Cognitive Approach

Question 1

What is internal mental processes?

Answer 1

Operations of the mind (attention etc) that mediate between the stimulus and response. Cannot be observed directly

Question 2

What is a schema?

Answer 2

A cognitive mental framework of beliefs and expectations that help to organise and interpret information in the brain

Question 3

What does inference mean?

Answer 3

Going beyond the immediate evidence to make assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed.

Question 4

What is cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 4

The scientific study of the brain and neurological structures that ae responsible for cognitive mental processes

Question 5

What is a theoretical model?

Answer 5

A method of describing the internal processes of the mind

Question 6

What is a computer model?

Answer 6

A specific theoretical model in which the mind is compared to a computer

Question 7

Behaviour is influenced by what?

Answer 7

Thoughtss

Question 8

Humans are?

Answer 8

Information processers

Question 9

What is the good of schemas?

Answer 9

Help process allot of information really quickly - useful as a mental shortcut that stops us being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli

Question 10

What is the bad of schemas?

Answer 10

Excludes anything that doesn’t fit our established ideas of the world - can distort our perceptions of sensory information leading to perceptual erros

Question 11

Cognitive models - the boxes and arrows represent what?

Answer 11

Cause and effect

Question 12

What are the main key assumptions of computer models?

Answer 12

The brain is a central processing unit. Holds chunks of information

Question 13

In the cognitive evaluation, Scientific and objective methods is a strength. Explain, give examples and link.

Answer 13

Explain: it has involved the use of lab experiments to produce reliable, objective data
Example: emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled the two fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together
Link: this means it can be replicated and used for scientific studies.

Question 14

In the cognitive evaluation, machine reductionism is a weakness. Explain, give examples and link.

Answer 14

Explain: ignores influence of human emotion and motivation in the cognitive system, and how this may affect our ability to process information
Example: researchers found that human memory may be affected by emotional factors
Link: this disregards parts of the cognitive system so it is less reliable.

Question 15

In the cognitive evaluation,
Application to everyday life is a weakness. Explain, give examples and link.

Answer 15

Explain: cognitive pyschology occasionally suffers from being too abstract and theoretical in nature
Examples: experimental studies of mental processes are often carried out using artifical stimuli that may not represent everyday memory experience.
Link: therefore research on cognitive processes may lack external validity.

Question 16

In the cognitive evaluation, real life application is a strength. Explain, give examples and link.

Answer 16

Explain: cognitive pyschology has made a huge contribution in the field of artificial intelligence and development of thinking machines
Example: may contribute to helping humans in the near future like through practices
Link: benefit for humans to revolutionise

Question 17

In the cognitive evaluation, less deterministic than other approaches is a strength. Explain, give examples and link.

Answer 17

Explain: it’s founded that the cognitive approach is on soft determinist
Example: it recognises that our cognitive system can only operate within the limits of what we know But free to think before stimulus
Link:therefore this is a more reasonable ‘interactionist’ position than the hard determinist suggested by some other approaches.