The Cognitive Approach Flashcards
The cognitive approach
Explains human behaviour in terms of thought processes such as beliefs and memories. It argues that if thinking changes, behaviour will also change.
What does the cognitive approach contrast with?
Learning approaches, which only focus on behaviour that can be observed from the outside NOT internal mental processes.
Examples of cognitive processes
- Memory
- Perception
- Language
- Attention
- Thoughts and beliefs
Noam Chomsky (1959)
- Language cannot be learned through classical and operant conditioning
- Instead, we build up mental models of the rules of grammar e.g adding -ed to a verb when forming the past tense in English
Assumptions of the cognitive approach
- The computer analogy. The human mind is compared to a computer and human beings are seen as information processors
- Models - Cognitive psychologists may build theoretical or computer models of cognitive processes
- Stimulus and response is appropriate only if the thought processes that occur between them are acknowledged
- Inference
- Internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
Schema
A cognitive structure where thoughts and memories are linked together. It influences future thinking.
What are schemas influenced by?
The culture in which you grow up
Assimilation (Jean Piaget)
The process by which new information is added to schemas.
Accommodation
When a new schema forms due to inconsistent information.
An example of accommodation
A young child may have a schema for a bug that included both spiders and insects, but as they get older they learn that a spider is not a type of insect.
The spider and insect schema become separate in the child’s mind.
Frederick Bartlett (schemas and memory)
- Showed how memories can be distorted by schemas
- When he told his students about a Native American battle, they tended to miss out parts and change things when they later recalled the stories.
- This was because parts of the stories did not fit with the participants’ cultural schemas
An example of a schema
A stereotype
3 types of schema
Role schema
Event schema
Self-schema
Role schema
Knowledge about how to act in a certain role e.g. expectation about how a waiter should act.
Event schema
Also known as scripts. Our knowledge and expectation about what should happen in certain scenarios e.g. going to the movies.
Self-schema
All about us, what we are now, what we were in the past and what we hope to be in the future. Our sense of self.
Strength of schemas
- Useful in everyday life as they allow us to take cognitive shortcuts enabling us to process large amounts of information rapidly
- Help us predict what will happen in our world based on experiences
- Prevent us from becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
Problems with schemas
- Maladaptive schemata can lead to negative thoughts, bias (we see what we expect) and prejudice, so it can be very unhelpful
- Maladaptive schemata can be a factor in many mental illnesses, especially depression, social phobias and OCD
- Schema can distort our interpretation of sensory information
- Can lead to perceptual errors or inaccurate EWT
Theoretical models
- Made up of boxes and arrows to show cognitive processing e.g. multistore model of memory
- Presents an idea of how a mental process works
- These models can be tested using experiments and modified if findings don’t fit with the model
Computer models
- Use computer analogies e.g. working memory is like the RAM of computer
- The cognitive approach emerged in the mid-20th Century around the same time that computer scientists were developing the earliest computers
- Researchers realised that a computer was a useful model of the mind
Bartlett (1932) War of the Ghosts Study
- Told 20 student participants an unfamiliar story that was part of Native American Folklore
- They were then asked to recall it at several different time intervals, ranging from a few hours to year later.
The three patterns of distortion (Findings of the War of the Ghosts Study)
- Three patterns of distortion
- Assimilation: The story became more consistent with the participants’ own cultural expectations - that is, details were unconsciously changed to fit the norms of British culture
- Levelling: The story became shorter with each retelling as participant omitted information that was seen as not important. Participants shortened the story from its original 330 to on average 180 words
- Sharpening: Participants also tended to change the order of the story to make sense of it using terms more familiar to their own culture.
Conclusion - Bartlett (1932)
Memory is reconstructive and it is shaped by cultural schemata.
Strengths of Bartlett’s study
- Easy to replicate
- Practical applications for education etc.
