The Cognitive Approach

• basic assumptions of the approach:

  1. internal mental processes can be and should be studied scientifically. therefore, introspection is seen as too unscientific.
  2. the human mind works like a computer in that it has an input from our senses which it then processes and produces an output such as language or specific behaviours.
  3. stimulus and response is appropriate but only if the thought processes that occur between the stimulus and response are acknowledge (direct criticism of behaviourist approach).
• what are internal mental processes?

  the thought processes occurring in the mind between stimulus and response.
• cognitive psychologists use…

  inferences = drawing conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour.
• compare the mind to…

  computers, to remain objective: inputs, output, memory (store), limited capacity, use case studies and lab exps.
• what are schemas?

  cognitive framework that helps us to make sense of and interpret the world.

  • collection of ideas about a person or situation formed through experience which helps the individual to understand and predict the world around them.
  • allow us to make shortcuts when interpreting info from the senses.
  • develop based on our own experiences.
  • can cause us to change info if it doesn’t fit our schema.
• what do the findings of the “gorillas in our midst” study by simon’s and chabris (1999) demonstrate?

  how schemas or mental frameworks influence what people pay attention to and what they ignore.
• how are schemas useful to us?

  • helps us to interpret and organise vasts amounts of info more quickly.
  • helps us to predict what will happen in the future based on previous experiences.
  • helps prevent us becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimuli; helps us to filter things out if not relevant to our schemas.
• why might schemas not be useful to us?

  • can distort our interpretation of sensory info.
  • can lead to perceptual errors or inaccurate EWT/memories.
  • negative/faulty schema may have a negative impact on mental health.
  • schemas can cause biased recall/see what we expect.
• what is a positive of models in cognitive psychology?

  allows for empirical research to be carried out and infer what‘s happening in the unobservable mind.
• what is the ‘stroop test’?

  measured a person‘s ability to inhibit cognitive interference, or the ability to focus on one aspect of a stimulus while ignoring other aspects.
• information processing model (theoretical models):

  suggests that info flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages including input, storage and retrieval (as in the multi store model).
• diagram of the theoretical model:

  DRAW IT NOW:

  
• what are metaphors in psychology?

  • give psychologists ways of describing the unobservable mind.
  • mind is compared to a computer, suggesting that there are similarities between how we process info.
  • uses the concept of central processing unit (the brain), coding (turning info into a usable format) and storing (to hold info).
  • these models have been useful in AI.
• what does information processing suggest?

  • storage is limited.
  • processing of info is sequentia.
• draw a diagram of the computer model:

  DRAW IT NOW:

  
• what is the order of information processing in the computer model?

  1. encoding
  2. transformation
  3. output
• what is encoding? (example)


  the player receives the shuttlecock coming from the right.
• what is transformation? (example)

  she decides to play a forehand shot.
• what is output? (example)


  she hits the shuttlecock over the net and wins the point.
• what are the similarities between the human mind and the computer?

  • process info
  • input (data senses)
  • output (printout/behaviour)
  • memory
• what are the differences between the human mind and the computer?

  • mind- organic
  • mind- unlimited memory
  • computer- metallic/plastic
  • computer- limited memory
  • computer- not affected by emotions, don’t add sentiment or meaning to input they receive.
• what are some quick strengths of the approach?

  1. has become the dominant approach in modern psych.
  2. focuses on internal mental processes, unlike behaviourism. clearly such processes are a vital part of learning and decision-making
• what was the aim of 'gorillas in our midst'- simons and chabris (1999)?

  to see how much individuals could be unaware of in their visual field.

  • it seems that focused attention on a particular task could mean that other info could be missed.
  • set out to test what is missed in a dynamic scene, as previous research had focused on static stimuli.
• what was the procedure of 'gorillas in our midst'?

  1. 228 observers watched the films shown. films showed 2 teams of basketball players (one team wearing white, one wearing black t-shirts).
  2. orange basketball passed between players and observers asked to keep tally of no. of passes.
  3. easy condition: asked to keep a mental score of no. passes. difficult condition: asked to keep tally of no. of throws & no. of bounces.
  4. 2 types of video: (transparent) where film of players was altered to be partly see-through, and (opaque) where no such effect was used.
• procedure of 'gorillas in our midst' continued:

  1. 1/2 observers watched films where a woman holding umbrella walked in amongst basketball players while they were playing.
  2. other 1/2 watched films w/ a man in black gorilla suit walking among the players.
  3. observers then asked to immediately write their counts on paper and were also asked several q's, some results were discounted if counting was inaccurate.
  4. 192 results were included in final analysis.
• what were the results of 'gorillas in our midst' study?

  1. only 54% of observers noticed the gorilla/umbrella carrying woman (unexpected event).
  2. more observers noticed unexpected event in opaque condition.
  3. when task was harder (transparent) slightly less of observers noticed unexpected event.
  4. this seems to indicate that we miss much of what we see in our visual field due to inattention.
• what are the strengths of 'gorillas in our midst' study?

  • results reliable as the exp has been modified and rerun on many occasions and similar results found.
• what are the limitations of 'gorillas in our midst' study?

  • lack of mundane realism as the task is not an everyday scenario.
• what is cognitive neuroscience?

  a discipline that is a combination of several disciplines (cognitive psych, cognitive science and neuroscience).

  • mainly focused on looking for a biological basis to thought processes, specifically at how the neurons explain these processes.
• how did cognitive neuroscience emerge?

  • emerged as technology advanced. this meant that brainscanning machines have advanced, so the ability to investigate how the brain activity might underpin thought.
  • the term 'cognitive science' was 1st used by george miller and michael gazzaniga in 1971.
• what research methods are used to study cognition?

  fMRI, PET scans (brain scanning), lab studies, observations, inferences.
• why is cognitive neuroscience becoming more prominent?

  • has made an important contribution in the field of AI and development of robots.
  • has been applied to the treatment of depression and improved reliability of EWT. (real-world application).
  • technological advancements in scanning techniques (MRI, PET CAT).
  • demonstrate more structural and functional detail of the brain than previously.
• what are the areas of research in cognitive psychology

  draw a spider diagram:

  
• what case study is useful in explaining memory and cognitive neuroscience?

  clive wearing- helped us learn about memory, e.g. where it's stored.
• what are some applications of the cognitive approach?

  • explanations of mental disorders (OCD, SZ) through dysfunctional thinking.
  • CBT used to treat people w/dysfunctional thinking- aims to change their irrational thoughts to be more rational. dispute negative thoughts.
  • ABC model.
  • cognitive interview used by the police.
  • memory theories used to aid learning, e.g. teachers using schemas.
• outline and explain how minds and computers are similar:

  • both have inputs/outputs, memories and a limited capacity for how much info they can process at any one time.
  • like a computer, a person's behaviour is determined by (1) the info available in their environment, (2) the ways they have learned to manipulate (process) info and (3) the capacities for info processing inherent in the types of brain people have.
• strengths of the cognitive approach:

  • uses objective, scientific methods (lab studies, brain scans).
  • real world-application, e.g. robots, AI, treatments for depression, improved reliability of EWT, cognitive interview.
  • dominant approach in modern psych.
  • focuses on internal mental processes- unlike behaviourism. clearly such processes are vital to learning and decision making.
  • has produced valid descriptions of the cognitive processes that occur, and this informs treatment.
• limitations of the cognitive approach:

  • relies on inference of mental processes, rather than direct observation of behaviour- can suffer from being too abstract/theoretical.
  • based on machine reductionism- reducing human behaviour to machines & computers, ignoring emotion, free will and motivations.
  • too simplistic. mind is much more complicated than the models suggest.
  • artifical lab exps and tasks aren't representative of real life so not generalisable.
• war of the ghosts:


  bartlett used a native american story.

  • p's asked to recall story directly after.
  • results showed that non-native american p's struggled to remember details of story that weren't relevant to their own culture, e.g. stuff about folk tales/the supernatural.
  • supports idea of schemas as we ignore info that isn't relevant to us.