Cognitive Approach

• Cognitive psychologists study mental processes that were ignored by behaviourists.
• Mental processes are inferred by drawing conclusions about what goes on in someone's head from their behaviour in a lab study.
• Cognitive psychologists use models to explain cognitive processes based on the idea that the human mind can be compared to a computer.
• Schema are packages of knowledge and expectations developed from experience and they help us process information more quickly.
• As understanding of the brain has increased, cognitive neuroscience has emerged and tries to link brain areas to mental processes.
• cognitive neuroscience stemmed from cognitive approach and explains how the brain can influence mental processes
• one strength of the cognitive approach is it uses objective, scientific measures, however as it focuses on mental processes scientists must make inferences which can be less reliable
• a strength is it has real life applications, for example cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence
• however one limitation is it is machine reductionist- comparing the mind to a computer doesn't include human emotions or motivation and how they may affect things