the cognitive approach evaluation Flashcards
what does it mean when we say that the cognitive approach has scientific and objective methods
cognitive approach has always employed highly controlled and rigorous methods of study in order to enable researchers to infer cognitive process at work
This involves the use of lab experiments to produce a reliable, objective data
In addition, the emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled the two fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together
This means that the study of the mind has established a credible scientific basis
what does it mean when we say that the cognitive approach has machine reductionism - why is this a limitation
although there are similarities between the human and operations of a computer (input and output, storage system e.t.c), the computer analogy has criticised by many
such machine reductionism ignored the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system, and how this may affect our ability to process information
For instance, research has found that human memory may be affected by emotional factors, such as the influence of anxiety on eyewitnesses
what do we mean when we say that the cognitive approach has no application to everyday life
as we have seen cognitive psychologist are only able to infer mental processes from the behaviour they observe in their research
As a consequence, cognitive psychology occasionally suufers from being tooabstract and theoretical in nature
Similarly, experiment studies of mental processes are often carried out using artificial stimuli (such as tests of memory involving word lists) that may not represent everyday memory experience
Therefore, research on cognitive processes may lack external validity
what does it mean when we say that the cognitive approach has real - life application
the cognitive approach is probably the dominant approach in psychology today and has been applied to a wide range of practical and theoretical contexts e.g. cognitive psychology has made an important contribution in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and the development of “thinking machines” (robots), exciting advances that may revolutionise how we live in the future
what type of determinism is the cognitive approach
the cognitive approach is a soft determinsm - it recognises that our cognitive system can only operate within the limits of what we know, but think we are free to think responding ti a stimulus
This is a more reasonable “interactionist” (middle - ground) position than the hard determinism suggested by some other approaches
