APPROACHES- Cognitive Flashcards
What does cognition mean?
mental processes
When was this approach developed?
1960s
What are the key areas? of cognitive psychology?
-perception
-language acquisition
-problem-solving
-attention
-facial recognition
What are the main assumptions?
-internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
-they investigate areas of behaviour neglected by behaviourists
-believe that schema are created within the brain based on past experiences and learning directly through our behaviour
-these processes cannot be observed so are studied indirectly by making inferences about human thinking
What is the information processing model?
1:input (from the environment via the senses)
2:processing (info is encoded and processed using schema)
3:output (observable behaviour)
What are computer models
The development of computers and their programming led to a focus on the way in which sensory information is coded as it passes through the system
1. Information input by senses
2. encoded into memory
3. combined with previously stored information
-Hard disks are representative of LTM and RAM
What is 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
Why are schemas helpful?
Help us to take shortcuts in our thinking
Are we born with schemas?
Yes, basic ones that develop with experience
What is the disadvantage of schemas?
They can lead to faulty conclusions and can distort interpretations of sensory information, leading to perceptual errors
Define inference
The process whereby we draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate in the brain on the basis of observed behaviour
Who conducted the Trigram study in 1959?
Peterson and Peterson
What was the procedure of this study?
-Participants were asked to remember a trigram
-They were given a delay between the recall which they were required to perform and the inference task which would reduce the chances of them using techniques to rehearse the data and remember it better
-The delay between being shown the trigram and being asked to recall it varied between participants
-The intervals were 3,6,9,12.15.18
What were the findings of the study?
-Recall success was around 50 after an interval of 3 seconds and inference task but this reduced gradually to around 10%over intervals of 6,9 and 12 seconds and gradually to around 5%after 18 seconds
-This suggests that time does result in decay in the short-term memory
How is cognitive neuroscience used?
To study processes indirectly by making inferences
