cognitive

Question 1

what si the cognitive approach

Answer 1

A perspective in Psychology which focuses on how internal mental processes, such as thoughts, perceptions, memories, reasoning and attention, affect behaviour. PSychologusts make inferences as to what is going on in our brains based on our behaviour

Question 2

assumptions of the cognitive approach

Answer 2

• Behaviour is influenced by conscious and unconscious thoughts. These internal mental processes mediate between the stimulus (input) and response (output). These internal processes can and should be studied scientifically and objectively.
• Internal mental processes studied by cognitive psychologists include perception, attention, memory, language, thinking, and problem-solving.
• Models are used to create testable theories about mental processing and these can be studied scientifically.
• Humans are information processors because our internal mental processes extract, store and retrieve information that helps to guide our behaviour. The processing by humans can be compared to that of a computer.
• However we can’t study the processes directly because they are ‘private’ so they’re studied indirectly and inferences are made on the basis of observed behaviour.
• Cognitions and biological processes can be integrated leading to cognitive neuroscience as a way of understanding human behaviour.

Question 3

what is a schema

Answer 3

a cognitive (mental) framework of beliefs and expectations that help us to organise and interpret information in the brain. They are developed from experience and help us to make sense of new information. They are used as a ‘reference point’ to help us to behave appropriately.

Question 4

what are inferences

Answer 4

Going beyond the immediate evidence to make assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed based off of observable behaviour

Question 5

what are internal mental processes

Answer 5

• Operations of the mind (e.g. perception, attention) that mediate between the stimulus and response
• They are private and cannot be observed directly.
• These internal processes can and should be studied scientifically and objectively.
• include perception, attention, memory, language, thinking, and problem-solving.

Question 6

why can schemas be good and bad

Answer 6

+ve - help us to process lots of information quickly which is useful as a sort of mental short-cut that stops us being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
-ve - exclude anything that doesn’t fit our established ideas of the world so we may develop stereotypes that are difficult to disconfirm even with new and conflicting information, can distort our interpretations of sensory information (because we expect to see, hear etc. something in particular) leading to perceptual errors

Question 7

what are models and why are they used

Answer 7

• represenation to illustrate internal mental processes because they cannot be seen
• used to create testable theories about internal mental processing which can then be studied scientifically.

Question 8

what are the different types of models

Answer 8

• theoretical models
• computer models

Question 9

what is a theoretical model

Answer 9

• a simplified, usually pictorial, representation of a particular internal mental process that gives us an analogy of how the process works
• often include boxes and arrows to show cause and effect or the stages of a particular mental process
• based on available evidence
• eg. multi-store model of memory

Question 10

what is a computer model

Answer 10

• when computer analogies are used as a representation of human cognition, suggesting that there is similarity in the way information is processed

Question 11

strengths of the cognitive approach EDIT THIS DOWN HO

Answer 11

• has many real-world applications - explain mental illnesses such as depression in terms of faulty thinking processes, which has led to the development of treatments such as CBT which aims to change people’s thought processes, add evidence how its used for treatment - As such applications have been successful, it suggests that the cognitive approach that underlies them is a valid explanation of behaviour
• considered to be a scientific approach - used highly controlled and rigorous methods in order to infer cognitive processes at work. This has involved the use of laboratory experiments in order to produce reliable, objective data. Add an example of this from the memory topic and what they controlled - as such, the study of the mind has established a credible, scientific way for reaching valid conclusions about how the mind works, supporting the cognitive approach.

Question 12

weakness of cognitive approach EDIT THIS DOWN

Answer 12

• major limitation of the cognitive approach is that it suffers from machine reductionism - Whilst there are many similarities between the human mind and the operation of computers (e.g. input, storage systems etc.), the computer analogy has been criticised. Such reductionism ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system and how this may affect our ability to process information. For example, research has found that human memory may be impacted by anxiety [add in evidence here from that topic that suggests that anxiety impacts memory e.g. Johnson and Scott’s findings]. - suggests that by ignoring the role of such processes and how they affect our ability to process information and therefore our behaviour, the cognitive approach cannot be considered a complete explanation of human behaviour
• A further limitation of the cognitive approach is that it relies on inferences - Cognitive psychologists can only infer mental processes from behaviour that they observe in their research. Add an example here about how they could make an incorrect inference - Therefore, it cannot be confidently concluded that the inferences made on the basis of observed behaviour are valid as such processes cannot be directly measured. As such, such experimental evidence cannot strongly support the internal validity of the cognitive approach.
• A limitation of the cognitive approach is that the studies often involve the use of artificial stimuli - Experimental studies of such mental processes often involve meaningless stimuli (e.g. learning random word lists to make inferences about memory processes) that may not represent the everyday processing experience - Consequently, research on cognitive processes may lack external validity in that the results may not generalise from the artificial stimuli to real-life situations where internal mental processes occur. This suggests that the research cannot strongly support the cognitive approach

Question 13

computer model format

Answer 13

input —> processing —> storage —> output