Cognitive Approach Flashcards
What is the belief in the cognitive approach?
That the way you think shapes your behaviour
What are the 6 sections of the cognitive approach?
. Internal mental processes
. The role of schema
. Theoretical models
. Computer models
. Inferences
. Cognitive neuroscience
When did the cognitive approach become the dominant approach in psychology and how was it accelerated in popularity?
In the 60s, accelerated by ‘Cognitive neuroscience’, published in 1967.
What is the belief of internal mental processes?
The way you process information affects your behaviour
How can humans be linked to internal mental processes?
Humans are essentially information processors
How are internal mental processes studied and investigated?
Using scientific principals and methods
What are internal mental processes?
How the information we receive from our senses is processed by the brain and how this processing directs how we behave
Explain how internal mental processing works when a teacher is explaining something to you?
When the teacher is explaining, you are required to process that information and understand it in your own way and take notes. If you don’t process the information, the notes you take will just be the words thrown at you
What do mental processes mediate between?
Stimulus and response
Why are internal mental processes useful in the cognitive approach?
As they show how cognitive functions work to make sense of the world around us
What is a schema?
A cognitive framework to organise and interpret information (‘a pocket of information’), giving us a mental representation of experiences, knowledge and understanding
What do schemas help us do?
Predict what will happen based on past experiences (e.g being able to read jumbled up words even if they aren’t in the correct order). Also help us decide how to behave based on our experiences. Also helps us process lots of information quickly as schemas act as shortcuts to interpreting information
When do schemas change?
Over age, with knowledge and experience
How do schemas stop us being overwhelmed by information?
We know how to respond appropriately, so don’t have to work hard to process huge amounts of information as schemas create shortcuts to respond to stimuli
What are two negative things that can come from schemas?
. Can lead to faulty decisions and unhelpful behaviours as your experiences could have been bad and this is what you are used to
. Can develop stereotypes that are difficult to confirm, leading two errors
Who conducted the rat man experiment and when?
Bugelsky and Alampay in 1962
What was the aim of the rat man experiment?
To investigate whether previous knowledge (existing schemas) affect the perception of new material
How was the rat-man experiment a lab experiment?
Controlled:
. Tried to minimise noise
. Same time for each picture
. People separated so less distractions
. Standardised instructions
What are theoretical models?
Models that represent theories of how the mind may work
What is an example of a theoretical model for the cognitive approach?
Cognitive process are all examples e.g Working memory model (WMM) - for short-term memory
How can the cognitive approach be used to attempt to see how people are thinking?
Can’t see thoughts so can only make INFERENCES through how people present themselves
How can computer models be used to explain how humans process information?
Computers use functions with an input and an output. The output for humans is behaviour and the input is information, the function is the processing of this information
What is cognitive psychology interested in?
How brain inputs, stores and retrieves information
What are limitations of using computer models to understand cognitions?
Oversimplifies the complexity of the human mind -Computers don’t forget like humans and don’t have emotions like humans
