cognitive approach

• cognitive approach assumptions

  • information received from our senses is processed by the brain and directs how we behave
• Shemas

  • Bartlett (1932)
  • packets of info that help us organise and interpret information based on our previous experiences.
  • develop and evolve with experiences
  • can explain why 2 witnesses to the same event may report it differently (practical application)
• why might schemas be helpful or unhelpful when processing information from the world around us

  • HELPFUL- schemas help us predict what will happen in our world based on our experiences and they prevent us from becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimuli
  • NOT HELPFUL- schemas can distort our interpretation of sensory information and can cause biased recall(we see what we expect). negative/faulty schemas may have a negative effect on our mental health
• comparing human cognitive processing to computer processing

  • can be useful as it allows us to create models (multi-store model and working memory model)
  • has limits as unlike computers, humans forget things and have emotions. this comparison allows us to describe how humans do things but not why they do them
• information processing model

  -assuming the human mind is like a computer

  • INPUT- from environment via senses and is encoded by the individual
  • PROCESS- the information once encoded can by processed e.g. schemas
  • OUTPUT- the behavioural response
• Cognitive approach

  • Uses a very scientific method (mainly lab experiments)
  • Experiments are controlled and replicable so results are reliable
• Lab experiments

  • Lack ecological validity due to the tasks being artificial
  • May not reflect how people process information in their everyday lives
• Deterministic

  Tells us we can only operate within the limits of how we process information but we're free to think what we want and respond to stimuli accordingly
• The cognitive approach sometimes overlooks emotions
• Real life application


  • CBT as treatment of mental disorders has been highly influenced by the cognitive approach