> Its our mental processes that affect behaviour eg. thoughts and memories and these should be studied scientifically allowing inferences to be made
> The mind works like a computer in that it has input from the senses which is processed and then produces an output like a computer
> We have schemas that drive our behaviour including what we pay attention to, how we interpret events and what we remember
Cognitive approach AO3
:) Soft determinism
> Caused by internal mental factors however we have some choice over their behaviour
> This could be beneficial as individuals feel more in control and feel it is possible to alter these faulty thought processes
> Making the cognitive explanation a more positive approach
Cognitive approach AO3
:) Uses scientific methods
> Based on objective and empirical techniques such as brain scan techniques
> Allows us to establish cause and effect between internal mental processes and behaviour
> Increasing overall internal validity, raising psychology's scientific status
Cognitive approach AO3
:( Uses controlledexperiments
> lack ecological validity and mundane realism as controlled settings and artificial tasks may not be representative of internal mental processes in the real world
> Making the findings difficult to generalise to everyday life, reducing the external validity
