cognitive approach Flashcards
what is the core belief?
all behaviour is a result of thinking
what are the basic assumptions?
- the mind actively processes info from our senses
- between stimulus & response there are complex mental processes
- humans can be seen as data processing systems
- the workings of a computer and the human mind are alike.
what is an internal mental process?
internal mental processes are operations that occur in the mind but can be studied scientifically.
e.g. memory, attention and perception
what is perception?
the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. and it’s the way in which something is regarded, understood or interpreted.
what is inference?
mental processes are inferred by drawing conclusions about what goes on in someone’s head from their behaviour in a lab study.
what’s a theoretical model?
a diagrammatic representation of the steps involved in internal mental processes e.g. information-processing model.
what is a computer model?
software simulations of internal mental processes that are created in collaboration with computer scientists (a simulation to recreate what the mind does)
what is the multistore memory model?
(Atkinson & Shriffin) in this theory, it was proposed that information enters the brain through the senses and then moves to the short-term memory store, and then to the long-term memory store. whenever info is retrieved, it becomes output. similar to a computer.
what is the computer analogy?
the idea that the mind works like a computer. the input being senses, process being thinking and output being behaviour.
this analogy can be used to explain human behaviour and develop AI.
what is a schema?
schemas are ‘packages’ of ideas and information developed through experiences.
they are mental structures that represent an aspect of the world, such as an object or event.
generated through both past experiences and interactions
what is the emergence of cognitive neuroscience?
cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the influence of the brain structures on mental processes. mapping brain areas to specific cognitive functions has a long history in psychology.
what did Paul Broca do/find?
he identified an area of the brain in the frontal lobe that if damaged could impair speech production - known as Broca’s area.
how has cognitive neuroscience been effective?
in the last twenty years the advancement of brain imaging techniques such as fMRI and PET scans, scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes.
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.
what is an encoding brain?
Tulving’s experiments show that when people try to “encode” words in memory (learning) the frontal and temporal cortex in the left hemisphere “light up” but the right hemisphere doesn’t
what is a retrieving brain?
when people “recall” previously learned material, the right frontal cortex comes very much alive. the left hemisphere is active in retrieval but a smaller extent than right.
