the cognitive approach

Question 1

what is the cognitive approach?

Answer 1

the term ‘cognitive’ has come to mean ‘mental processes’, so this approach is focused on how our mental processes (thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour

Question 2

what are the assumptions?

Answer 2

•internal mental processes can, and should, be studied scientifically
•these processes (memory, perception and thinking) are ‘private’ and cannot be observed
•cognitive psychologists study them indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside people’s minds on the basis of their behaviour

Question 3

what are internal mental processes?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

what are theoretical models?

Answer 4

pictorial representations that can be used to represent and study internal mental processes

Question 5

what are some examples of theoretical models?

Answer 5

the working memory model and the multi store model of memory (the information processing approach)

Question 6

what is a computer model?

Answer 6

they are used to model cognitive processes, where the mind is compared to a computer
they are similar as both have inputs or outputs, both code, process and store information
but humans are influenced by emotional and motivational factors

Question 7

what are schemas?

Answer 7

•a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing
•we have schemas for everything
•they are developed from experience and allow us for take mental shortcuts, but these can lead to mistakes (perceptual errors, stereotyping, inaccurate eyewitness testimonies)

Question 8

what is inference?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

what is the definition of cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 9

the scientific study of biological structures that underpin cognitive processes

Question 10

what is the emergence of cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 10

studying scientific structures (brain scans, identifying localisation of function) to understand human behaviour

Question 11

evaluation points

Answer 11

+scientific and objective methods
-machine reductionism
+application to everyday life, real life application
+less determinist that other approaches

Question 12

scientific and objective methods

Answer 12

they have involved lab experiments (with high control over variables) to produce reliable, objective data that conclusions can be drawn from
also brings together the fields of biology and cognitive psychology
this means that the study of the mind has established a credible scientific basis

Question 13

machine reductionism

Answer 13

the computer analogy has been criticised (the comparisons between a computer and the mind)
such machine reductionism ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation of the cognitive system and how this may affect our ability to process cognitive information
for instance, memory is affected by emotional factors like anxiety
means conclusions about human behaviour/ the mind cannot be drawn from computer models

Question 14

application to everyday life

Answer 14

cognitive psychology is often criticised for being too abstract and theoretical in nature. experimental studies are often carried out with artificial stimuli. may lack external validity
however advances in cognitive psychology has influenced the development of AI and robots that complete human like tasks

Question 15

less determinist than other approaches

Answer 15

the cognitive approach is founded on soft determinism- it recognises that our cognitive system can only operate within the limits of what we know, but that we are free to think before responding to a stimulus
this is a more reasonable interactionist position than hard determinism suggested by other approaches

Question 16

what study did bandura conduct?

Answer 16

the Bobo Doll experiment

Question 17

what was the aim of Bandura’s study?

Answer 17

to investigate if social behaviours (aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation

Question 18

what was Bandura’s sample?

Answer 18

•an equal number of girls and boys from Stanford university nursery
•the children were pre-tested to see how aggressive they were through an observation
•they were rated by two independent observers, when then compared results. very high inter-rated reliability
•he then used a matched pairs design

Question 19

what was Bandura’s method?
(stage 1)

Answer 19

•he used a controlled lab experiment
•stage 1 modelling, children were split into 3 groups- either shown a model being aggressive (hitting with a mallet, throwing) towards the Bobo doll, being non-aggressive and playing it with it in a subdued manner or no model
•the children were either shown a model of the same sex or the opposite

Question 20

what was stage 2?

Answer 20

aggression arousal
•all the children were subjected to ‘mild aggression arousal’ and taken into a room with attractive toys then told they couldn’t play with them

Question 21

what was stage 3?

Answer 21

the next room contained some aggressive and non aggressive toys
•the child was asked to play with the Bobo doll
•the child was observed every 5 seconds for 20 minutes through a one-way mirror
•other behaviours that didn’t imitate that of the model were also recorded

Question 22

what were the results of the Bobo Doll study?

Answer 22

•children who observed the aggressive model made far more imitative aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or on tell groups
•boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls

Question 23

what was Bandura’s conclusions from the Bobo doll experiment?

Answer 23

it demonstrated that children are able to learn social behaviour (such as aggression) through the process of observational learning, through watched the behaviour of another person. these findings support Bandura’s social learning theory

Question 24

evaluation of the Bobo Doll experiment

Answer 24

+lab experiment, cause and effect can be established, precise control of variables, procedures were standardised which allows for replicability
-lab study means it could lack ecological validity
-the model and the child are strangers, meaning it is unlike ‘normal’ modelling which often takes place within the family
-the demonstrations are measured almost immediately. with such snapshot studies, we cannot discover if a single exposure can have long term effects