the cognitive approach

define the cognitive approach

how our mental processes ie thoughts, perception, attention, affect behaviour

assumptions

direct contrast to the behaviourist approach, argues internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically. investigated areas of human behvaiour neglected by behaviourists ie memory,perception and thinking. these processes cannot be observed so studied indirectly by making inferences based off their behaviour

the role of schema

mental framework for interpreting information received. ie a chair - something you can sit on that has legs. babies born with simple motor schema, as you get older schema becomes more detailed

define internal processes

private operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response

define schema

a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing. developed from experience

define inference

cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour

what does schema help you do

enables us to process lots of info quickly and prevents us from feeling overwhelmed from environmental stimuli

what are two models cognitive psychologists use to help them understand internal mental processes

theoretical and computer models

what does one of the theoretical models suggest

the information processing approach - that information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages, input, storage and retrieval, as in the MSM similar to how computers function

a strength of approach (scientific)

understanding human behaviour is scientific and objective, use of experimental methods to obtain evidence to understand how the mind works. ensures controls to ensure objectivity and scientific standards. based on sound scientific ground

a limitation of approach (reductionist)

over-emphasised computer model analogy to study human mind. ignores the role of emotions and motivations that govern a human mind but not a central processing unit of a computer. cannot explain the exact causality of human behaviour, how comprehensive is the approach to understand human behaviour if it only compares computers to human brain

a limitation to approach (question ecological validity)

conducted under strict lab conditions. questions ecological validity. use artificial test material that are meaningless in real life situations-random words list. fail to consider memory used in everyday life such as forgetting and repress traumatic experience. lacks real life application - low external validity

a strength of approach (real life application)

can be applied to other areas in psych, has led to successful treatment of people suffering OCD/depression by tracing back to faulty thinking process to understand different aspects of human behaviour

difference between soft determinism and hard determinism

cognitive approach - soft determinism - ie the view that human behaviour is determined by internal and external factors but we can also exert free will. hard determinism - all behaviour is determined by conditioning and genes, no free will