the cognitive approach Flashcards
assumes that the scientific and objective study of internal mental processes is possible however as these
private processes cannot be directly observed cognitive psychologists formulate conclusions of their workings , through making inferences based upon observable behaviours
therefore much of the work of cognitive psychologists is the
indirect measure of cognition
the cognitive approach sees mental processes as being
separate from the brain
cognitive psychologists use computer models and theoretical models to
better understand and model cognitive processes through the use of analogies
an example of a theoretical model would be the working memory model , which is a diagrammatic representation of STM made up of the following components
central executive
phonological loop
visual spatial sketchpad
episodic buffer
analogies can also be made between the workings of a computer and the functions of the human brain for example
bother contain a series of three processes ; input , processor (brain) output
the invention of the computer in the 1960’s was crucial in the development of
cognitive psychology as psychologists now had a metaphor for the mind
schemas are packages of ides and knowledge about a
certain person
place
object
time
schemas also act mental frameworks providing us with mental shortcuts so we can
process large volumes of date quickly and efficiently , thus avoiding sensory overload
however as schemes are preconceived they may lead to perceptual distortions due to having an already established mental framework eg James Potter et al showed that
when watching tv , although viewers mat share the same story schema they appear to make different judgements on the schema elements and hence their judgements about violence vary
cognitive neurosciene is defined as
the scientific field concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes
brain mapping in the 1870’s
- cognitive neruoscience
carl wernicke based on case studies of patents who all had damage to a specific area of the brain , and all suffered form the same type of (wernickes) aphasia , inferred that broddmans area 22 must be involved in language comprehension
objectively investigating brain localisation theory in the 1970’s
- cognitive neuroscience
advances in technology meant that it was possible to systematically measure and observe neural processes which coincide with specific brain functions
for example using PET scans Peterson et al found evidence of Wernickes tea being activated during a reading task
current focuses of cognitive neuroscience
current research focus on the neural basis of model based planning , the neurological basis of autism and also the neuronal basis of moral reasoning (involving the ventral striatum)
a weakness is that the concepts are overly abstract , it makes extensive use of schemas and analogies as ways of indirectly studying and inferring the cognitive basis of behaviour however
the reliance on this inference means that some ideas may be seen as abstract and not have enough supporting empirical evidence of such mechanisms
therefore this reduces the potential practical applications of cognitive research as it remains mainly theoretical
a strength is that cognitive neuroscience has practical applications , an increased understanding of the neural processes underlying cognition have proven to be useful in many areas for example
the design and manufacture of modern technology relies on an understanding of behavioural science and human computer interactions
in education cognitive neuroscientists can study a Childs performance in phonological tests to serve as a more accurate prediction of their reading ability
therefore the impact of cognitive neuroscience is increasingly seen int he real world
a strength is that the cognitive approach sees humans as being able to reason and make conscious decisions within the limits if what they know or their ‘ cognitive system ‘ and so adopt a soft deterministic approach . this is
more flexible than the behaviourist hard determinism stance because it allows for humans to have some conscious insight into their behaviour : a complexity which differentiates us from animals and so provides a better explanation for human behaviour than behaviourism
