Cognitive approach

• 3 assumptions of cognitive approach

  • the mind works like a computer

  • how our mind processes the world affects how we behave

  • internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically ( inferences are made about what is going on inside people’s minds OM the basis of their behaviour )
• What is interference ?


  Going beyond The immediate evidence to make assumptions about mental proecesses that can’t be directly observed
• 2 theoretical models put forward by the cognitive approach

  •Computer analogy

  •information processing model
• What is the information processing model ?

  info flows through cognitive system in 3 stages —-> influences behaviour

  1. input (senses)
  2. process (cognitive processes)
  3. output (behaviour )
• What is the computer model ?


  The belief that the mind works like a computer in the way it’s processses info (‘the computer analogy ‘)
• Define schema

  It’s the mental framework gained from experiences —-> helps us to predict what happens in the world around us or how to behave
• 2 pros of schemas

  • help us to process a lot of info quickly and act as a mental short cut

  • help us to predict what will happen in our world based on our experiences
• 2 cons of schemas

  • may distort our interpretations of sensory info leading to perceptual errors

  • can cause biased recall based on what we expect to happen
• Cognitive neuroscience

  the study of the brain to investigate the neurological basis of cognitive processes
• Describe the early history of the link between brain structures and cognition

  1860s —> Paul broca identifying how damage to an area in frontal love can lead to damage to speech production = broca‘s area
• Practical application of cognitive neuroscience

  brain scanning techniques used to locate different types of memory on different areas of the brain —-> allowed for dev if effective treatments for people with memory problems
• Example of a study which has used cognitive neuroscience to reveal different types of memory in different parts of the brain ?

  tulving et al . —> used PET scan to show how episodic and semantic memory are located On opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex
• 2 real life applications of the cognitive approach

  • used to treat psychopathological disorders ( OCD, depression , )

  • A.I( artificial intelligence )
• What is cognitive approach

  uses experimental research methods to study internal mental processes such as attention, perception , memory and decision making