cognitive approach

• Cognitive Approach involves the study of internal mental processes (IMP)


  • Memory
  • Thinking
  • Attention
  • Perception
  • Language
• The above processes are internal as psychologists (and everyday people!) know they are happening but they cannot be directly observed in the same way that,say, biological processes (e.g. brain structures) can
• In order to investigate IMP researchers must run research and make inferences from their findings e.g. Peterson & Peterson inferred that STM has a duration of around 18 seconds but they could not prove this
• Cognitive psychologists


  They use theoretical and computer models to understand IMP
• Models


  Used to provide testable theories about mental processes
• Cognitive psychologists use scientific methodology to investigate IMP (if a theory is testable it means it is scientific)
• Theoretical models


  Diagrammatic representations of IMP; they work in a similar way to flow charts used in computer programming
• Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM)


  • A linear model outlining the stages involved in memory
  • Demonstrates the flow of information as input-storage-retrieval in a systematic way
  • It is possible to test the MSM using lab experiments e.g. Glanzer & Cunitz (1966)
• Information processing approach


  Explains that information flows through the cognitive system in stages, and the information is transformed
• Computer models


  • The cognitive approach conceptualises the mind using the 'computer analogy'
  • Information processing in the mind is viewed as being similar to that of a computer
• Computer models


  • Encoding/coding: computers use alphanumeric codes to complete specific actions; the mind interprets environmental stimuli
  • Storage: computers store data on a hard drive - the mind's equivalent of a hard drive is LTM
  • Output: a computer's output includes text, music, images, video; the mind's output includes speech, behavioural responses, thoughts
• Computer models are the basis for the development of artificial intelligence
• Computational modelling has in turn highlighted how the brain carries out a range of functions e.g. anticipating a reward, planning and problem-solving
• Strengths of the cognitive approach

  • The use of lab experiments increases the reliability of the cognitive approach methodology with its use of controlled conditions and replicable standardised procedures
  • The study of IMP has good scientific validity, particularly with the emergence of cognitive neuroscience
• Weaknesses of the cognitive approach

  • The study of IMP is an example of machine reductionism i.e. it is overly contrived and unlike real, unpredictable, multi-faceted, emotional human behaviour
  • The fact that IMP can only be inferred means that this approach to explaining behaviour is overly abstract and detached from real life, thus it lacks external validity
• Schema


  Shortcuts which facilitate the quick processing of information and stop the brain from becoming overwhelmed by environmental stimulation
• Schemas


  • Allow us to predict what may happen and are based on previous experience
  • Act as a mental framework for the interpretation of incoming information
  • Unique to the individual and the experiences they have had
  • Culture has an effect on schemas as it shapes experience
• Schemas in babies


  Simple motor schemas for innate behaviours e.g. sucking; as we get older schemas become more complex and sophisticated
• Bartlett's view of schemas

  • They do not work like a photograph but instead like a notepad, which means the event is reconstructed, our schema affects our thoughts, emotions and behaviours
  • This is due to schema filling the gaps and making assumptions
• Bartlett's 'War of the Ghosts' research

  1. Told participants (male Cambridge University students) a Native American folk tale

  2. Participants re-told the story to fit their cultural schema by changing some details or leaving out unfamiliar elements
• Bartlett concluded that memory does not record events like a camera, rather it is affected by schema, particularly cultural schema which overlays the original event or message
• Cognitive neuroscience (CN)

  Investigates the relationship/interaction between cognition and neural mechanisms, brain chemistry and brain structure
• Origins of CN

  • Lie in the mid-19th century with the discovery that Broca's area (part of the frontal lobe) is linked to speech production
  • New technology e.g. fMRI and PET allow researchers to explain the neurological basis of mental processes
• CN research


  • Maguire et al. (2000) found increased volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampi of London taxi drivers using MRI technology, linking this structure in the brain to spatial navigation
  • Raine et al. (1997) found via PET scans that impulsive murderers under-utilise their pre-frontal cortex when making decisions which may explain the nature of their crimes
• Recent focus of CN

  • Includes the use of computer-generated models, which, in effect, 'read' the brain, leading to mind mapping techniques (brain 'fingerprinting')
  • Computer models and mind mapping can be used in healthcare to determine the best surgical approach, diagnose and treat conditions, and guide surgeons during surgery
• CN research

  • Tulving et al. (1994) showed that the different types of long-term memory may be located on opposite sides of the prefrontal cortex
  • Braver et al. (1997) suggested that the central executive (working memory model) was located near the prefrontal cortex