Cognitive Approach

• The study of internal mental processes can't be directly observed so researchers make inferences
• Inferences - making an educated guess on phenomena we can't see based on results
• Information processing approach -process in a linear, systematic way; input - process - output
• Computer analogy - human mind has hardware (organic matter in your skull), software (cognitive processes), uses the concept of coding and has different stores to hold information
• Schema - our understanding of things; helps us make sense of the world
• Accumulation of a schema - Assimilation, disequilibrium, accommodation and equilibrium
• Cognitive neuroscience - combining of cognitive and biological approaches; trying to map thoughts
• Practical applications of cognitive neuroscience - help coping with mental disorders, help people recover from brain injury, treat learning disorders, potentially give people with paralysis the ability to move