IFE - the Cognitive approach

Theoretical model = Abstract, used to help understand mental processes.

• Input, storage, retrieval.

• Encoding sensory information, information manipulation, output.

Computer = Concrete, proven useful in developing thinking machines / artificial intelligence.

• Aim, strategy, output.

• Views brain as a central processing unit.

• Concept of coding - turning information into a useable format.

• Takes a biological / neural line of thought - views the mind as a complex network of neurones.

What are schemas?

= Packages of information and ideas developed through experience.

• Acts as a script for how to act, or what to expect from a given situation.

• Allow us to take shortcuts in interpreting information received by the cognitive system.

Babies are born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours like sucking. Schemas develop with experience, becoming more detailed and sophisticated.

Rat-man study - Bugelski and Alampay (1962), study of schemas.

Two groups of participants were shown a sequence of pictures, either faces or different animals. They were then shown rat-man.

People who were shown sequence of faces saw a man in rat-man.

People who were shown sequence of animals saw rat in rat-man.

What is Cognitive Neuroscience? (links to many other topics we cover).

= Scientific study of the influence of brain structure (near) on mental processes (cognition).

• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).

• Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

Evaluating the cognitive approach - Strengths :

1. Real-life application.

   Research in social cognition has helped psychologists better understand how we form impressions of other people. The cognitive approach to psychopathology ha been used to explain how much of the dysfunctional behaviour shown by people can be traced back to faulty thinking processes. It has made contributions in the field of AI.

2. Scientific strength.

   Rigorous methods of study, in order to enable researchers to infer cognitive processes. Involved the use of lab experiments to produce reliable objective data. For example, the use of imaging techniques such as fMRI and PET scanning.

Evaluating the cognitive approach - weaknesses :

1. Machine reductionism.

   The analogy of our brain being similar to the operations of a computer has been criticised, could be argued that cognitive models over-simplify explanations for complex mental processes. Eg. ignoring the influence of emotion and how this affects our ability to process information. Comparing a human mind to a machine / computer is arguable unsophisticated.

2. Too abstract and theoretical.

   Cognitive psychology occasionally suffers from being too abstract and theoretical. This is because cognitive psychologists are only able to infer about mental processes from the behaviour they observe during research. Experimental studies on cognitive process are often carried our using artificial stimuli which may not represent real life. This matters because it suggests the research supporting the theory may lack external validity.