Cognitive approach Flashcards
Outline the assumptions of the cognitive approach
- internal mental processes can be studied scientifically and indirectly by making inferences
- mind works like a computer e.g input and output
- Predominant concept =schema
What is inferences?
- the process whereby cognitive psychologists make assumptions about the way mental processes operate that cannot directly be observed
What are the ways in which cognitive psychologists can study & make inferences on internal mental processes?
- lab experiments on healthy individuals
- carrying out experiments on brain damaged patients in order to infer which areas of the brain control certain behaviours
- using evidence from brain scans to observe brain activity
What are cognitive processes often affected by?
schema
What are schemas?
- mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence our world around us > developed through experience e.g. thinking about what happens at a restaurant
- born with innate schema
What are the strengths of schemas?
- they allow us to take shortcuts when interpreting large amounts of information we have to deal with on a daily basis
- prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
What are the weaknesses of schemas?
- may distort our interpretations of sensory information leading to perceptual errors
What models have psychologists used to help them understand internal mental processes?
theoretic and computer models
What is the information processing approach?
- theoretical model
- which suggest information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages e.g (MSM)
What are computer models?
- mind is compared to a computer
- like a computer the human mind has an input, processes the information then provides an output
- e.g. input=-sense information
- brain processes
output=behaviour executed
What is cognitive neuroscience?
- the scientific study of the influence of brain structures, mechanisms and processes that are responsible for mental processes
How does mapping brain areas have a long history in psych?
- Broca identified how damage to an area in the frontal lobe (Broca’s area) could impair speech production
- development of different techniques (fMRIs, EEGs) helped to discover a neurological basis for some mental disorders
What is a strength of the cognitive approach?
- uses objective scientific methods
- employ highly controlled methods of study so they can infer cognitive processes
- involve the use of lab studies to produce reliable objective data
e.g. to assess how much/long information can be held in the STM - emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled two fields to come together bio & cognitive psych = enhance scientific basis
What is another strength of the cognitive approach?
- real life application
- has been successfully applied & contributed to our understanding of mental disorders such as depression
- e.g. Becks model of depression where faulty thinking may create cognitive vulnerabilities to depression > Insight has led to the development of CBT which has excellent track record for effective treatment
- Also improving reliability of EWT
- good external validity
What is a weakness of the cognitive approach?
- based on machine reductionism
- computer analogy has been criticised as it ignores the influence of human emotion & motivation on the cognitive system & how it may affect ability to process information
- e.g. researchers have found that the human memory may be affected by emotional factors such as anxiety on EWT
- weakens validity
What is a counterpoint of scientific method strength?
- research studies of mental processes made often carried out being artificial stimuli - do not represent everyday experiences means it lacks external validity
