THE COGNITIVE APPROACH Flashcards
Outline what is meant by the cognitive approach
- compares human mind to a computer regarding the processing of information
- considers mental processes and their effects on behaviour
- supports the scientific study of internal mental processes, using inferences
What is meant by “making an inference”
- going beyond immediate evidence to make assumptions about mental processes
- even though it may not be directly observed
Outline what is meant by schema
- package of information that are associated with objects/experiences
- formed from past experiences, helping us process info quicker
Describe 3 ways in which schemas have a negative role
- May lead to inaccurate recall due to exclusion of things that do not conform to our schema
- leading to perceptual errors - May lead to poor mental health if people have negative schemas about themselves
- Often lead to the development of stereotypes
Outline the procedure and findings of “The Rat-Man Study”
- who conducted it
- Bugelski & Alampay
- showed 2 groups a sequence of pictures and asked to describe what they saw
- those who saw sequence of faces before, were more likely to say “man” when describing the ambiguous “rat man”
- those who saw sequence of animals before, were more likely to say “rat”
- therefore, the way we perceive “the ambiguous figure” is influenced by our schemas
Describe 2 ways in which schemas have a positive role
- Allow engagement with the world without experiencing sensory overload
- due to objects being assigned with a schema, we don’t have to consciously work out what each object is - Allow us to make assumptions about what objects will do in similar situations
- mostly accurate, others act accordingly to similar schemas
Outline what is meant by a “theoretical model”
- depicted using diagrams, showing flow of information
- fluid, so can be changed to remain relevant
- Ex. the MSM, WMM
Describe how theoretical and computer models work together
Theoretical models give an idea of how we think, computer models allow us to test these ideas in simulations
How do cognitive models link to AI
- show how humans process information
- AI has been developed to solve problems, learn and decision-make in similar ways to humans
Outline what is meant by a computer model
- compare the human mind to a computer software
- human brain and computers receive inputs and generate outputs in sequences
Outline a limitation of the cognitive approach (computer model)
- overly simplistic representation
- human mind capable of consciousness, emotions, affecting behaviour
- does not account for flawed nature of human mind, as computers can recall with perfect accuracy
Outline a strength of the cognitive approach (scientific)
- use of lab studies to infer cognitive processes
- controlled research methods provide objective data
- allows cognitive psychology to enhance the scientific foundation of the study
-created a credible basis for the study of the mind
Outline a counterpoint to the scientific basis of the cognitive approach
- relies heavily on inferences rather than direct observations, so could be too theoretical
- studies of mental processes occur with artificial stimuli, which often does not represent everyday life
- therefore, research on cognitive processes may lack external validity , so cannot be generalised to other populations/settings
Outline a strength of the cognitive approach (application)
- the approach has practical application e.g. the computer model’s contribution to the development of AI
- principles of the cognitive approach have been applied to the treatment of depression, improving EWT reliability, etc
- these applications support the value of the cognitive approach
Outline a strength of the cognitive approach (determinism)
- a strength is that the cognitive approach has been founded upon the view of soft determinism
- this stated that free will can and will always affect human behaviour, alongside impacts of internal and external factors
- this opposes hard determinism, which states that all behaviour is due to factors other than free will
- this is a strength as it offers a flexible view for human behaviour
What is soft determinism
The idea that internal and external factors affect human behaviour ALONGSIDE free will
What is hard determinism
The idea that human behaviour is caused only by factors other than free will (e.g. conditioning, genes)
Outline what is meant by cognitive neuroscience
- scientific study of brain structure and how it affects mental processes
- combines biological and cognition processes allowing understanding of human behaviour
- what is Broca’s area
- what was it found to be responsible for
- left pre-frontal lobe
- identified by Paul Broca, 1860s, to be responsible for speech production
- damage to Broca’s area can understand, but not respond
How has the cognitive approach led to discoveries about memory?
- Buckner and Peterson
- used neuroimaging (PET, fMRI scans)
- found that different LTM types are located in different parts of the brain
- episode = right prefrontal cortex
- semantic = left prefrontal cortex
- procedural = cerebellum
How has the use of neuroscanning, EEG’s, fMRI’s, led to emergence of cognitive neuroscience
- allows systematic observations of mental processes in the brain
- EEG’s = when activity occurs
- fMRI’s = where activity occurs
How has cognitive neuroscience helped with the discovering of mental disorders
- identified a link between parahippocampus gyrus and OCD
- damage to the area stops processing of negative emotions, leading to heightened anxiety
