The Cognitive approach

Question 1

define : cognitive approach

Answer 1

the term cognitive means ‘mental processes’, so this approach is focused on how our mental processes (thoughts, perception and attention) affect our behaviour

Question 2

when did the cognitive approach first emerge

Answer 2

the 1950s

Question 3

define : internal mental processes

Answer 3

‘private’ operations of the mind such as perception and attention which mediate between stimulus and response

Question 4

define : schema

Answer 4

a mental framework of beliefs and expectations which influence cognitive processing. they are developed from experience

Question 5

define : inference

Answer 5

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

Question 5

define : cognitive neuroscience

Answer 5

the scientific study of the biological structures that underpin cognitive processes

Question 5

what does the cognitive approach argue in contrast to the behaviourist approach?

Answer 5

the cognitive approach argues that internal mental processes can be studied scientifically

Question 5

what areas of human behaviour do cognitive psychologists study?

Answer 5

areas neglected by behaviourists: memory, perception and thinking

Question 6

how do cognitive psychologists study the ‘private’ processes which cannot be observed?

Answer 6

they are studied indirectly through inferences about what is going on inside ones mind on the basis of their behaviour

Question 7

what can cognitive processing often be affected by?

Answer 7

a person’s beliefs or expectations - often referred to as the schema

Question 8

what is a schema?

Answer 8

‘packages’ of ideas and information which are developed through experience

Question 9

what type of schema do babies have?

Answer 9

a simple motor schema for innate behaviours

Question 10

what happens to our schema as we get older?

Answer 10

it becomes more detailed and sophisticated

Question 11

what do schemas enable us to do?

Answer 11

it enables us to process lots of information quickly, like a mental shortcut and prevents us from getting overwhelmed

Question 12

However, what may schemas do?

Answer 12

they may distort our interpretations of sensory information , leading to perceptual errors

Question 13

what is an important theoretical model?

Answer 13

the information processing approach - that suggests that information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages

• including input, storage and retrieval

Question 13

what do cognitive psychologists refer to to help us understand the internal mental processes?

Answer 13

theoretical and computer models

Question 14

what is the information processing approach based on?

Answer 14

based on the way that computers work (but a computer model would involve programming)

Question 15

what did Paul Broca identify in the 1860s?

Answer 15

how damage to the frontal lobe could permanently impair speech production

Question 16

what are some more modern brain scanning techniques?

Answer 16

fMRI and PET scans
scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of the mental processes

Question 17

what did Buckner and Peterson do in 1996?

Answer 17

that different types of long term memory may be located on opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex

Question 18

how have scanning techniques proved useful?

Answer 18

because it established the neurological basis of mental disorders

Question 19

what is brain finger printing?

Answer 19

a mind mapping technique, could be used to analyse the brain wave patterns of an eyewitness to determine whether they are lying in court.

Question 20

what is a strength of the cognitive approach?

Answer 20

it uses objective, scientific methods

Question 21

why do cognitive psychologists employ highly controlled and rigorous methods of study?

Answer 21

so that researchers are able to infer cognitive processes at work

Question 22

how do cognitive psychologists obtain objective information

Answer 22

lab studies

Question 23

what is the problem with relying on inferences instead of direct observation?

Answer 23

it can sometimes be too abstract and theoretical in nature

Question 24

what is the problem with using artificial stimuli?

Answer 24

they may not represent the everyday experience

therefore research on the cognitive processes may lack external validity

Question 25

How is practical application a strength of the cognitive approach?

Answer 25

It is probably the dominant approach in psychology and has a wide range of practical and theoretical contexts

Question 26

How is machine reductionism a limitation of the cognitive approach?

Answer 26

There are similarities between the human mind and ‘thinking machines (such as computer input output, storage system ). machine reductionism ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system and how it may affect our ability to process information.

Question 27

What is soft determinism?

Answer 27

The view that human behaviour may be determined by internal and external factors, but we also exert our free will at times.

Question 28

What is hard determinism?

Answer 28

That behaviour is determined by factors other than our will , such as conditioning and genes .