cognitive approach

Created by

Holly C

Cards (15)

What does the cognitive approach argue?
Argues that internal mental processes can be studied scientifically and has studied memory, perception and thinking.
Psychologists study processes indirectly by making inferences
What is shema? 
Schema is a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing. They are developed from experience.
What is role of shema? 
Babies are born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as sucking and grasping. E.G. the grasping schema consists of moving a hand towards an object and shaping the hand around it.
As we get older, schema is more detailed and have mental representations for everything.
Schema enables us to process lots of information quickly and this is useful because it prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli.
However schema may also distort our interpretations of sensory information
Why do cognitive scientists use theoretical and computer models?
To help them understand internal mental processes. In reality there are overlaps between these 2 models but theoretical models are abstract whereas computer models are concrete
What is one theoretical model?
The information processing approach suggests information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages.
This information processing approach is based on the way that computers function but a computer model would involve programming a computer to see if instructions produce a similar output to humans.
If they do then we can suggest similar processes are going on in the human mind.
This is useful when developing things like artificial intelligence
What is cognitive neuroscience? 
The scientific study of the influence of brain structure on mental processes.
Mapping brain areas to specific functions has a long history in psychology.
What did Paul Broca do?
1860s Broca identified how damage to an area of the frontal lobe could permanently impair speech production.
What have fMRI and PET scans allowed us to do?
systematically observe and describe neurological basis of mental processes.
What is an example of neuroscience? 
Research involving tasks that required the use of episodic and semantic memory
Buckner and Peterson 1996 were able to show how these different types of long term memory may be located in opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex.
Braver 1997 thought that the central executive is thought to reside in a similar area
Why are scanning techniques effective? 
As they help to establish the neurological basis of some mental disorders.
Parahippocampal gyrus and OCD and it appears it plays a role in processing unpleasant emotions.
What has cognitive neuroscience expanded to include? 
Has expanded to include the computer generated models that are designed to read the brain.
Leads to a development of mapping techniques known as fingerprinting
What is one possible future application of neuroscience? 
To analyse the brain wave patterns of eyewitnesses to see if they are lying in court
what is one strength and a counter argument for the cognitive approach?
It uses objective scientific methods
Highly controlled methods of study which include lab studies which produce reliable data
Emergence of cognitive neuroscience has enabled biology and cognitive psychology to come together
has credible scientific basis
counterargument = relies on inference rather than direct observation so may lack external validity
Give one strength of cognitive approach? 
Has practical applications
Has made an important contribution to AI and developing robots.
Have also been applied to treatments for things like depression and improved the reliability of eyewitness testimony.
Supports the value of the approach
Give one limitation of the cognitive approach? 
Based on machine reductionism
ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system and how if affects ability to process information
eg human memory might be affected by anxiety
may weaken the validity of the cognitive approach