Cognitive Flashcards
What is the cognitive explanation form of?
Soft determinism
Why is it a form of soft determinism?
It sees human behaviour as being caused by internal factors (internal mental processes), however, it would suggest that individuals have some choice over their behaviour (unlike the bio approach)
Why is it more beneficial that this approach believes that individuals have some choice?
This could be beneficial as individuals may feel more in control and feel it is possible to alter these faulty thought processes, for example those suffering with depression, making the cog explanation a more positive approach
What methods do this approach use?
Scientific methods
Where does this approach use scientific methods?
The research is based on objective and empirical techniques such as lab experiments to investigate internal mental processes and inferences, which have high control over extraneous variables.
What does scientific methods allow us to establish?
It allows us to establish cause and effect between internal mental processes and behaviour.
What does scientific methods increase?
It increases the overall validity of the cognitive explanation of human behaviour, thus raising Psychology’s scientific status.
What does the use of controlled experiments do to research?
Means the research may lack ecological validity and mundane realism as controlled settings and artificial tasks may not be representative of internal mental processes in the real world.
What do controlled experiments make it difficult to do?
Make it difficult to generalise the research findings beyond the setting of the study to how out internal mental processes operate in everyday life reducing the external validity and weakening the support.
What is a further strength of the cog approach?
It has practical applications
What practical applications has the cognitive approach led to?
Led to CBT - effective in treating disorders such as depression by helping the individual to dispute their irrational thought and negative schemas
What is the cognitive approach an important part of?
It is an important part of applied psychology as it helps to treat people in the real world - people will be able to function better in everyday life, and be more productive, increasing wages and tax payments, helping to improve the economy
What is one limitation (stretch) ?
It is based on machine reductionism
Why is is limited by machine reductionism?
There are similarities between the human mind and the operations of a thinking machine however it has been criticised as it ignores the influence of human emotion on the cognitive systems such as anxiety in EWT. - weakens validity
