Cognitive issues and debates

Question 1

Issues and debates

Answer 1

Determinism (soft)
Nature & Nurture
Machine reductionism
nomothetic
mostly scientific

Question 2

Determinism (soft)

Answer 2

The cognitive approach suggests that behaviour is the result of mediational processes however human can choose what information they attend to.

Question 3

Nature & Nurture

Answer 3

The cognitive approach suggests that innate information processing (nature) is modified as a result of experience (nurture)

Question 4

Machine reductionism

Answer 4

ignores the influence of human motivation and emotion on our ability to process information. Sees as info processors, like a computer.

Question 5

nomothetic

Answer 5

The cognitive approach typically uses nomothetic approaches to establish general laws of cognitive processing. However, case studies are sometimes used (e.g. patient KF, HM, etc.) utilising idiographic approaches.

Question 6

mostly scientific

Answer 6

The cognitive approach utilises scientific methods of investigation (e.g. studies of memory). However, researchers are unable to directly observe cognitive processes so use inference.