Cognitive approach

• What is the cognitive approach?

  This approach focuses on how our mental processes (e.g. thoughts, perceptions, attention) affect behaviour.
• what are internal mental processes?

  They are 'Private operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response.
• What is schema ?

  A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing.

  They are developed from experience.
• What is inference? 


  The process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour.
• What is cognitive neuroscience?

  The scientific study of those biological structures that underpin cognitive processes.
• strength of cognitive approach?

  P- uses objective, scientific methods.

  E- Cognitive psychologists employ highly controlled and rigorous methods of study so researchers are able to infer cognitive processes at work. involved the use of lab studies to produce reliable, objective data. emergence of cognitive neuroscience enabled two fields of biology and cognitive psychology come together to enhance the scientific basis of study.

  L- study of the mind has a credible scientific basis.
• CA for strength of cognitive approach?

  P- As cognitive psychology relies on the inference of mental processes, it can occasionally suffer from being too abstract and theoretical in nature. Similarly, research studies of mental processes are often carried out using artifcial stimuli that may not represent everyday experience.

  L- research on cognitive processes may lack external validity,
• Another strength of cognitive approach?

  P- has practical application,

  E- cognitive approach is dominant approach in psychology and been applied to a wide range of practical and theoretical contexts. cognitive psychology has made an important contribution in the field of Al and the development of robots. Cognitive principles also been applied to treatment of depression and improved the reliability of eyewitness testimony

  L- supports the value of the cognitive approach.
• limitation of cognitive approach?

  P- based on machine reductionism.

  E- computer analogy criticised. Such machine reductionism ignores influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system, and how this may affect our ability to process information. For instance, research found that human memory may be affected by emotional factors

  L- suggests that machine reductionism may weaken the validity.