what is cognitive psychology?
- the study of internal mental processes
what are internal mental processes?
- how info is used in the mind
- all conscious and unconscious thoughts
- areas of research= attention, perception and memory
characteristics of cognitive research:
- scientific approach
- highly controlled experiments
- lab studies w/ highly controlled experiments
- have backed up evidence with high internal validity
issues with studying internal mental processes:
- cant be directly observed
- have to use inferences to make assumptions about internal mental processes
Evaluations: limitations, relies on inferences
- approach relies on educated guesses that could be wrong
- cognitive psychology often viewed as less scientific
- inferences= cognitive psychologists can research areas inaccessible to other approaches like internal mental processes
- inferences can be supported by brain activity studies
what is a schema?
- mental frameworks
- collections of connected basic knowledge about an object or concept built from previous experiences of the world
how do schemas work as mental shortcuts?
- use them to navigate through the world and interact w people and objects
- doesnt take much mental energy to decide how to respond to a range of situations
how schemas process environmental information:
- allow us to engage with the world without being overwhelmed by sensory information
- assigning objects to a schema= don’t have to consciously work out what each object is
how schemas help us predict the future:
- based on past experiences
- we can make assumptions on what similar people and objects would do in similar situations
- often accurate as others act according to similar schemas
how schemas lead to inaccurate recall:
- assumptions due to schemas can influence memory
- people may feel they are remembering correctly but their memory has been influenced by leading questions
- EWT
how schemas can lead to poor mental health:
- beck argues ppl w depression have faulty schemas that bias their thinking about themselves, others and the future
- they always think theyre inadequate or unworthy
what is the computer model?
- analogy between operation of computers central processing unit running software programmes and the brain conducting internal mental processes
- both systems receive inputs and generate outputs
- both process info through a sequence of programmed steps
Evaluating the computer model: limitations, machine reductionist
- criticised for being overly simplistic
- human brain is more complex than a computer
- capable of consciousness and emotions that can lead to irrational behaviour
- nature of the features both things have in common are very different
- brain= alter memories
- computer= recall them perfectly
what is the theoretical model?
- flow chart representations of each step of a specific mental process
- ## example being multi store model of memory
Evaluating the theoretical model: strength, generate testable hypothesis
- this model generates testable hypothesis
- each model systematically and scientifically tested
- if observed behaviour matches the models predictions= model is valid
- if behaviour contradicts the model= model readjusted or rejected
what is cognitive neuroscience?
- aims to scientifically identify and explain the neurological structures and chemical processes that happen during our internal mental processes
what is the emergence of cognitive neuroscience?
- development of brain scanning techniques
- PET and fMRI
- allow researchers to give pp cognitive tasks and see which areas of the brain are active
Evaluating cognitive neuroscience: strength, link between brain structure and mental processes
- confirmed link between mental processes and brain structure
- traditionally explored by looking at pp w unique brain injuries
- Tan
Evaluating cognitive neuroscience: strength, Tan as a case study
- Tan could only say ‘tan’ bc of speech production issues
- autopsy showed damage to brocas area
- brocas area activates in healthy brains during language production
- observation using scientific and objective tools verifies the areas role in speech
Evaluations: limitations, lack external validity
- scientific and highly controlled= highly artificial
- memory tasks dont mirror everyday use of memory
- lack external validity bc not generalisable to everyday tasks
Evaluations: strength, real life applications
- cognitive psychology has real life applications
- understanding schemas= CBT
- understanding how schemas influence EWT= informed jury instructions
- cognitive neuroscience= aid memory and language disorders
Evaluations: strength, argue for soft determinism
- behaviour is due to biology and the environment
- schemas are biological processes but thought processes provide personal control over actions
- CBT= teaches people to have control over their thought patterns
- pp are active in their recovery which they arent w drug treatments= biological determinism
