cognitive approach Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the cognitive approach?

A
  • believes that internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically.
  • all behaviour is a direct result of schemas and scripts.
  • revels in the work of Wundt
  • internal mental processes are what are studied in cognitive psychology. They are essentially “thoughts” or “thinking processes”.
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2
Q

What are inferences?

A
  • guesses or judgements we make about what is going on inside the mind based on behaviour.
  • Thoughts are private and cannot be studied directly so psychologists make inferences about them.
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3
Q

What is a schema?

A
  • a mental framework of beliefs- a packet of information- that you hold about the world that helps you make sense of it
  • They develop through experience
  • They are at the root of all mental processes.
  • Adults have an entrenched schemas they’ve been present for so many years and are hard to change - This can cause all kinds of information processing/memory problems.
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4
Q

What is a script?

A

a set of schemas

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5
Q

What is computer models?

A
  • Cognitive Psychologists sometimes view the mind as a computer- with inputs and outputs.
  • e.g. when you get your computer to perform too many tasks… it crashes/freezes/gets too hot and shuts down.
  • The mind is similar- if we are trying to process too much, our brains are overwhelmed and do not function well.
  • the computer analogy led to the explanation of coding in memory.
  • Think of how your computer formats information. Information has got to be stored internally in our brains.
  • Coding establishes whether information is acoustic, visual or semantic in the same way.
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6
Q

What is theoretical models?

A
  • Cognitive psychologists use models such as the MSM to represent how internal mental processes work - this is helpful as it makes it simple for us to understand
  • It allows psychologists to develop ways of intervening as when viewed in this visual format issues and patterns can be clearly identified - so it helps in application
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7
Q

What are the positives for the cognitive approach?

A
  • Less determinist
  • Application (1)
  • Application (2) (CBT)
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8
Q

expand on the +ve AO3 point, Less determinist, for the cognitive approach

A
  • The Cognitive Approach is founded on soft determinism.
  • it is empowering for the person concerned. We are not totally at the mercy of our thoughts, but have the power to change them.
  • Through treatments such as CBT we can learn to have more control over automatic thoughts and we can decide how to respond to them.
  • We can change the way we behave by building self-esteem through working on our thoughts and responses.
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9
Q

expand on the +ve AO3 point, application (1), for the cognitive approach

A
  • Cognitive psychology has been applied in a vast array of contexts and huge amounts of research support have been found that cognition massively influences behaviour.
  • Examples are: cognitive differences in gambling (Griffiths) and cognitive differences contributing to depression (Terry- pregnant women)
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10
Q

expand on the +ve AO3 point, application (CBT), for the cognitive approach

A
  • The cognitive approach has produced CBT- the most widely used and successful psychological treatment for mental disorders offered internationally.
  • CBT has been used to treat and cure millions of individuals world wide.
  • It operates on the premise that thoughts cause maladaptive behaviour, so through changing thinking, we can manage and cure mental disorders.
  • The high success rate of this treatment is testament to the validity of the cognitive approach
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11
Q

What are the limitations for the cognitive approach?

A
  • Over simplified machine reductionism
  • doesn’t give us answers why
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12
Q

expand on the -ve AO3 point, over simplified machine reductionism, for the cognitive approach

A
  • Comparing the human mind to a computer is useful in certain circumstances, but hugely oversimplified.
  • Computers do not have emotions, for instance, which have been demonstrated to massively effect memory in EWT.
  • A computer analogy lacks any validity in these circumstances.
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13
Q

expand on the -ve AO3 point, doesn’t give us answers why, for the cognitive approach

A
  • research only tends to confirm that there are cognitive differences in particular groups of people but does not explain why.
  • All other approaches offer us explanations of human behaviour- this approach does not (until it is combined with biology to create cognitive neuroscience).
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