Cognitive approach

Question 1

What is the basic idea of the cognitive approach ?

Answer 1

say that our behaviour is determined by the way that we process information which is taken from the environment

Question 2

What are the assumptions of the cognitive approach ?

Answer 2

• mental process - memory, language, perception
• scientific methods - empirical methods
• studied indirectly - inference

Question 3

What is the cognitive approach’s thoughts on models ?

Answer 3

• look at the similarity between the way computers and the brains information is processed
• central processing unit = brain
• coding = information in a useable format
• stores - hold the information
  These models are good at developing artificial intelligence

Question 4

Why do the cognitive approach use theoretical models ?

Answer 4

• an information processing approach
• information flows through a cognitive sequence of stages
• provides testable theories that can be used to study mental processes scientifically

Question 5

What is a schema ?

Answer 5

• mental frameworks
• schemas affect personal beliefs or experiences

Question 6

Why are schemas useful ?

Answer 6

• process lot’s of information quickly
• prevents overwhelming by stimuli’s

Question 7

Why are schema’s problematic ?

Answer 7

• misinterpretations
• perceptual errors (where you get the start and end of words)
• faulty schema

Question 8

How has the emergence of cognitive neuroscience developed ?

Answer 8

• scientific study under the influence of brain structures and mental processes
• mapping brain areas to cognitive structures
• E.g MRI

Question 9

How has cognitive neuroscience been applied ?

Answer 9

• imaging to locate different types of memory (treatment for memory disorders)
• imaging has helped study mental processing of patients with depression or OCD
• studies the affect of ageing
• computer stimulation test theories about mental process

Question 10

What are the strengths of the cognitive approach ?

Answer 10

Real life application
- cognitive neuroscience gas a positive impact on understanding and treating conditions

Scientific credibility
- research is highly controlled and objective. Lab studies allow isolation of test variables. improves validity

Standardised procedures
- Research can be replicated, very reliable

Question 11

What are the limitations of the cognitive approach ?

Answer 11

Reliance on artificial methods
- Use of wordlists lead to low mundane realism and lowers the ecological validity

Inference
- Use of indirect observation which isn’t accurate

Mechanical
Doesn’t look at the affect of emotions and the way they can affect our brains decisions