Cognitive approach - Approaches

What are the 4 assumptions?

behaviour is explained through Internal mental processes,

-theoretical models, such as mediational processes

-Our brain works like a computer , inputting, storing

- Conscious thoughts can influence behaviour

What are examples of internal mental processes?

Attention, thinking, retrieving information.

How does the cognitive approach research internal mental processes?

They cannot be observed so psychologists study them indirectly and make inferences about them.

What is an inference?

An assumption about the cause of a behaviour that goes beyond the immediate evidence.

What can theoretical models be used for?

To study internal mental processes.

What is an important theoretical model?

The MSM, this shows how our mental process works in each stage and how memory can strenghten/be lost

Why was the computer assumption created?

Because there are similarities in the way a computer and a brain process information.

How can a brain be compared to a computer model?

Because computer models use concepts of a central processing unit (the brain), coding (turning information into a usable format), and the use of stores to hold information, e.g. the WMM.

What are mental schemas?

mental structures that organize our knowledge about the social world, helps us understand how to peform in society, they are created through EXPERIENCES

What do mental schemas allow the brain to do?

Quickly interpret incoming information.

What does the cognitive approach believe about babies?

They are born with simple motor schemas for innate behaviour e.g. sucking.

What does the cognitive approach believe happens as we grow?

Experience adds to our schemas so they become more detailed and sophisticated e.g. Beck's negative triad.

What is cognitive neuroscience?

A way to link biology (brain function) and cognitive processes to explain behaviour.

Why has cognitive neuroscience now been achieved?

As technology has developed scanning methods e.g. fMRI and EEG's

What does a typical study involve?

The researcher scanning and recording the ppt's brain as they perform a specific task.

What is an example of a study using cognitive neuroscience?

Tulving using fMRI to scan the brains of ppts. He established that episodic and semantic LTM are handled by different hemispheres.

What is a strength of the cognitive approach?

It is useful for explanations, As it has been applied to many areas of psychology e.g. in psychopathology it has been used to show how abnormal behaviour can be caused by distorted thought processes.

How did the cognitive approach improve SLT?

The addition of a cognitive element gave it a more complete explanation of learning in a social context.

What is a negative criticism of cognitive therapies?

They treat the symptoms rather than the cause of abnormality, so while CBT is useful for helping reduce symptoms of depression, it doesn't solve the cause, limiting the cognitive approaches validity

What is a strength of the cognitive approach relating to its method?

It uses highly controlled scientific research methods, which are rigorous and objective.

What is the limitation of the cognitive approach's use of lab based methods?

They can lack ecological validity e.g. research which led to the MSM, was correct, however can't be tested in non artificial settings

What is the strength of the cognitive approach relating to cognitive neuroscience?

It has allowed researchers to record brain activity and draw conclusions about the areas of the brain that are active during specific tasks, which presumably will be the same in everyday life as in lab studies.

What is a strength of the cognitive approach relating to the use of inferences?

It is useful, because it is the only way of explaining behaviour which can't be seen directly.

What is a limitation of the cognitive approach relating to the use of inferences?

They're assumptions that go beyond the available evidence, This can lead to poor explanations e.g. Atkinson and Shiffrin's idea of unitary memory stores, which has been undermined by later evidence.

What is a limitation of the cognitive approach relating to computers' differences to humans?

Reducing the mind to the operations of a computer is 'machine reductionism'. It ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation, which may influence our ability to process information e.g. research has found that memory can be affected by emotion. This reduces the validity and therefore the usefulness of the computer metaphor.