the cognitive approach Flashcards
the cognitive approach (background)
- the cognitive approach developed in the 1960s as a response to the behaviourist’s failure to acknowledge mental processes
- the development of the first computers during this time gave cognitive psychologists a metaphor for describing mental processes
- felt behaviourists were missing an important cognitive step between stimulus and response (thought process influencing behaviour)
main assumptions of the cognitive approach
- internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically
what are internal mental processes?
private operations of the mind (thoughts, memory, attention, language acquisition, perception, decision making, problem solving)
the role of inference in the cognitive approach
- the cognitive approach recognises that internal mental processes cannot be observed and so they must be studied indirectly
- they do this by making inferences about internal mental processes from the evidence collected
- making inferences means reaching a logical conclusion on the basis of evidence and reasoning
what are theoretical models (the cognitive approach)
simplified representations of how the mind works. They are often pictorial in nature, represented by boxes and arrows that indicate cause and effect or the stages of a particular mental process.
Eg. Ellis’ ABC model to explain depression
pros and cons of theoretical models
- easy to understand and research
- but they can be overly-simplistic = may be incomplete
- reductionist - take complex behaviour and simplify it down into parts
reductionist
take complex behaviour and simplify it down into parts
theoretical models example
Ellis’ ABC model to explain depression:
negative event (A) -> rational belief (B) -> healthy negative emotion (C)
negative event (A) -> irrational belief (B) -> unhealthy negative emotion (C)
key elements of theoretical models
- simplified representation
- pictorial (incl. diagrams)
- represented by boxes and arrows
- indicates stages of a particular mental process
computer models (cognitive approach)
The development of computers led cognitive psychologists to a focus on the way in which information is ‘coded’ in the brain. When cognitive psychologists use computer models this refers to the process of using ‘computer analogies’ as a representation of human cognition (ie. how the brain works).
eg. the computer model for memory
the computer model example (cognitive approach)
(for memory):
input devices (sensory memory)
processor/ram (working memory) <-> hard drive storage (long-term memory)
output (response to stimuli)
what is a schema
a cognitive framework of beliefs and expectations that help us to organise and interpret information in the brain
- They help us to navigate through the world by knowing what to expect or how to act in certain situations.
- Schemas are built and developed from experience.
- You have schemas for everything eg. a nurse
why are schema’s useful?
- they allow us to take shortcuts when interpreting the huge amount of information we have to deal with on a daily basis
- help us to ‘fill in the gaps’ in the absence of full information about a person, even, or object
problems with schemas
However, by ‘filling in the gaps’, we may develop stereotypes that are difficult to disconfirm and this may contribute to prejudice and discrimination. Schemas can also distort our interpretation of information leading to perceptual errors.
evidence for the issues of schema
- Bruner and Postman (1949)
- Bruner and Postman found that when participants were shown a picture of a white man and a black man arguing, where the white man had a knife, participants would wrongly recall that it was the black man who had the knife.
- This is evidence for our schemas contributing to stereotypes and thus contributing to prejudice and discrimination.
