Cognitive

• The cognitive approach focuses on how people store, manipulate and interpret information
• A schema is a structure that helps organise and understand new information
• The cognitive approach uses computer models to simulate memory systems
• One strength of the cognitive approach is its application in the treatment of cognitive based disorders
• One weakness of the cognitive approach is that it ignores emotional influences on behaviour
• Cognitive studies may lack ecological validity as they ignore motivation and are mechanistic
• Cognitive neuroscience developed with the advances in brain scanning technology
• Neuroscientists use PET, fMRI and EEG to investigate how different areas of the brain function during tasks