Approaches - Cognitive Flashcards
(36 cards)
What are internal mental processes in cognitive psychology?
Internal mental processes refer to how information is used (processed) in the mind, including all conscious and unconscious thoughts. Key areas include attention, perception, and memory.
What is a strength of the cognitive approach in terms of methodology?
It is considered scientific due to the use of highly controlled lab experiments, large sample sizes, and standardised materials, resulting in claims supported by high internal validity.
Why do cognitive psychologists use inferences?
Because internal mental processes cannot be directly observed, inferences allow psychologists to make assumptions about the internal processes that led to observable behaviours in experiments.
What is a criticism of using inferences in the cognitive approach?
Inferences are essentially educated guesses and can be incorrect, making the approach seem less scientific compared to behaviourism or biological psychology, which focus on directly observable phenomena.
What is a counterargument in favour of inferences?
Inferences enable exploration of internal mental processes (e.g., memory, perception, problem-solving), and advances in neuroimaging have supported many of these inferences with brain activity data.
What are schemas in cognitive psychology?
Schemas are mental frameworks or collections of connected basic knowledge about a concept or object, built from prior experience.
How do schemas function in everyday life?
Schemas act as mental shortcuts, helping us quickly understand and respond to people and objects without using excessive mental effort.
What are the two positive roles of schemas?
1) Processing environmental information—helping us deal with sensory input efficiently. 2) Predicting the future—allowing us to make assumptions based on past experiences, often accurately.
What are two negative effects of schemas?
1) Leads to inaccurate recall—especially problematic in eyewitness testimony. 2) Can cause poor mental health—faulty schemas in depression can lead to low self-worth (Beck).
What is the computer model in cognitive psychology?
It likens the human mind to a computer’s CPU, suggesting both systems receive input, process it, and produce output through a series of programmed steps.
What are criticisms of the computer model?
It is overly simplistic and machine reductionist. Unlike computers, the human brain can process emotions, consciousness, and irrational behaviours, and memory is reconstructive—not perfectly accurate like a computer’s.
What are theoretical models in cognitive psychology?
They are flow chart-like representations of specific mental processes (e.g., multi-store memory model), showing how information flows through systems like short-term and long-term memory.
What is the strength of theoretical models?
They generate testable hypotheses, allowing for scientific validation or falsification based on how well behaviour matches model predictions.
What is cognitive neuroscience?
A field combining cognitive psychology and neuroscience to study how the brain’s physical and chemical structures influence thoughts, memory, emotions, and behaviour.
What led to the emergence of cognitive neuroscience?
Brain scanning techniques like PET and fMRI allow researchers to study brain activity during cognitive tasks, linking specific brain areas to cognitive functions.
What does the case of ‘Tan’ and Broca’s area show?
Damage to Broca’s area (discovered post-mortem in the patient ‘Tan’) impairs speech production. Brain scans now confirm this area activates during speech, supporting objective study of brain-behaviour links.
What did Tulving’s PET research reveal about memory?
Different types of long-term memory (episodic, semantic, procedural) are associated with distinct brain activity patterns, supporting the idea of multiple memory systems.
What are three evaluation points of the cognitive approach?
1) Scientific but often uses artificial tasks, reducing external validity. 2) Practical applications such as CBT and improving EWT reliability. 3) Supports soft determinism—acknowledging biology and environment while allowing for personal agency.
What are internal mental processes in cognitive psychology?
Internal mental processes refer to how information is used (processed) in the mind, including all conscious and unconscious thoughts. Key areas include attention, perception, and memory.
What is a strength of the cognitive approach in terms of methodology?
It is considered scientific due to the use of highly controlled lab experiments, large sample sizes, and standardised materials, resulting in claims supported by high internal validity.
Why do cognitive psychologists use inferences?
Because internal mental processes cannot be directly observed, inferences allow psychologists to make assumptions about the internal processes that led to observable behaviours in experiments.
What is a criticism of using inferences in the cognitive approach?
Inferences are essentially educated guesses and can be incorrect, making the approach seem less scientific compared to behaviourism or biological psychology, which focus on directly observable phenomena.
What is a counterargument in favour of inferences?
Inferences enable exploration of internal mental processes (e.g., memory, perception, problem-solving), and advances in neuroimaging have supported many of these inferences with brain activity data.
What are schemas in cognitive psychology?
Schemas are mental frameworks or collections of connected basic knowledge about a concept or object, built from prior experience.
