cognitive approach Flashcards
What are the main assumptions of the cognitive approach?
-internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
-private processes that cant be observed, so we we study them indirectly by making inferences about what is happening in the mind
What are the 3 stages of the computer model?
-input
-processing
-output
what is input
From the environment via the senses
What is processing?
Processing is information that is encoded and processed using schemas
What is output?
Out put is observable behaviour or action
What is information processing approach?
-information flows through a cognitive system based on the way a computer functions
What are the 3 steps of the information processing approach
input
storage
retrieval
Cognitive development
-Piaget- stages of cognitive development to reflect a child’s thought process
- the information processing approach sees children’s minds as computes that gradually develop
Mood disorders
-Beck argued that depression is caused by faulty thinking
-Ellis believes that emotional and behavioural disorders develop because of irrational beliefs
Education
- apply information processing approach to improve educational techniques
What is a schema?
A schema is a packet of information based on beliefs and expectations developed from past experiences which help us organise and interpret information
Outline the research conducted by Bujalski and Alampy
-Two groups of participants shown a sequence of pictures, faces or animals
-Then they was all shown the rat man
-Group who saw animals saw the rat and the group who saw people saw the man
How do schemas explain the rat man experiment?
Schemas were used to identify the image based on the images participants were exposed to in their environment
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Cognitive neuroscience is the study of the influence of the brain structures on mental processes using brain scanning techniques such as FMRI.
What does neuroscience aim to do?
Neuroscience aims to find out how the brain structures influence the way we process information and map mental cognitive functions to specific areas of the brain
What are examples of brain mapping?
Brevet et el. found that when participants were performing activities involving the central executive while being scanned the prefrontal cortex showed greater activity. This suggests that the central executive is situated in the prefrontal cortex.
What are some strengths of the cognitive approach?
-uses objective scientific methods
-big influence on the development of therapies
-founded on soft determinism
What are some weaknesses of the cognitive approach?
-machine reductionist
-relies on the inference of mental processes, rather than the observation of behaviour. to abstract
