The Cognitive Approach

What is the cognitive approach?

An approach that explains behaviour by studying internal mental processes, such as memory, perception, thinking and problem-solving.

What are internal mental processes?

The mental activities involved in perceiving, storing, manipulating and interpreting information.

What is a schema?

A mental framework that organises information and helps us interpret the world quickly.

What are the benefits of schemas?

They help us process information quickly without becoming overwhelmed by individual details.

What are the disadvantages of schemas?

They can contain unconscious biases or negative beliefs, leading to inaccurate interpretations and irrational thinking.

What is the computer analogy?

The idea that human information processing is similar to a computer: both receive input, process and store information, and produce output.

What are theoretical models?

Simplified representations, often flow diagrams, used to explain and test ideas about internal mental processes.

What is inference?

Drawing conclusions about unobservable mental processes from observable evidence and results.

Why does the cognitive approach use inference?

Internal mental processes cannot be directly observed, so psychologists infer how they work from people's behaviour and performance.

What are the stages of the computer analogy?

Input → processing → storage → output.

How does the computer analogy explain human behaviour?

Sensory information provides input; the brain processes and stores information; thinking and behaviour provide output.

Give an example of a schema.

A dog schema helps someone recognise different breeds, such as Chihuahuas and Great Danes, as dogs.

How can schemas lead to unconscious bias?

A schema may associate a job, such as cleaner, with a particular gender, causing someone to make biased assumptions without realising it.

How can a negative self-schema affect thinking?

If someone believes they are useless, this schema can encourage negative, irrational thoughts and an inaccurate view of the world.

What is machine reductionism?

Reducing complex human thought to simplified machine-like processes, such as input, processing, storage and output.

What did Peterson and Peterson investigate?

How long information can remain in short-term memory when rehearsal is prevented.

What was the method?

24 participants attempted to recall three-letter trigrams, such as XRT, while counting backwards in threes to prevent rehearsal. Each completed six trials.

What were trigrams?

Short combinations of three letters, such as XRT, used as material to remember.

What did Peterson and Peterson find?

Participants could retain information in short-term memory for approximately 18–30 seconds when rehearsal was prevented.

What does Peterson and Peterson's study support?

It supports explanations of memory that distinguish short-term retention from rehearsal and transfer into long-term memory.

Why is Peterson and Peterson's research a strength of the cognitive approach?

It used controlled laboratory conditions and a measurable memory task, allowing researchers to investigate internal processes scientifically through participants' performance.

AO3: Why is inference a weakness of the cognitive approach?

Mental processes cannot be directly observed, so psychologists infer how they work from behaviour and test results. These conclusions may involve guesswork or researcher bias, meaning they could be inaccurate.

AO3: How might inference affect conclusions about short-term memory?

Poor recall after 30 seconds might indicate that information was lost, but it could also reflect difficulty reporting it. Therefore, the inference about the underlying mental process may not be completely valid.

AO3: Why is the cognitive approach still considered scientific?

It uses controlled laboratory experiments, measurable tasks and replication. Theoretical models also generate ideas that researchers can test, although inferences remain a limitation.

AO3: Why is the computer analogy a weakness?

Computers do not experience emotions in the way humans do. Factors such as anxiety can affect human processing, so the analogy may oversimplify thought.

AO3: What is machine reductionism?

Explaining complex human thought through simplified computer-like operations, potentially ignoring emotional and other influences on behaviour.

AO3: What is a practical application of the cognitive approach?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps people identify and challenge negative or irrational thinking patterns.

AO3: Why is CBT an important strength?

Your notes describe CBT as an evidence-based treatment offered on the NHS. It has been used to help people manage conditions including depression and OCD by changing unhelpful thought patterns.

AO3: How does the cognitive approach have interdisciplinary value?

It contributed to cognitive neuroscience, which combines cognitive explanations with the biological study of the brain.

AO3: Why might the cognitive approach lack ecological validity?

Some findings come from artificial laboratory tasks, such as remembering letter trigrams, which may not reflect how memory operates in everyday life.

AO3: How does the cognitive approach compare with behaviourism?

The cognitive approach investigates inferred internal mental processes, whereas behaviourism focuses on observable behaviour. Cognitive explanations consider thinking but rely on inference.