cognitive approach

• schema...


  is a "package" of beliefs and expectations that come with a topic based on prior experiences

  • schemas affect behaviour
  • we are all born with basic schemas which then develop into more
  • useful in helping us take shortcuts in our thinking
  • however, they can be unhelpful and promote unhealthy thinking
• inference...


  the process of drawing conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed evidence
• theoretical models...

  used to explain mental processes and make inferences about mental processes
• what is an example of a theoretical model?

  the information processing model
• what are the three steps of the informational processing model?

  1. input - from the environment
  2. processing - information is encoded and processed
  3. output - observable behaviour
• computer models...

  compares the brain to a computer
• bugelski and alampay (1962)...


  had two groups of participants who either saw a picture of a face or an animal - they were then shown an optical illusion which could have been interpreted as a "man" or a "rat"

  
• what were the findings or bugelski and alampay's study and what does this suggest?

  participants who saw the faces were more likely to point out the man first and the opposite was found with those who saw the animals (more likely to see a rat)

  depending on what sequence the participants saw, they were more expecting to see another image of that sequence - thus, the way that we perceive the ambiguous figure is influenced by the schema that has been formed
• cognitive neuroscience...

  neuroimaging techniques have helped us to study the influence of brain structures on mental processes
• what are two examples of neuroimaging scans?

  PET scans - give an overall image of the brain

  FMRI scans - can see which area of the brain is functioning
• neuroimaging...

  can inform about what's happening inside of the brain and help diagnosis illnesses
• what are some strengths of the cognitive approach?

  • uses very scientific methods - lab studies
  • controlled and replicable results
  • can be applied to lots of psychology
  • has real-life applications - eyewitness testimony and the diagnosis of illnesses
• what are some limitations of the cognitive approach?

  • lack of ecological validity
  • comparing the human brain to a machine is limiting
  • doesn't explain any motivations, only behaviour
• how does the emergence of cognitive neuroscience relate to the cognitive approach?

  cognitive neuroscience expanded to include computer-generated models that can “read” the brain