Cognitive approach

• What are the key features of the cognitive approach

  • argues mental processes should be studied
  • psychologists make inferences about what is going on inside peoples heads on the basis of their behaviour.
• what is a schema

  • Schema are packages of information developed through experience. They act as mental framework for interpreting incoming information received by the cognitive system. As we get older our schema become more detailed and sophisticated.
• what are theoretical models


  they suggest that information flows through a sequence of stages that include input, storage and retrieval - like the multi store model
• what are computer models


  programmes that can be run on a computer to imitate the human mind. by running the programmes, psychologists can test their ideas about information processing
• explain the emergence of cognitive neuroscience

  scientific study of the influence of brain structure on mental processes. with advances in brain scanning technology, scientists have been able to describe the neurological basis of mental processing. this includes research into memory that has linked episodic and semantic memories to opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex. scanning techniques have also proved useful in establishing the neurological basis of some disorders.
• one strength of the cognitive approach is that it uses scientific and objective methods


  cognitive psychologists have always employed controlled and rigorous methods of study e.g. lab studies. in addition, the two field of biology and cognitive psychology come together to enhance the scientific basis of study. this means that the study of the mind has established a credible scientific basis.
• another strength of the cognitive approach is its application to everyday life


  the cognitive approach is dominant in psychology today and has been applied to a wide range of practical and theoretical contexts e.g. AI and the developement of robots, the treatment of depression and improving eyewitness testimony. this supports the value of the cognitive approach
• one limitation of the cognitive approach is that its machine reductionist 


  although there are similarities between the operations of the human mind and computers, the computer analogy has been criticised. for example emotion and motivation has been showed to influence the accuracy of recall. these factors are not considered within the computer analogy. this suggests that machine reductionism may weaken the validity of the cogntive approach
• another strength is that the cognitive approach is soft deterministic


  the cognitive approach recognises that out cognitive system operates within certain limits, but we are free to are decisions before responding to a stimulus (soft determinism). this is in contrast to the behaviourist approach which suggests we are passive to the environment and lack free choice in our behaviour. this suggests that the cognitive approach takes a more flexible middle group position and it is more in line with out subjective sense of free will