The Cognitve Approach Flashcards
What does the cognitive approach focus on
The idea that internal processes can and should be studied scientifically. This can be studied indirectly by making inferences about what processes are happening inside people’s minds.
What is meant by internal mental processes
How information received from our senses is processed by the brain and how the processing directs how we behave
What is an inference
The act of drawing conclusions from evidence and reasoning. This is done through clues from observable behaviour
This helps build an an explanation of what is really going on in people’s unobservable minds
What is the multi-store model of memory
Sensory from the environment ➡️ sensory register ➡️ short term memory ➡️ long term memory ➡️ recalling a memory (Rehearsal loop, consolidation and retrieval )
What is the computer model
Input- sensory information➡️programe processes- sequence of mental operations ➡️output- perceptions, memories, behaviours
Evaluation of theoretical and computational models
- development of AI- practical application can be used in a variety of different ways
-models are oversimplified- reduces complex human behaviours to cognitive processes and ignored the role of other factors
What is a schema
It enables shortcuts to identify things that we come across- describes a mental concept, how we interpret something
Disadvantages of schemas
They can distort our interpretations of sensory information leading to perceptual errors
What were the findings of Bartlett’s War of the ghosts story
Participants confabulated details, changing unfamiliar parts to familiar ideas in line with their schemas. Story was also rationalised to explain the baffling parts of the story
What is cognitive neuroscience
The scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
What is the disadvantages of the cognitive approach
-machine reductionism- sees man as a machine and ignores the emotional, motivational and social factors
- laboratory experiments lack ecological validity
-explains how cognitive processes happen but tends to ignore why- lacks explanatory power
Advantages of the cognitive approach
-The research is highly scientific and based on carefully controlled research so has high internal validity but may lack external validity
-real world applications- used to improve eye witness testimonies, recovery from brain injury
-use of computer model helps us to understand unobservable mental processes
