cognitive approach Flashcards
cognitive approach
How our mental processes affect behaviour, studied indirectly by making inferences
internal mental processes
‘Private’ operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response.
schema
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing. They are developed from experience.
inference
draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour
cognitive neuroscience
scientific study of those biological structures that underpin cognitive factors
Assumptions of cognitive approach
Indirect contrast to behaviourist approach, cognitive argues that internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically, so it has investigated the areas of human behaviour that were neglected by behaviourists such as memory perception and thinking these prices are private and cannot be observed so cognitive psychologist study the indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside peoples minds on the basis of their
role of schema
- babies born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours like sucking and grasping
- as we get older schema become more detailed and sophisticated
Schema enables us to process lots of information quickly, and this is useful as a sort of mental shortcut that prevents us from being overwhelmed by the environmental stimuli. However, schema may also destroyed our interpretations of sensory information leading to perceptual errors
Theoretical and computer models
Used to help understand internal mental processes. In reality there are overlaps between these two models.
One important theoretical model is the information processing approach, which suggests that information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages that include input storage and retrieval, as in the multi store m
This information processing approach is based on the way that computers function, but a computer model would involve actually programming, a computer to see if such instructions produce a similar output to humans. If they do, then we can suggest that similar process processes are going on in the human mind, search computational models of the mind of proved useful in the development of thinking machines or artificial intelligence.
The emergence of cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the influence of brain structures (neuro) on mental processes (cognition).
With advances in brain scanning technology in the last twenty years, scientists have been able to describe the neurological basis of mental processing.
This includes research in memory that has linked episodic and semantic memories to opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex in the brain.
Scanning techniques have also proved useful in establishing the neurological basis of some disorders, e.g. the parahippocampal gyrus and OCD.
strength of the cognitive approach
P - scientific
E - observable and measurable so can be controlled in controlled environments
E - lab experiments allow researchers to infer in cognitive processes etc.
L - supported by evidence
limitation of the cognitive approach
P - practical application
E - lead to therapies CBT to treat disorders - 81 % depression patients
E - allow to find memory
L - benefit real lives
