Cognitive Approach

Question 1

What are the key assumptions of the cognitive approach?

Answer 1

• internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
• Use of inferences

Question 2

What is meant by a schema?

Answer 2

• Schemas are “packages” of information, beliefs and expectations in the mind developed through experience.
• They act as a mental framework interpreting and understanding incoming information
• Your schemas that have been acquired through experience help you to respond to the object/situation appropriately.
• As we get older, our schemas become more detailed and sophisticated. Schemas enable us to process lots of information quickly and this is useful as a sort of mental short-cut that prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.

Question 3

Why can schemas sometimes be problematic?

Answer 3

• Schemas may cause errors in our processing of the sensory information that we receive.
• If we experience a situation or object that we do not have a schema for we might ignore that information or misinterpret it so that it fits in with our existing schemas.

Question 4

What is a theoretical model? Give an example

Answer 4

• We cannot see mental processes therefore using a model enables psychologists to make inferences (assumptions) about how these mental processes work.
• A theoretical model of something should never be taken as an exact copy of the thing being described, but rather as a representation of it; they are abstract
• EXAMPLE: MULTI-STORE MODEL
  —- the information flows through our memory system in a series of stages. The cognitive approach recognises that the mental processes in these models (attention/rehearsal/retrieval/encoding) cannot be observed directly and so must be studied indirectly in lab settings and then inferences are made about what is happening in the mind.

Question 5

What is a computer model? Give an example

Answer 5

• compare the mind to a computer (computer analogy) by suggesting that there are similarities in the way information is processed.
• These models use the idea of the brain being the hardware (hard drive) and the mental processes e.g., attention and perception are the software. They use the concepts of ‘stores’ to hold the information and the concept of ‘coding’ to turn information into a useable format.

Question 6

What is meant by cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 6

• Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the brain structures, mechanisms and processes that are responsible for cognitive thinking.
• This involves the mapping of brain areas to specific cognitive functions. e.g., Broca identified how an area of the frontal lobe is linked to speech production.
• PET scans and fMRI scans now help psychologists to understand how areas of the brain are linked to different cognitive activities and emotions. The scans show which parts of the brain become active when someone is engaged in a cognitive task e.g. a STM task.

Question 7

AO3- strength or weakness?
DREAMS- deterministic?

Answer 7

• STRENGTH
• Less deterministic than other approaches, recognises that rather than being completely controlled by the environment (behaviourism) or being completely controlled by our genes (biological) we can make rational choices (thinking) about how to behave. Therefore, the approach gives a certain amount of importance to free will. e.g., the mental processing of information allows us to choose how to act in any given situation
• STRENGTH BECAUSE soft determinism is a middle ground position which is different to the hard determinism of the behaviourist and biological approaches

Question 8

AO3- strength or weakness?
DREAMS- reductionist?

Answer 8

• Weakness
• the approach reduces all complex behaviour down to mechanical processes, like the parts of a machine (input, output and storage systems). This is a simplistic view of behaviour as it ignores the role of emotion and motivation, and how this might affect our ability to process information. For example, research has shown how anxiety can impact the process of memory in eyewitness testimony.
• WEAKNESS BECAUSE this reduces the validity of the cognitive approach

Question 9

AO3- strength or weakness?
DREAMS- supporting evidence?

Answer 9

• STRENGTH
• Much of the supporting research comes from scientific lab studies. For example, Johnson and Scott (1987) found in an eye-witness testimony study that a weapon can lessen a participant’s ability to identify the person holding it. This may therefore explain why eyewitnesses sometimes have poor recall for certain details of violent crimes.
• STRENGTH BECAUSE having scientific supporting research such as adds validity and credibility to the cognitive approach.

Question 10

AO3- strength or weakness?
DREAMS- applications of the research?

Answer 10

• Strength
• Our understanding of internal mental processes provided by the cognitive approach has led to the development of cognitive treatments such as C.B.T. For example the cognitive approach has helped our understanding of the way faulty thought processes lead to the symptoms of depression.
• STRENGTH BECAUSE cognitive based therapies have led to the successful treatment of people suffering from depression

Question 11

AO3- strength or weakness?
DREAMS- what methods does the approach use?

Answer 11

• STRENGTH
• The use of lab experiments in highly controlled settings has allowed reliable objective data to be gathered and allowed researchers to infer which cognitive processes are at work. The emergence of neuroscience has also enabled the biological and cognitive approach to come together. All this means that the study of the mind has established more of a credible scientific basis since Wundt’s early attempts to measure private mental processes during introspection.
• STRENGTH BECAUSE it means that the study of the mind has established a credible scientific basis.