Cognitive - Evaluating

Question 1

Strength - mediational processes

Answer 1

• focus on important processes that occur between stimulus and response - behaviourist doesn’t attempt to investigate.
• explains importance of mediational processes = perception, memory affect the way we respond to the world
• helped explain practical elements of human behaviour
• look at way of improving memory

Question 2

Strength - applications

Answer 2

• influence many areas of psychology
• usefully applied in therapy CBT, treat disorders(depression), applied to field of developmental psychology
• advanced memory research
• Loftus and Palmer show EWT accounts can be distorted by post-event info = impact police interviewing questions (avoid leading)

Question 3

Strength - Scientific approach

Answer 3

• objective and controlled scientific research
• Examle - memory research under strict laboratory conditions - using brain scanning techniques, PET,MRI
• cognitive neuroscience - pinpointing exact bio mechanisms involved in cognitive processes = able to establish resposibilities of areas in relation to cog processes.
• understand what brain does when it is at rest
• extremely scientific, causal relationships between emotions, cognitions, behaviour can be confidently predicted.

Question 4

Weakness - nature and nurture

Answer 4

• consider influence of internal and external factors on behaviour. - fails to consider elements of nature and nurture.
• role of genes in human cognition is ignored. but research into intelligence consistently lookes at influence of genes
• important social cultural factors ignored
• Piaget failed to consider role of culture and gender on development of thinking in children

Question 5

Weakness - determinist

Answer 5

• schema important assumption =
• acquired through social interactions and direct experience. acquire stereotypes about people/situations
• even though natural these stereotypes may determine the way we interpret situations

Question 6

Weakness - mechanistic

Answer 6

• portrays human behaviour as being like a machine
• ignore social, emotional factors. - Illustrated in cognitive perspective of mental illness.
• depressed have faulty thinking patterns that can be changed
• ignores important role emotions play in influencing cognitive processes