Cognitive Psychology

Question 1

What is cog psych?

Answer 1

The understanding of human cognition through observation of behaviour during performance on cognitive tasks

Question 2

What is the information processing approach?

Answer 2

It is based on the assumption that human processing resembles that of computers.
Stimulus-> Attention-> Perception -> Thought processes -> Decision -> Response or action

Question 3

What is emphasised in the bottom up of the information processing approach?

Answer 3

Serial processing emphasised (processing directly influenced by environmental stimuli, serial = 1 process at a time)

Question 4

What is emphasised in the top-down of the information processing approach?

Answer 4

Processing de-emphasised (processing influenced by internal factors e.g. knowledge

Question 5

What are the strengths of the information-processing approach?

Answer 5

First systematic approach.
Led to numerous theories and tasks adopted by other approaches.
Very flexible - can be applied to any aspect of cognition

Question 6

What are the limitations of the information-processing approach?

Answer 6

• Most cognitive tasks are impure and some lack eco validity
• Indirect evidence of underlying processes
• Theories are often vague and hard to test
• Findings are often paradigm-specific
• Lack of overarching theoretical framework