cognitive approach

what are the assumptions of this approach

1. behaviour explain in terms of internal mental processes

2. mind works like a computer

what is the role of schema

• ‘packages’ of ideas and information developed through experience

• acts as a mental; framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by the cognitive system

what did Broca identify in 1860s

• how damage to an area of the frontal lobe could permanently impair speech production

example of how scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes

• Tulving et al performed research using pet scans

• involved pps doing tasks which use different parts of the brain

how has the focus of neuropsychology expanded?

• includes the use of computer generated models that are designed to ‘read’ the brain 

• this has lead to the development on mind mapping techniques knows as ‘brain fingerprinting’

what is a practical application of ‘brain findgerprinting’

• to analyse the brain wave pattern of eye witnesses to determine if they are lying in court

what are the evaluation points

1. highly controlled methods due to lab studies

2. reductionist (ignores influence of human emotions)

3. applied to practical and theoretical contexts

4. founded on soft determinism

evaluation - highly controlled methods

P: the cognitive approach has always employed highly controlled methods when studying mental processes

E: this has involved the use of lab experiments to produce reliable, objective data

E: in addition the emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled the two fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together

L: this means that the study of the mind has established a credible scientific basis

evaluation - reductionist 

P: although there are similarities between the human mind and the operations of a computer this explanation is reductionist

E: such machine reductionism ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system, and how this may affect our ability to process information

For instance research has found that human memory may be affected by emotional factors such as influence of anxiety on eyewitnesses.

evaluation - practical application

P: the cognitive approach is the dominant approach in psychology today and can be applied to a variety of practical and theoretical contexts

E: for example, cognitive psychology has made an important contribution in the field of AI and development of robots

These exciting advances may revolutionise how we live in the future

evaluation - soft determinism

P: the cognitive approach is founded on soft determinism

E: it recognises that our cognitive system can only operate within the limits of what we know, but we are free to think before responding to a stimulus

This is more reasonable ‘interactionist’ position than the hard determinism suggested by other approaches