developed through experience. They act as a mental framework for the interpretation of upcoming information received from the cognitive system.
Schemas = Useful
- Schema’s help us predict what will happen in our world based on our experiences.
Schemas = Useful #2
- Schema’s enable us to process vast amounts of information rapidly.
Schemas = Not Useful
- Schema’s can distort our interpretation of sensory information.
Schemas = Not Useful #2
- Schema’s can lead to perceptual errors or inaccurate EWT/memory.
Schemas = Not Useful #3
- Schema’s can cause biased recall/ see what we expect.
Schemas = Not Useful #4
- Negative/faulty schema may have a negative impact on mental health (depression).
