What does the cognitive approach argue?
The internal mental processes can be studied scientifically (unlike the behaviourist approach) - even though it also argues that they cannot be observed
How does the cognitive approach the study of the mind?
They use inferences about cognitive internal processes - creates assumptions about mental processes that cannot be observed directly that other approaches might neglect (memory)
What are internal mental processes?
The operations that occur during thinking but cannot be directly observed
What are examples of internal mental processes?
Perception - how we turn info from eyes into a usable form
Attention - choose what to think about
Memory - how we store info for the future (Peterson & Peterson STM = 18-30s
Language - how we construct sentences to communicate
Problem solving
What are the 2 ways to study internal processes?
Theoretical models - Information Processing Approach
Computer models
What is the information processing approach?
A theoretical model that suggests info flows through the cognitive system in stages - MSM (describe input, processing & output of MSM for AO1)
What are computer models?
Models that compare the mind to a computer
Suggests there are similarities betwen the way info is processed:
- Coding/Input - computers use binary but the mind interprets environmental stimuli (sounds, texture)
- Storage - computers have a hard drive but mind has LTM
- Output - computer’s output is text, music, images but the mind’s output is speech or thoughts
Our brain acts like the CPU that uses “stores” to store info
What is a schema?
A person’s belief or expectation - developed through experience
For example, a chair is something with legs that you sit on
What schema are babies born with?
Sucking & grasping
What happens to schemas over time?
They get more detailed & sophisticated - adults have a schema for everything
What do schemas allow us to do?
Process loads of info fast - useful as a mental shortcut which prevents stimuli from overwhelming us
Allows us to predict future outcomes based on experience (sunscreen on beach holiday)
Act as a mental framework of interpreting info - seeing something & coming to a conclusion about what it means (lots of care break light = traffic)
Can also distort interpretations of sensory info - leads to errors
What was Bartlett’s (1932) study on Schemas?
English participants asked to read an unfamiliar folk tale (ghost story)
Participants had to read it and recall it at different lengths of time
What did Bartlett (1932) find in his study?
Details of the story were more “English” and contained more English culture
Canoes = cars
Bows = guns
People remembered less info with more time - changed more details
People use schemas to help interpret & remember info - assumed what happened based on schema
What is cognitive neuroscience?
The study of the influence of brain structure on mental processes - maps specific functions to specific areas
What did Paul Broca find using cognitive neuroscience?
Damage to the Broca’s area in the frontal lobe can permanently impair speech production
What did Tulving et al manage to find about LTM using cognitive neuroscience?
Different types of LTM may be located on opposite sides of the pre-frontal cortex
What did Maguire (2000) do and find?
Compares the brains of taxi drivers & normal people with scans
Right posterior hippocampus proportionally larger with time as a taxi driver - suggests this part of brain responsible for storing visual info
Brain scans can tell us how our brain is localised for specific functions
What are theoretical models?
Diagrammatic representations of internal mental processes - One example is the Multi-Store Model
MSM = Linear model that suggests info flows systematically as input-storage-retrieval
It is possible to test MSM & therefore test our internal mental processes
What are the strengths of the Assumptions & Theoretical Models of the cognitive approach?
Practical application - AI
Interactionist approach - “soft determinism”
How do theoretical models have practical application?
Contributed significantly to the development of AI due to its use of theoretical & computer models (input, processing and output)
AI uses models like memory storage & decision making to create systems that can solve problems and learn
Shows the approach has been successfully applied to create intelligent systems, suggesting they are a valid representation of how human cognition works
What are the weaknesses of the Assumptions & Theoretical Models of the Cognitive Approach h
Machine reductionism
Internal mental processes can only be inferred
What is machine reductionism?
Suggests mind similar to computer - artificial & forced- ignores influence of motivation & emotion in making decisions
For example, emotions like anxiety can affect memory
Limited application to cognition
Why is it bad that internal mental processes can only be inferred?
Means psychologists must make assumptions about internal processes based on behaviour
Causes explanation to become highly abstract - as they are based on theoretical models, not directly observed behaviour
Causes explanations to potentially be an inaccurate reflection of real-life thinking - low external validity
Strengths of Schema & Cognitive Neuroscience
Bartlett (1932)
Practical Application - CBT
