Lesson 6 - The Cognitive Approach - Use Of Computer Models

Question 1

What are the similarities between the human mind and a computer?

Answer 1

• The ability to learn
• Both can process information and find an outcome
• Input and output
• Different components
• Memory

Question 2

What are the differences between the human mind and a computer?

Answer 2

• Computers have no emotion, humans do
• Computers cannot think for themselves, humans can
• You can take a computer apart and look inside, but you can’t take apart the brain

Question 3

What are the three stages of the information processing model?

Answer 3

Input:
Our senses encode information from the environment

Processing:
The information is processed via schemas

Output:
A behavioural response occurs

Question 4

What is cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 4

• Emerged in 1971, first used in 1991 by Miller to bridge the gap between cognitive science and neuroscience
• Looks at the biological basis of thought processes e.g the influence of neurons that can be involved in developing thought processes
• Combines the cognitive approach with some elements of the biological approach

Question 5

Define cognitive neuroscience

Answer 5

‘The scientific study of the influence of the brain structure on mental processes.
The area of the brain can be mapped to locate specific cognitive functions’

Question 6

What is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI)?

Answer 6

• A method of brain scan
• Detects the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity
• Produces activation maps showing which part of the brain is linked to which mental process

Question 7

What is Positron Emission Tomography (PET)?

Answer 7

• A type of nuclear medicine procedure that measures metabolic activity of the cells of body tissues
• Helps to visualise the biochemical changes taking place in the body e.g metabolism of the heart

Question 8

What are some positive evaluation points for the use of theoretical computer models and cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 8

• Still dominant today in Psychology, can be applied to practical or theoretical contexts e.g cognitive psychology has helped to develop artificial intelligence
• Founded on the idea of ‘Soft determinism’ which means that humans recognise that their cognitive thinking system operates within the limits of what they know - more interactionist than other approaches
• Emphasises scientific methods such as laboratory experiments when collecting data, meaning that high levels of control can be exercised and cause and effect relationships can be identified between variables

Question 9

What are some negative evaluation points for the use of theoretical computer models and cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 9

• It can be argued that the models used oversimplify the behaviour and reduce it down to simple steps that could be regarded as mechanistic
• The role of emotion is lacking and overlooked with theoretical models
• It is inaccurate to compare computers with humans as humans have free will and are alive, plus there are many other differences that we must be aware of
• The human mind is different to the workings of a computer so we cannot always apply the information processing model - humans get tired, sick and make mistakes

Question 10

What was Maguire’s 2000 study into taxi driver’s brains?

Answer 10

• Maguire wanted to investigate whether brain anatomy was predetermined, or whether the brain is susceptible to plastic changes in response to environmental stimulation (e.g driving a taxi)
• Taxi drivers have to undergo training and so are good participants for an experiment into spacial navigation
• To investigate whether structural changes could be detected in the brain of people with extensive experience of spatial navigation, 32 males (av age 44) were split into 2 groups
• One group was 16 licensed London taxi drivers who had worked in the job for 18 months or above, whereas the other 16 had never driven a taxi
• MRI brain scans were taken and analysed

Question 11

What did the results for Maguire’s 2000 taxi drivers study suggest?

Answer 11

• The results showed that the right posterior hippocampus in the brain of the taxi drivers’ was larger than the control group, and this was proportional to time spent in the job
• The right posterior hippocampus is responsible for storing visual representations of the environment and this links to the fact that taxi drivers have to navigate round London’s streets
• This demand in knowledge resulted in a physical change in the brain, which the MRI scan picked up

Question 12

What are some positive evaluation points of Maguire’s study into taxi driver’s brains?

Answer 12

• Supports the key aspects of cognitive neuroscience which combines both cognitive and biological factors to help explain internal thought processes. The study emphasises how the brain is like a muscle, and the more an area of the brain is exercised or used, the larger it becomes
• There is research evidence to support the idea that the right posterior hippocampus is involved in spatial awareness - previous studies on monkeys, birds, rats and rodents found that the hippocampus is involved in spatial navigation, and that the functionality of the brain is similar across many species

Question 13

What is a negative evaluation point of Maguire’s 2000 research into taxi drivers’ brains?

Answer 13

• It only investigated males which means that the study lacks ecological validity and so the results cannot be generalised to females
• Every brain is different, and this study does not take individual differences into account when examining the brain and cognitive functions