Evaluating the cognitive approach

Question 1

Why is this approach having practical applications a strength?

Answer 1

• led to the development of cognitive behavioural therapy which is based on cognitive assumptions
• a strength as CBT has been used successfully to treat a range of disorders including depression and anxiety
• enables those who suffer from mental health issues to be able to reduce their symptoms and increase their wellbeing
  e.g CBT allows an individual to work with a therapist to identify and change their irrational beliefs and to learn how to make coping strategies
• leads to reduced anxiety levels

Question 2

strength: the ability for the cognitive approach to be applied in the police force and courtroom

Answer 2

• has highlighted the fragility of human memory and this has important implications for the criminal justice system
  -e.g used in the courtroom to see how every minor memory distortion can have severe consequences that are driven by misunderstandings about the memory
• this is a strength as it has helped the police force to take steps to improve their interviewing techniques so leading questions are avoided
  -eyewitness testimony is unreliable and cannot be used alone to establish a conviction
• led to less false convinctions

Question 3

Why is this approach adopting a scientific approach a strength?

Answer 3

• used experimental methods to gather evidence to support their theories
• research is conducted under controlled conditions which means that it is as scientific as it can be
• means there are high levels of objectivity (means it is free from bias or personal opinions) - a cause and effect can be established
• predictions can then be made about human behaviour
• no researcher bias with this
  e.g within loftus and palmers experiment they used controlled experiments to investigate how leading questions can influence eyewitness memory of events
• exemplifies the scientific rigor of the cognitive approach in psychology

Question 4

Why is this approach being reductionist a weakness/strength

Answer 4

strength
- seen to oversimplify human behaviour by explaining all behaviour in terms of internal mental processes
- e.g cognitive psychologists view mental illnesses such as depression to be linked to negative thought patterns
- seen to shape how individuals perceive themselves, the world and the future
-can contribute to the development of depressive symptoms