Cognitive

• The cognitive approach focuses on how internal mental processes (thoughts, perception and attention) affect behaviour
• Internal mental processes are private operations of the mind (perception/attention) that mediate between stimulus and response.
• Schema is a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processes, built from previous experiences with the world.
• Inference is the process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observable behaviour.
• Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of biological structures that underpin internal mental processes. It seeks to understand how the brain's physical and chemical structure influences thoughts, memories, emotions and behaviours.
• Assumptions of approach:

  • Reaction against behaviourist 'stimulus-response' approach
  • Cog psych's believed that events in the brain must be understood to understand behaviour
  • Thoughts influence behaviour
  • Humans actively process info, therefore, can be compared to computers
• The information processing approach suggests information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages (input, storage and retrieval)
• Atkinson's and Shiffrin's multi-store model of memory:

  1. Info is coded by the senses
  2. Info is processed in the brain
  3. Info is stored in the memory
  4. Info is retrieved from memory
  5. A behaviour is performed
• Schemas allow us to process a lot of info quickly preventing us from being overwhelmed by environmental stimuli as well as predicting the future but schemas can result in inaccurate recall and poor mental health if you have a negative mental schema.
• Strengths of cognitive approach:

  • It has a credible scientific basis because it uses highly controlled and rigorous methods (lab experiments, large sample and standardised material) which produce reliable/objective data. This helps us understand and infer unobservable mental processes also resulting in high internal validity.
• Limitations of cog approach:

  • Comparing humans to computers (machine reductionism) is simplistic, and ignores other human traits (emotion, self-awareness and motivation) and how they may influence our ability to process information. E.g. research has shown that anxiety can influence the way you remember events
• S -Less deterministic as it recognises that our cognitive system can only operate within the limits of what we know but we are free to think before responding to a stimulus (soft determinism). This principle forms the foundation of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), emphasizing empowerment by equipping client with strategies to modify their thought patterns.
• W - Cog psych's can only infer processes from what they observe, therefore, it is criticised for being too abstract/theoretical. Findings also lack external validity due to artificial tasks like recalling long sequences of digits as unlike real-life memory tasks.
• Evaluate cog neuroscience

  • Broca identified how damage to frontal lobe could permanently impair speech production.
  • Technology advances (fMRI's/PET scans) lead to scientists being able to systematically observe/describe neurological basis of mental processes by being able to give p's cog tasks and observing activity in diff areas of brain
  • Scanning/imaging techniques been used to locate diff types of memory in diff parts of brain leading to treatment of memory problems. (Tulving)
• S of cog neuroscience - Case study of Tan led to discovery of Brcoa's area from an autopsy on brain. Now, imaging shows Broca's areas activates in healthy brain in speech production. Direct/scientific observation verifies Broca's area role in speech