cognitive approach

• YouTube and other apps are not physical things on the phone, they are programs - a set of processes designed by computer programmers
• Cognitive Neuroscience is the field that studies how cognitive processes are connected to the physical activity of the brain
• Cognitive psychology


  • Behavior is a result of internal mental processes
  • Psychological research should focus on studying those internal mental processes
• Common areas of research for cognitive psychologists

  • Attention
  • Perception
  • Memory
• Inferences

  Guesses about internal mental processes that cannot be directly observed
• Inferences are the only way to study internal mental processes, and many are supported by later studies
• Schema

  A mental framework, a collection of basic knowledge about a concept or object built from previous experience
• Advantages of schemas

  • Allow quick processing of information
  • Allow prediction of future events
• Problems with schemas

  • Can lead to inaccurate recall (e.g. eyewitness testimony)
  • Can lead to mental health issues (e.g. negative schemas in depression)
• Computer model of the mind

  Compares the brain to a computer, with inputs, outputs, and information processing
• The computer model is criticized as being overly simplistic, as the human mind is more complex than a computer
• Theoretical models


  Flowchart representations of how a particular mental process works, describing a series of steps
• Theoretical models are used to create testable theories, and each assumption can be tested scientifically
• Cognitive Neuroscience is the study of the relationship between cognitive and biological processes, using brain scanning techniques
• Cognitive psychology's research is often highly artificial, which may limit the generalizability to real-life situations
• Applications of cognitive psychology

  • Development of CBT
  • Informing juries about limitations of eyewitness testimony
  • Developing treatments for neurological disorders
  • Helping develop artificial intelligence
• Soft determinism


  The view that behavior has biological and environmental causes, but thought processes allow for some individual control