cognitive approach

Question 1

What are the key assumptions of the cognitive approach?

Answer 1

1. Internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically (e.g. laboratory studies); introspection is too unscientific
2. The mind works like a computer (computer analogy):
   Input ——-> Processing ——-> Output
3. Mental processes (i.e. thoughts) that occur between a stimulus and response must be acknowledged

Question 2

What does the cognitive approach study?

Answer 2

The Cognitive Approach studies information processing, this means the way in which we deal with information from our environment or experiences.

Question 3

why can thought processed not be studied directly?

Answer 3

Unlike behaviour, they are not directly observable – you cannot see what someone is thinking or how they are processing information
Therefore, they must be studied indirectly and INFERENCES are made about what cognitive/mental processes have occurred, based on the behaviour that has resulted.

Question 4

What is a schema?

Answer 4

a cognitive framework; a collection of ideas (or a ‘packet of information’) about a person or situation, formed through experience.

Question 5

Why are schemas useful?

Answer 5

Help us to understand and predict the world around us
Guide our expectations of how to behave in different situations
Organise and interpret information in the brain
Help us make sense of new information
Allow us to take shortcuts when interpreting large amounts of information

Question 6

How might schema lead to distortions in perception or memory?

Answer 6

Focus only on what confirms our preexisting ideas/beliefs (confirmation bias).
Exclude important information that does not conform to our established ideas about the world.
Develop stereotypes that are difficult to disconfirm.
Fill in the gaps in the absence of full information about a person, event or thing (leading to false memories).

Question 7

What was Brewer and Treyens (1981) aim

Answer 7

To study the effect of pre-existing schema on memory.

Question 8

What was the procedure of Brewer and Treyens study?

Answer 8

Laboratory experiment - Participants were shown into a room they believed was the experimenter’s office and told to wait (for around 30-50 seconds).Once they left the office they were asked to write down everything they could remember about the room.

Question 9

What were the findings of Brewer and Treyens (1981)

Answer 9

Most of the participants remembered the schematic objects (items that were in keeping with their pre-existing ‘office’ schema e.g. typewriter).
Many recalled items that were not in keeping with their ‘office’ schema (unexpected items e.g. the skull – perhaps because it was distinctive).
Some also recalled things that were not in the room but should have been (e.g. books, telephone – schematic objects).

Question 10

What do the conclusions of Brewer and Treyens (1981) show about schemas?

Answer 10

Schema can affect the things we remember and can distort our memory if what we see is not in keeping with the schema.

Question 11

What are theoretical models?

Answer 11

Simplified representations of a particular mental process. Models are pictorial, with boxes and arrows to indicate cause and effect, stages of a particular mental process or parts of the mind (e.g. long term memory).
Arrows indicate the flow of information between these parts.

Question 12

what are computer models?

Answer 12

Assumes that the mind functions like a computer

Question 13

What are information processing model?

Answer 13

One way cognitive psychologists apply the idea of computational models to the human mind and draws on the similarities between the two.

Question 14

What is the input in information processing model?

Answer 14

The input comes from the environment via the senses and is encoded into memory.

Question 15

What is the processing in the information processing model?

Answer 15

The information,
once encoded, can be
processed i.e. schemas.

Question 16

what is the output in the information processing model?

Answer 16

The behavioural response, following the processing.

Question 17

What is cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 17

aims to find a biological basis for mental processes/cognitive functions

Question 18

What did scanning machines allow neuroscientists to study?

Answer 18

neuroscientists to study the living brain and gather detailed information (detailed images of the brain and brain activity) about the brain structures involved in different kinds of mental processing

Question 19

What do PET scan do?

Answer 19

The scan captures images of activity across the brain after radioactive “tracers” have been absorbed into the bloodstream. These tracers are typically “attached” to glucose (sugar) and then injected. Glucose is the principal fuel of the brain.
Active areas of the brain will be utilising the [radioactive] glucose at a higher rate than inactive areas.

Question 20

What do fMRI do?

Answer 20

A technique of brain scanning that uses a magnetic field and radio signals to monitor blood flow across the brain. Areas of the brain that are involved in activities done by the person during scanning have a greater blood oxygenation and flow, so specific brain areas can be linked to specific abilities.

Question 21

What is an example of cognitive neuroscience research?

Answer 21

Maguire et al , 2000

Question 22

What does the hippocampus do?

Answer 22

The hippocampus plays a major role in short-term memory and spatial navigation. Evidence has shown that hippocampal volume enlarges when demand for spatial ability is greatest.

Question 23

What was Maguire et al, 2000 aim?

Answer 23

To study whether changes could be detected in the brains of London taxi drivers.

Question 24

What was the procedure of Maguire et al 2000 research?

Answer 24

The researchers compared MRI scans of 16 male London taxi drivers vs. 50 male non-taxi drivers.

Question 25

Results of Maguire et al 2000 research

Answer 25

The hippocampus of the taxi drivers was significantly larger than the non-taxi drivers’ indicating that this area of the brain is associated with navigational tasks and skills.

Hippocampal volume correlated positively with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver.

Question 26

evaluation of Maguire et al 2000 research?

Answer 26

The use of MRI scans allowed the study to demonstrate plasticity of the hippocampus in response to environmental demands i.e. that the structure of the brain is flexible and affected by experience.

Provided quantitative data relating to volume and size of the hippocampus, enabling correlational analysis.

Question 27

What are the practical applications of cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 27

Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Memory - help identify the specific roles of structures such as the hippocampus in semantic memory, as well as identifying which brain regions mediate specific kinds of procedural memory. Findings are discussed in terms of the functional neural architecture of normal memory, age-related changes in memory performance, and neurological conditions that affect memory such as amnesia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease.

Cognitive Neuroscience of OCD:
Initial imaging (PET, fMRI) findings showing hyperactivity in the prefrontal cortex (mainly orbitofrontal cortex), anterior cingulate cortex and caudate nucleus led to the postulation of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) model for the neurobiology of OCD.

Question 28

PEC:The cognitive approach has led to the development of a successful therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which has been used to treat people suffering from illnesses such as OCD and depression

Answer 28

The fact that CBT is successful suggests that dysfunctional behaviour can be explained by faulty thinking processes. This therefore adds support to the cognitive approach and demonstrates how it has been applied in many other areas of psychology.

Question 29

The use of scientific methods, such as laboratory experiments (e.g. Brewer and Treyens), is a key strength of the cognitive approach,

Answer 29

…because experiments are a rigorous method for collecting and evaluating evidence in order to reach accurate conclusions about internal mental processes. Therefore, researchers can establish cause-effect relationships as conclusions are based on far more than common sense and introspection, which can give a misleading and highly subjective idea of mental processes.

Question 30

The methods used by cognitive psychologists i.e. highly controlled laboratory experiments, could be criticised for lacking ecological validity.

Answer 30

Studying participants in controlled environments, using artificial tests to make inferences, means an understanding of everyday mental processing is missing from explanations.
This leads to issues with generalising the findings beyond experimental settings.

Question 31

The cognitive approach can be criticised for oversimplifying complex processes and ignoring certain aspects of human experience.

Answer 31

The computer analogy fails to recognise that there are key differences between the information processing in a computer and in the human mind e.g. humans are not mechanistic - they have free will, as well as being affected by emotion and motivation. Computers, on the other hand, do not make mistakes or forget things.
Its comparison of people with computers is therefore machine reductionism.