the cognitive approach Flashcards
cognitive approach definition
the term ‘cognitive’ as come to mean ‘mental processes’, so this approach is focused on how mental processes affect behaviour
internal mental structure definition
private operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response
schema definition
a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing. they are developed from experience
cognitive neuroscience definition
the scientific study of those biological structures that underpin cognitive processes
which approach does cognitive approach contrast
behaviourist as cognitive approach argues internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically
assumptions of cognitive approach
internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically
how has assumption of cognitive approach internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically effected research
investigated those areas of human behaviour that were neglected by behaviourists, such as memory, perception and thinking. these are private processes and cannot be observed, so they are studied indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside people’s minds on the basis of their behaviour
what can cognitive processing be affected by
a person’s belief or expectations which are often referred to a schema
schema
‘packages’ of ideas and information developed through experience. they act as a metal framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by cognitive system
example of a schema
schema for a chair being something you sit on
babies schema
born with a simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as sucking and grasping
example of schema- what does grasping involve
moving a hand towards an object and shaping the hand around the object in co-ordination with visual input
schema in adults
as we get older our schema becomes more detailed and sophisticated. adults have developed mental representation for everything such as what as a zombie looks like
what does schema enable us to do
process lots of information quickly and this is useful as a sort of mental shortcut that prevents us form being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
schema distortion
may distort interpretations of sensory information, leading to perceptual errors
2 models used in cognitive approach
-theoretical
-computer
what are theoretical models for
abstract things
what are computer models for
concrete things
what helps understand metal processes
theoretical and computer models
an important theoretical model
information processing approach
information processing approach (theoretical model)
suggests information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages. these include input, storage and retrieval (multi-store model)
what is information processing approach based on
they way a computer functions but a computer model would involve actually programming a computer to see if instructions produce a similar output to humans. if they do we can suggest that similar processes are going on in the human mind.
computer models
involve actually programming a computer to see if instructions produce a similar output to humans. if they do we can suggest that similar processes are going on in the human mind.
use of computer models
have been useful in the development of artificial intelligence
cognitive neuroscience
scientific study of the influence brain structures on metal progresses
mapping brain areas to specific cognitive functions history in psychology
as early as the 1860s Broca had identified how damage to an area of the frontal lobe could permanently impair speech production. in the last 25 years there has been advances on brain scanning technology so scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe neurological basis of mental processes, such as research involving tasks requiring use of episodic and semantic memory. Buckener and peterson were able to show how these different types of long-term memory may be located on opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex, the central executive is thought to be in overall charge of working memory is thought to be in a similar area
use of scanning techniques
been useful in establishing neurological basis of some disorders. the link between parahippocampal gyrus and OCD, it appears to play a role in processing unpleasant emotions
focus on cognitive neuroscience expanding to include use of computer models
the focus of cognitive neuroscience expanding to include use of computer models that are designed to ‘read’ the brain. this has lead to development of mind mapping techniques known as ‘brain fingerprinting’. one possible future application of this could be to analyse the brain wave patterns of eyewitness to determine if they are lying in court
strength of the cognitive approach - scientific method
-uses objective and scientific methods
-cognitive psychologists employ highly controlled and rigorous methods of study so researchers can infer cognitive processes at work. this involves use of lab studies to produce reliable, objective data. in addition, the emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled the two fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together to enhance the scientific basis of the study –> this means the study of the mind has a credible scientific basis
limitation of cognitive approach - counterpoint to scientific methods
as cognitive psychology relies on the inference of mental processes, rather than direct observation of behaviour, it can occasionally suffer form being too abstract and theoretical in nature. similarly, research studies of mental processes are often carried out using artificial stimuli (such as word lists) so may not represent everyday life –> research on cognitive processes may lack external validity
strength of cognitive approach - real-world application
-has practical application
-the cognitive approach is probably the dominant approach in psychology today and has been applied to a wide range of practical and theoretical context. for example, cognitive psychology has made contribution to artificial intelligence and robots. these are exciting advances that may revolutionise how we live in the future. cognitive principles have also improved the reliability of eyewitness testimony –> supports the value of the cognitive approach
limitation of the cognitive approach -machine reductionism
-based on machine reductionism
-there are similarities between the human ,ind and the operations of a ‘thinking machine’ such as computers. however, the computer analogy has been criticised. such machine reductionism ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system, and how this may effect our ability to processes information. for instance, research has found that human memory can be affected by emotional factors, such as anxiety in eyewitness testimony –> suggests that machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach
evaluation of the cognitive approach
-the cognitive approach is founded on soft determinism, the view that human behvaiour may be determined by internal and external factors but we can also exert free will at times
-the hard determinism view all behaviour is determined by factors other than our will, such as conditioning and genes
