The Cognitive Approach

Question 1

what does the cognitive approach refer to

Answer 1

Refers to mental processes to explain behaviour

Question 2

The Cognitive Approach: Key Assumptions

Answer 2

1. Internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically (e.g. laboratory studies); introspection is too unscientific
2. The mind works like a computer (computer analogy):
   Input ——-> Processing ——-> Output
3. Mental processes (i.e. thoughts) that occur between a stimulus and response must be acknowledged

Question 3

The Study of Internal Mental Processes

Answer 3

The Cognitive Approach studies information processing, this means the way in which we deal with information from our environment or experiences.
This can include selecting information (called attention), using information to solve problems (thinking) or storing and retrieving information (memory)
Thought processes cannot be studied directly, explain why:
Unlike behaviour, they are not directly observable – you cannot see what someone is thinking or how they are processing information
Therefore, they must be studied indirectly and INFERENCES are made about what cognitive/mental processes have occurred, based on the behaviour that has resulted.

Question 4

what are inferences

Answer 4

INFERENCE: going beyond the immediate evidence to make assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed

Question 5

Schema

Answer 5

Schema: a cognitive framework; a collection of ideas (or a ‘packet of information’) about a person or situation, formed through experience

Question 6

 Schema are useful as they:

Answer 6

Help us to understand and predict the world around us
Guide our expectations of how to behave in different situations
Organise and interpret information in the brain
Help us make sense of new information
Allow us to take shortcuts when interpreting large amounts of information

Question 7

How might schema lead to distortions in perception or memory?
 However, schema can cause us to…

Answer 7

Focus only on what confirms our preexisting ideas/beliefs (confirmation bias).
Exclude important information that does not conform to our established ideas about the world.
Develop stereotypes that are difficult to disconfirm.
Fill in the gaps in the absence of full information about a person, event or thing (leading to false memories).

Question 8

Key study: Brewer and Treyens (1981)
Aim

Answer 8

Aim: To study the effect of pre-existing schema on memory.

Question 9

Key study: Brewer and Treyens (1981)
Procedure

Answer 9

Procedure: Laboratory experiment - Participants were shown into a room they believed was the experimenter’s office and told to wait (for around 30-50 seconds).Once they left the office they were asked to write down everything they could remember about the room.

Question 10

Key study: Brewer and Treyens (1981)
Findings

Answer 10

Findings:
Most of the participants remembered the schematic objects (items that were in keeping with their pre-existing ‘office’ schema e.g. typewriter).
Many recalled items that were not in keeping with their ‘office’ schema (unexpected items e.g. the skull – perhaps because it was distinctive).
Some also recalled things that were not in the room but should have been (e.g. books, telephone – schematic objects).

Question 11

Key study: Brewer and Treyens (1981)
Conclusions: What does this show about the effect of schema on our memory?

Answer 11

Schema can affect the things we remember and can distort our memory if what we see is not in keeping with the schema.

Question 12

The Role of Theoretical Models

Answer 12

Theoretical and computer models aim to explain and make inferences about mental processes; it supports a scientific approach to enquiry and testing.
Models are pictorial, with boxes and arrows to indicate cause and effect, stages of a particular mental process or parts of the mind (e.g. long term memory).
Arrows indicate the flow of information between these parts.

Question 13

Theoretical Models

Answer 13

Theoretical Models: Simplified representations of a particular mental process.

Question 14

what are computer models

Answer 14

Computer models: Assumes that the mind functions like a computer

Question 15

Information Processing Model

Answer 15

Information Processing Model – One way cognitive psychologists apply the idea of computational models to the human mind and draws on the similarities between the two.

Question 16

Input

Answer 16

The input comes from the environment via the senses and is encoded into memory
e.g.Rob sees an elderly lady struggling to reach biscuits in the supermarket and encodes this information.

Question 17

Processing

Answer 17

The information,
once encoded, can be
processed i.e. schemas.
e.g.He makes a decision from his processing/understanding of the information that she needs help and that he can help her.

Question 18

Output

Answer 18

The behavioural response, following the processing.
e.g.He asks the lady if she would like his help, reaches up for the biscuits and gives them to her.

Question 19

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 19

Cognitive Neuroscience: aims to find a biological basis for mental processes/cognitive functions

Question 20

The Emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 20

The discipline emerged as technology advanced  scanning machines e.g. fMRI, PET, enable neuroscientists to study the living brain and gather detailed information (detailed images of the brain and brain activity) about the brain structures involved in different kinds of mental processing.

Question 21

What are PET scans

Answer 21

The scan captures images of activity across the brain after radioactive “tracers” have been absorbed into the bloodstream. These tracers are typically “attached” to glucose (sugar) and then injected. Glucose is the principal fuel of the brain.
Active areas of the brain will be utilising the [radioactive] glucose at a higher rate than inactive areas.
- For example, a PET scan can compare brain activity during periods of depression with normal brain activity.
- An increase of blue and green colours, along with decreased white and yellow areas, shows decreased brain activity due to depression.

Question 22

What are fMRI scans

Answer 22

A technique of brain scanning that uses a magnetic field and radio signals to monitor blood flow across the brain. Areas of the brain that are involved in activities done by the person during scanning have a greater blood oxygenation and flow, so specific brain areas can be linked to specific abilities.

Question 23

Example of Cognitive Neuroscience Research (Maguire et al., 2000)
Background

Answer 23

Background:
The hippocampus plays a major role in short-term memory and spatial navigation. Evidence has shown that hippocampal volume enlarges when demand for spatial ability is greatest.

Question 24

Example of Cognitive Neuroscience Research (Maguire et al., 2000)
Aim

Answer 24

To study whether changes could be detected in the brains of London taxi drivers.

Question 25

Example of Cognitive Neuroscience Research (Maguire et al., 2000)
Procedure

Answer 25

The researchers compared MRI scans of 16 male London taxi drivers vs. 50 male non-taxi drivers.

Question 26

Example of Cognitive Neuroscience Research (Maguire et al., 2000)
Results

Answer 26

The hippocampus of the taxi drivers was significantly larger than the non-taxi drivers’ indicating that this area of the brain is associated with navigational tasks and skills.

Hippocampal volume correlated positively with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver.

Question 27

Example of Cognitive Neuroscience Research (Maguire et al., 2000)
Evaluation

Answer 27

The use of MRI scans allowed the study to demonstrate plasticity of the hippocampus in response to environmental demands i.e. that the structure of the brain is flexible and affected by experience.

Provided quantitative data relating to volume and size of the hippocampus, enabling correlational analysis.

Question 28

Cognitive Neuroscience: Practical Applications
Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Memory

Answer 28

Neuropsychological studies of patients with brain lesions have used PET and fMRI brain-imaging technology to help identify the specific roles of structures such as the hippocampus in semantic memory, as well as identifying which brain regions mediate specific kinds of procedural memory.
Findings are discussed in terms of the functional neural architecture of normal memory, age-related changes in memory performance, and neurological conditions that affect memory such as amnesia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease

Question 29

Cognitive Neuroscience: Practical Applications
Cognitive Neuroscience of OCD

Answer 29

Neuroimaging studies have revealed significant differences between OCD patients and healthy controls.
Initial imaging (PET, fMRI) findings showing hyperactivity in the prefrontal cortex (mainly orbitofrontal cortex), anterior cingulate cortex and caudate nucleus led to the postulation of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) model for the neurobiology of OCD.
However, in the last two decades emerging evidence suggests the involvement of widespread associative networks, including regions of the parietal cortex, limbic areas (including amygdala) and cerebellum.

Question 30

Evaluation of Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 30

Uses scientific and objective methods, which is a strength because…the use of controlled experiments mean the research is highly replicable, so results are reliable. This is a strength of the approach as the use of scientific methods add credibility to the approach.
Continues to progress as technology advances.

Question 31

P:The cognitive approach has led to the development of a successful therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which has been used to treat people suffering from illnesses such as OCD and depression

Answer 31

E: The fact that CBT is successful suggests that dysfunctional behaviour can be explained by faulty thinking processes.

C:This therefore adds support to the cognitive approach and demonstrates how it has been applied in many other areas of psychology.

Question 32

P:The use of scientific methods, such as laboratory experiments (e.g. Brewer and Treyens), is a key strength of the cognitive approach,

Answer 32

E:…because experiments are a rigorous method for collecting and evaluating evidence in order to reach accurate conclusions about internal mental processes.

C:Therefore, researchers can establish cause-effect relationships as conclusions are based on far more than common sense and introspection, which can give a misleading and highly subjective idea of mental processes.

Question 33

P:The methods used by cognitive psychologists i.e. highly controlled laboratory experiments, could be criticised for lacking ecological validity.

Answer 33

E: Studying participants in controlled environments, using artificial tests to make inferences, means an understanding of everyday mental processing is missing from explanations.

C:This leads to issues with generalising the findings beyond experimental settings.

Question 34

P:The cognitive approach can be criticised for oversimplifying complex processes and ignoring certain aspects of human experience.

Answer 34

E:The computer analogy fails to recognise that there are key differences between the information processing in a computer and in the human mind e.g. humans are not mechanistic - they have free will, as well as being affected by emotion and motivation. Computers, on the other hand, do not make mistakes or forget things.

C: Its comparison of people with computers is therefore machine reductionism.

Question 35

P:The cognitive approach’s reliance on inference is also a weakness,

Answer 35

E:…because assumptions are made about mental processes, which may be inaccurate/flawed (a ‘leap too far’).

C:This therefore undermines the validity of the approach.

Question 36

P: There is an issue of soft determinism in that there is little room for processes other than internal mental events affecting behaviour.

Answer 36

E: Research findings indicate factors other than internal mental events as causes of behaviour. For example, research suggests that physical factors, such as genes, hormones and neurotransmitters can affect behaviour.

C: This therefore limits the extent to which the approach can explain all aspects of human behaviour