Cognitive Approach Flashcards
What are the brain scans?
PET scans involve a radioactive substance (known as a tracer) being injected and tracing
where it travels to show which areas of the brain are active when different tasks are
completed. For instance, Smith et al (1996) provided evidence that spatial working memory
is handled by a different part of the brain to verbal working memory (in doing so supporting
the working memory model) through the use of PET scans.
EEGs involve sensors recording and measuring electrical activity in the brain and
categorising them into different frequencies (alpha, beta, etc). Klimesch (1999) had patients
complete a task that used their semantic memory and then another task that used their
episodic memory whilst being given an EEG scan. It was found that each task was processed
differently, suggesting that episodic and semantic memory are two separate and discrete
types of long-term memory.
MRI scans involve the use of strong magnetic fields and radio waves to
produce a visual image of the brain. Maguire et al (2006) found that
London taxi drivers had increased grey matter (i.e. neural activity) in their
hippocampus in comparison to London bus drivers. The hippocampus is involved in spatial navigation and, as bus drivers have to follow specific routes, this may
indicate why taxi drivers have increased spatial awareness.
Advantages
1)A strength of the cognitive approach is that it uses objective, scientific methods.
- Cognitive psychologists employ highly controlled and rigorous methods of study, so researchers are able to infer cognitive process at work. This has involved the use of lab studies to produce reliable data as well as establishing cause and effect.
- In addition, the emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled the two fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together to enhance the scientific basis of study. This means that the study of the mind has a credible scientific basis.
2) Another strength is that the cognitive approach has a number of positive implications.
The cognitive approach has made important contribution in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and the development of ‘thinking machines’ (robots). These are exciting new advances that may revolutionise how we live in the future.
Cognitive principles have also been applied to the treatment of depression and reliability of EWT. This therefore supports the high value the approach has had on the real world.
Limitations
1) However, a limitation is that the approach relies on the inference of mental processes, rather than direct observation of behaviour, it can occasionally suffer from being too abstract and theoretical in nature.
Similarly, research studies of mental processes are often carried out using artificial stimuli (such as tests of memory involving a list of words) that may not represent everyday experience.
Therefore, research on cognitive processes may
lack ecological validity (external validity)
2) A final limitation with this approach is that it suffers with machine reductionism. This means that the approach reduces the complex human mind to that of a computer.
Unlike computers, however, humans are driven by conscience, fear of consequences, emotion and motivation.
This criticism can be seen in research into eyewitness testimonies. It was found that anxiety (human emotion) can impact on memory from eye-witness testimonies.
Therefore, machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach.
