Cognitive Approach Flashcards
Cognitive approach
The idea that humans conduct mental processes on incoming information - i.e. human cognition - came to the fore of psychological thought during the mid twentieth century, overlooking the stimulus-response focus of the behaviourist approach.
A dominant cognitive approach evolved, advocating that sensory information is manipulated internally prior to responses made - influenced by, for instance, our motivations and beliefs.
Introspection - a subjective method predominantly used by philosophical and psychodynamic approaches - was rejected in favour of experimental methodology to study internal processes scientifically.
The cognitive approach assumes:
- Psychology should be the study of internal mental processes, e.g., memory, attention, perception.
- The mind actively processes information from our senses.
- Between stimulus and response are complex mental processes, that can and should be studied scientifically.
- Humans can be seen as data processing systems.
- The workings of a computer and the human mind are alike - they encode, store information, and they have outputs.
Cognitive approach main components:
1) Theoretical and Computer models
2) Schema
3) Emergence of cognitive neuroscience
1) Theoretical and Computer models
Cognitive psychologists use both theoretical and computer models to help them understand internal mental processes.
In reality, there are overlaps between these two models but basically theoretical models are abstract whereas computer models are concrete things.
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 model of memory.
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 processes are going on in the human mind.
Such computational models of the mind have proved useful in the development of ‘thinking machines’ or artificial intelligence.
Theoretical models are visual representations of internal mental processes that are used to help researchers simplify and study complex mental processes.
Theoretical models are typically diagrams or flowcharts that show how information is passed between the different systems that manipulate it. For example, the multi-store model is a theoretical model of memory.
2) Schema
Cognitive processing can often be affected by a person’s beliefs or expectations, often referred to as ‘schema’.
Schema are packages of ideas and information developed through experience. They act as a mental framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by the cognitive system.
Babies are born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as sucking and grasping. For example, the grasping schema consists of moving a hand towards an object and shaping the hand around the object in coordination with visual input.
As we get older, our schema becomes more detailed and sophisticated. Adults have developed mental representations for almost everything.
Schema enables us to process lots of information quickly which is useful as a mental short-cut that prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
Schema provides us with expectations about what will happen in the world, rather than requiring us to process every single detail, all of the time.
Schema allows us to make sense of ambiguous situations by ‘filling in the gaps’ in our knowledge. They allow us to act comfortably even when our information is incomplete which makes it much easier to deal with complex situations.
However, schema may also distort our interpretations of sensory information, leading to perceptual errors. An example is if a person’s expectations do not match up with the reality of what they have seen/experienced.
3) Emergence of cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes.
Mapping brain areas to specific cognitive functions has a long history in psychology.
As early as the 1860s, Paul Broca had identified how damage to an area of the frontal lobe (which came to be known as Broca’s Area) could permanently impair speech production.
It is only in the last 20 years, however, with advances in brain imaging techniques such as fMRI and PET scans, that scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes.
For example, in research involving tasks that required the use of episodic and semantic memory, Tulving et al were able to show how these different types of long-term memory may be located on opposite sides of the pre-frontal cortex. As well as this, the system in overall charge of working memory - the central executive - is thought to reside in a similar area.
Scanning techniques have also proved useful in establishing the neurological basis of some disorders.
For example, the link between the parahippocampal gyrus and OCD is discussed. It appears to play a role in processing unpleasant emotions.
The focus of cognitive neuroscience has expanded recently to include the use of computer-generated models that are designed to ‘read’ the brain. This has led to the development of mind mapping techniques known as ‘brain fingerprinting’.
One possible future application of this could be to analyse the brain wave patterns of eyewitnesses to determine whether they are lying in court.
Strength
point: the cognitive approach is applicable to a wide range of practical and theoretical contexts.
evidence: cognitive psychology has made an important contribution in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and the development of ‘thinking machines’ (robots), advances that may drastically revolutionise how we live in the future. Furthermore, the cognitive approach has been useful in the formation of treatments such as CBT which is a common treatment option used with people with depression.
justification: this suggests that the cognitive approach has a vast base in real-world scenarios in which it is useful.
implication: this increases the external validity of the cognitive approach because its principles are generalisable to real-life contexts.
Strength
point: the cognitive approach has been highly commended for its use of scientific and objective methods.
evidence: for example, many of the studies supporting the models of memory were conducted in highly controlled lab settings, with large sample sizes and standardised materials. A prominent theoretical model is the multi-store model of memory and research evidence supporting this model comes from Jacobs, who studied the capacity of the short term memory store. Jacob’s study was a laboratory experiment conducted in highly controlled conditions.
justification: this means that many of the claims cognitive psychologists make are backed up by evidence with high internal validity.
implication: as a result, this is a strength of the cognitive approach as it is corroborated by research which employs highly controlled and rigorous methods giving this approach scientific credibility.
counter-argument: however, the cognitive approach has been criticised for using inferences.
evidence: in reference to Jacobs’ study regarding the capacity of the short term memory store, his findings suggested that its capacity is 7+/-2 chunks of information, however, this is only an assumption as there is no empirical or proven method to suggest that this is the actual capacity of the STM store.
justification: this suggests that research regarding theoretical models of the cognitive approach is unreliable as although it is scientific, it heavily relies on assumptions to formulate their theories.
implication: as a result, this is a weakness of the cognitive approach.
Weakness
point: the cognitive approach has been criticised for being machine reductionist.
evidence: one of the assumptions of the cognitive approach is that the workings of a computer and the human mind are alike, specifically in the sense that they both encode, store information and have outputs. Although there are similarities between both the human mind and the operations of a computer, the computer analogy has been criticised for neglecting aspects that only humans possess, such as emotions, motivations and consciousness, all affecting the cognitive system and how this may in turn affect our ability to process information. For example, research has found that human memory may be affected by emotional factors, such as the influence of anxiety on eyewitness testimonies. Whilst human memory is flawed and reconstructive, computer memory is stored and recalled with perfect accuracy.
justification: this suggests that it is not sensible to compare the human mind to a computer as both are different in their own respects. The human mind is complex and elaborate and cannot be explained nor justified by man-made concepts, like a computer.
implication: as a result, this is a weakness of the cognitive approach as it limits the nature of the human mind and disregards human influences on the cognitive system.
Weakness
point: the cognitive approach has been criticised for its lack of application to everyday life.
evidence: cognitive psychologists tend to simply infer mental processes from behaviours they have observed in research. This consequently leads to the cognitive approach being too abstract and theoretical in nature. Similarly, experimental studies of mental processes are often carried out using artificial stimuli. For example Peterson and Peterson, who investigated the duration of the short term memory store, asked participants to attempt to remember a 3-letter consonant syllable trigram. This is completely disparate from the kind of information we tend to memorise in real-life.
justification: this suggests that research regarding the cognitive approach cannot be generalised to reality as findings aren’t representative of real-life scenarios.
implication: therefore this is a weakness of the cognitive approach as research regarding cognitive processes may lack external validity.
