Cognitive Approach

• Assumptions

  • internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
  • as a result the cognitive approach has investigated those areas of human behaviour
• Information Processing Approach - Theoretical Models

  suggests that information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages that include input, storage and retrieval
• Computer Model

  • mind compared to the computer - suggesting that there are similarities in the way information is processed
  • uses the concept of central processing unit and coding and use stores to hold information
  • some have proved useful in the development of AI
• schema

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

  they are developed from experience
• what does schema enable us to do

  enables us to process lots of information quickly and this is useful as a mental short cut that prevents us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli

  however it may distort our interpretation of sensory information leading to perceptual errors
• cognitive neuroscience

  scientific study of the influence of the brain structures in mental processes. mapping brain areas to specific cognitive unctions
• brain imaging technology

  • fMRI and PET scans lets scientists see brain activity in real time helping connect brain areas to specific tasks
  • the field shows that cognitive functions like thinking and memory are linked to biological brain structures
• scientific and objective methods - AO3

  • highly controlled and rigorous methods of studying in order to enable research to infer cognitive processes at work
  • involved the use of lab experiments to produce reliable, objective data
• machine reductionism - AO3

  • computer analogy has been criticised of human emotion and motivation
  • ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation and motivation on the congitive system and how this may affect our ability to process information
• Application to everyday life - AO3

  • cognitive psychology occasionally suffers from being abstract and theoretical in nature
  • experimental studies of mental processes are often carried out using artificial stimuli that may not represent everyday memory experience
  • research on cognitive processes may lack external validity
• real-world application -AO3

  • cognitive psychology has made a huge contribution to the field of AI and the development of thinking machines - robots