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 (inputs, outputs and storage systems, the use of the central processor) 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 researchers found that human memory may be affected by emotional factors such as the influence of anxiety on eyewitness
• L- this suggests that machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach