The cognitive approach Flashcards
Assumptions of the cognitive approach.
-Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of the mind as an information processor.
-Internal mental processes cannot be observed directly but we can infer what a person is thinking from the way that they act.
What is a schema?
A cognitive framework that helps to organise and interpret information. They help us to take shortcuts when interpreting the huge amount of information was encounter on a daily basis. We can fill in the gaps in the absence of full information about a person, event or thing.
Limitations of schemas.
Schemas can lead to a distortion of information as we interpret things from the environment which may not be relevant.
Schemas can cause inaccuracies in things such as eye witness testimony.
What do cognitive psychologists compare the human mind to?
A computer.
What are theoretical models?
Diagrammatic representations of the steps involved in internal mental processes. e.g the multi-store model of memory.
What is cognitive neuroscience?
The scientific study of the brain structures on mental processors.
This involves mapping brain areas to specific cognitive functions. The use of technology means neuroscientists can study this for example using PET scans to see which parts of the brain become active in specific circumstances. For example, there is a link between the parahippocampal gyrus and OCD.
Strength of the cognitive approach (objective research).
One strength of the cognitive approach is that it uses objective, scientific methods of research.
Cognitive psychologists employ highly controlled methods of study such as lab studies.
This means that the study of the mind has a credible scientific basis.
Strength of the cognitive approach (practical application).
Another strength of the cognitive approach is that it has practical application. For example, cognitive psychology has made an important contribution to artificial intelligence (AI) and robots. These will revolutionise how we live in the future so this therefore increases the value of the cognitive approach.
Limitation of the cognitive approach.
It is based on machine reductionism. There are similarities between the human brain and the operation of a computer however this can be criticised as it ignores the importance of human emotion. For example, it has been found that anxiety can influence eye witness testimony which suggests the human memory can be affected by emotional factors. This shows that machine reductionism weakened the validity of the cognitive approach.
