Cognitive Approach

Question 1

focuses on…

Answer 1

• the mind and its effect on behaviour

- how people perceive, store, manipulate and interpret information

Question 2

study of behaviour within cognitive approach

Answer 2

• internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
• study of mental processes done indirectly through inference
• all inferences are based off of clear evidence and reasoning

Question 3

models

Answer 3

• theoretical models used to study the mind, such as MSM

- computer models used as well, treating the mind as if it were a machine

Question 4

Schemas

Answer 4

• packages of information which come from prior experiences
• belief and expectations framework, influencing cognitive processing
• e.g. schema for dog may be ‘4 legs, tail’ as a child resulting in anything the child sees which fits this description being recognised as a dog
• schemas develop over time to hold more info
• schemas allow up to take shortcuts and not be overwhelmed by stimuli

Question 5

downsides of schemas

Answer 5

• they can have negative implications, based on pre-existing expectations of a certain gender or race, which could result in possibly serious consequences
• faulty conclusions and unhelpful behaviour can come due to schemas, e.g. reliability of eye-witness testimony

Question 6

computer and theoretical models

Answer 6

• emphasis on the way that sensory information travels through the system resulted from the development of computers and computer programming
• the computer analogy states that information is passed through the senses, encoded into the memory, then combined with information that had been previously stored
• theoretical models are simplified representations of evidence which comes from current research of the brain
• these are usually found in the form of a diagram with boxes and arrows

Question 7

Cognitive neuroscience

Answer 7

• scientific study of brain strictures affecting mental processes
• scientists able to describe neurological basis of mental processing

Question 8

Paul Broca

Answer 8

• identified that damage to the frontal lobe, specifically the Broca’s area, could impair speech production

Question 9

Technology used to observe mental processes

Answer 9

fMRI and PET scans

- OCD’s neurological basis can be understood by using scanning techniques

Question 10

Brain mapping

Answer 10

• can be used through computer-generated models for ‘brain fingerprinting’
• could be used in court to check EWT validity

Question 11

(+) EVAL - good credibility

Answer 11

• cognitive studies are done in a laboratory setting, meaning they are reliable and reproducible
• there is also a lot of scientific credibility within cognitive neuroscience

Question 12

(+) EVAL - real-life application

Answer 12

• the cognitive approach has made substantial contributions to AI and machine learning, through the study of people as if they were computers

Question 13

(-) EVAL - lack of external validity

Answer 13

• cognitive psychology is typically quite abstract and theoretical due to inference of what is happening in the brain
• artificial stimuli is also used, which is not reflective of real life