Cognitive Flashcards
(18 cards)
What are the assumptions of the cognitive approach?
In direct contrast to the behaviourist approach, the cognitive approach argues that internal mental processes can, and should, be studied scientifically. As a result, the cognitive approach has investigated those areas of human behaviour that were neglected by behaviourists, such as memory, perception and thinking. These processes are private and cannot be observed, so cognitive psychologists study them indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside people’s minds on the basis of their behaviour.
What is a schema in the cognitive approach?
Cognitive processing can often be affected by a person’s beliefs or expectations, which are often referred to as schema. Schema are packages of ideas and information developed through experience. They act as a mental framework for the interpretation of incoming information received by the cognitive system.
Give an example of a schema.
For example, you have a schema for a chair – something with legs that you can sit on. That’s a package of information learned through experience that helps you to respond to the object appropriately.
How do schemas develop over time?
Babies are born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as sucking and grasping. For example, the grasping schema consists of moving a hand towards an object and shaping the hand around the object in co-ordination with visual input. As we get older, our schema become more detailed and sophisticated. Adults have developed mental representations for everything from the concept of psychology to a schema for what happens in a restaurant or what a typical zombie looks like.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of schema?
Schema enable us to process lots of information quickly and this is useful as a sort of mental shortcut that prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli. However, schema may also distort our interpretations of sensory information, leading to perceptual errors.
What are theoretical and computer models in the cognitive approach?
Cognitive psychologists use both theoretical and computer models to help them understand internal mental processes. In reality, there are overlaps between these two models but basically theoretical models are abstract whereas computer models are concrete things.
What is the information processing approach?
One important theoretical model is the information processing approach, which suggests that information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages. These include input, storage and retrieval, as in the multi-store model.
How are computer models used in cognitive psychology?
A computer model would involve actually programming a computer to see if such instructions produce a similar output to humans. If they do, we can suggest that similar processes are going on in the human mind. Such computational models of the mind have proved useful in the development of ‘thinking machines’ or artificial intelligence (e.g., machines that can have a conversation with you).
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes. Mapping brain areas to specific cognitive functions has a long history in psychology.
What is an early example of cognitive neuroscience?
As early as the 1860s, Paul Broca had identified how damage to an area of the frontal lobe (Broca’s area) could permanently impair speech production.
How have brain imaging techniques advanced cognitive neuroscience?
In the last 25 years, with advances in brain imaging techniques such as fMRI and PET scans, scientists have been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes.
Give an example of cognitive neuroscience research using brain scans.
In research involving tasks that required the use of episodic and semantic memory, Buckner and Petersen (1996) were able to show how these different types of long-term memory may be located on opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex. The central executive, in charge of working memory, is thought to reside in a similar area (Braver et al., 1997).
How is cognitive neuroscience linked to mental disorders?
Scanning techniques have also proved useful in establishing the neurological basis of some mental disorders. For example, the parahippocampal gyrus is linked with OCD and is thought to play a role in processing unpleasant emotions.
What is brain fingerprinting?
The focus of cognitive neuroscience has expanded recently to include the use of computer-generated models designed to ‘read’ the brain. This has led to mind-mapping techniques known as brain fingerprinting, which could one day analyse brain wave patterns of eyewitnesses to determine whether they are lying in court.
PEEL – Strength: Scientific methods
P: One strength of the cognitive approach is that it uses objective, scientific methods. E: Cognitive psychologists employ highly controlled and rigorous methods of study so researchers are able to infer cognitive processes at work. E: This has involved the use of lab studies to produce reliable, objective data. In addition, the emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled the two fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together to enhance the scientific basis of study. L: This means that the study of the mind has a credible scientific basis.
PEEL – Limitation: Abstract and artificial
P: As cognitive psychology relies on the inference of mental processes, rather than direct observation of behaviour, it can occasionally suffer from being too abstract and theoretical in nature. E: Similarly, research studies of mental processes are often carried out using artificial stimuli (such as tests of memory involving word lists) that may not represent everyday experience. L: Therefore, research on cognitive processes may lack external validity.
PEEL – Strength: Real-world application
P: Another strength of the cognitive approach is that it has practical application. E: The cognitive approach is probably the dominant approach in psychology today and has been applied to a wide range of practical and theoretical contexts. E: For example, cognitive psychology has made an important contribution in the field of artificial intelligence and the development of ‘thinking machines’ (robots). Cognitive principles have also been applied to the treatment of depression and improved the reliability of eyewitness testimony. L: This supports the value of the cognitive approach.
PEEL – Limitation: Machine reductionism
P: One limitation of the cognitive approach is that it is based on machine reductionism. E: There are similarities between the human mind and the operations of a ‘thinking machine’ such as a computer. However, the computer analogy has been criticised. 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 the influence of anxiety on eyewitnesses. L: This suggests that machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach.
