The Cognitive Approach

Question 1

Study of Internal Mental Processes: 3 Basic Assumptions

Answer 1

The Study of Internal Working Processes, Abnormality is Faulty Thinking, Information Processing.

Question 2

Study of Internal Working Processes

Answer 2

Many processes work together to help us make sense of the world and operate in it. When perceiving objects, our brain tries to understand it’s shape, color, and texture. You make decisions based on what you believe is better or worse for you.

Question 3

Abnormality is Faulty Thinking

Answer 3

Internal Mental Processes can sometimes go wrong resulting in abnormal thinking. Depression, Phobias, and Eating Disorders can all be explained by thought processes that have become irrational or distorted.

Question 4

Information Processing

Answer 4

Like a computer, information is processed step by step in a sequence of simple operations. At each step, info is encoded, then stored, then is retrieved later on. This is no longer as accurate because human thinking is more complicated, but it can still be used as a metaphor.

Question 5

The Role of Schema

Answer 5

Cognitive Frameworks help us organize and interpret information, they develop through experience and can affect our cognitive processing. Piaget views them as basic units of intelligent behaviour, let’s us organize past experiences and make room for new ones about ourselves and the world around us. The more you grow the more complex your schema of a specific thing grows or divides more intelligently.

Question 6

The Use of Theory and Computer Models to Understand Mental Processes

Answer 6

A model helps Psychologists visualize mental processes, helps them think about hard to visualize mental phenomena, it simplifies them. Computer models are also used to compare the mind to a computer by suggesting there are similarities in how information is processed.