the cognitive approach

Question 1

cognitive approach

Answer 1

cognitive - mental processes

approach focused on how our mental processes affect behaviour

Question 2

internal mental processes

Answer 2

private operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response

Question 3

schema

Answer 3

a mental framework of belief and expectations that influence cognitive processing

developed from experience

Question 4

inference

Answer 4

process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour

Question 5

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 5

the scientific study of those biological structures that underpin cognitive processes

Question 6

assumptions

Answer 6

internal mental processes can be studied scientifically

study indirectly by making inferences about what is occurring

Question 7

the role of schema

Answer 7

packages of ideas developed from experience
mental framework for interpretation of incoming information

babies born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours

as get older - schema become more detailed
adults have mental representations for everything

enables us to process lots of information quickly - mental shortcut - prevents us being overwhelmed

may also distort our interpretations - rat man study

Question 8

theoretical and computer models

Answer 8

theoretical models are abstract while computer models are concrete things

information processing approach - information flows through cognitive system in a sequence of stages - MSM

based on the way computers function

Question 9

the emergence of cognitive neuroscience

Answer 9

scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processing

mapping brain areas to specific cognitive functions

eg fMRI, PET

focus of cognitive neuroscience - now includes use of computer generates models - development of mind-mapping techniques such as brain finger-printing

Question 10

scientific methods

Answer 10

P - strength as uses objective scientific methods
E - highly controlled and rigorous methods of study - so researchers able to infer cognitive processes
E - use of lab studies for reliable, objective data and with cognitive neuroscience, biology and cognitive - enhance scientific bases
L - study of the mind has a credible scientific basis

P - relies on inference of mental processes
E - so not direct observation - occasionally suffer from being too abstract and theoretical in nature
E - research studies of mental processes often carried out with artificial stimuli and may not represent everyday experience
L - research on cognitive processes may lack external validity

Question 11

real-world application

Answer 11

P - strength is practical application
E - dominant approach in psychology and applied to wide range of practical and theoretical contexts
E - includes treatment of depression and improved the reliability of eyewitness testimony
L - supports the value of the cognitive approach

Question 12

machine reductionism

Answer 12

P - limited as based on machine reductionism
E - similarities between the human mind and operations of thinking machine such as computer
E - computer analogy - ignores influence of emotion and motivation and how it may affect ability to process information eg memory may be affected by emotion such as anxiety for eyewitness testimony
L - machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach

Question 13

soft determinism

Answer 13

P - founded on soft determinism
E - view that human behaviour may be determined by internal and external factors but we also can exert free will
E - hard determinism argue against it
L - behaviour may be determined by factors other than free will such as conditioning and genes