cognitve

• Cognitive approach


  Study of internal mental processes to explain human behaviour
• Cognitive approach


  • Explains human behaviour in terms of thought processes such as beliefs and memories
  • Argues that if thinking changes, behaviour will also change
• Cognitive focus


  Explains human behaviour in terms of internal mental processes
• Cognitive processes

  • Memory
  • Perception
  • Language
  • Attention
  • Thoughts and beliefs
• Cognitive therapy


  Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) tries to solve problems by changing people's beliefs and habits, and tackling harmful patterns of thinking
• Cognitive structures

  A schema is a cognitive structure where thoughts and memories are linked together, influencing future thinking
• Schemas and learning


  Schemas derive from learning throughout life and are influenced by culture
• Schemas and memory

  Memories can be distorted by schemas
• Stereotypes


  An example of a schema, an oversimplified set of ideas about a group of people
• Types of schemas


  • Role schema
  • Event schema
  • Self-schema
• Problems with schemas

  • Maladaptive schemas can lead to negative thoughts, bias and prejudice
  • Maladaptive schemas can be a factor in mental illnesses
• Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study

  1. Told participants an unfamiliar story

  2. Asked them to recall it at different time intervals

  3. Found patterns of distortion: assimilation, levelling, sharpening
• The study demonstrated that memory is reconstructive and shaped by cultural schemata
• Evaluation of Bartlett

  • Strengths: Easy to replicate, practical applications
  • Limitations: Lacks ecological validity
• The cognitive approach flourished as psychologists had a metaphor for the functions and workings of the mind i.e. the 'computer analogy'
• The cognitive approach assumes that the scientific and objective study of internal mental processes is possible
• As these private processes cannot be directly observed, cognitive psychologists formulate conclusions of their workings, through making inferences, based upon observable behaviours
• Much of the work of cognitive psychologists is the indirect measurement of cognition
• Cognitive psychologists


  • They use computer models and theoretical models to better understand and model cognitive processes, through the use of analogies
• Working memory model


  A diagrammatic representation of short-term memory, made up of the following cognitive components, through which information flows: Central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer

  
• Computer analogy


  An analogy can be made between the workings of a computer and the functions of the human brain. Both contain a series of 3 processes: input, the use of a processor (e.g. the brain) and the production of a comprehensible output (e.g. computer code or human language)
• Schemas


  • They are 'packages' of ideas and knowledge about a certain person, place, object or time. They are generated through experience, becoming more sophisticated through time
  • They also act as mental frameworks, providing us with 'mental shortcuts' so we can process large volumes of data quickly and efficiently, thus avoiding sensory overload
• Since schemas are 'pre-conceived', they may lead to perceptual distortions due to having an already established mental framework
• Cognitive neuroscience


  The scientific field concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes
• Potential Application Questions

  • The current, modern applications of cognitive neuroscience
  • The use of theoretical and computer models to understand cognition
  • Explanations of perceptual errors, using knowledge of schemas
• This reliance of inference means that some ideas in cognitive psychology may seem too abstract and not have enough supporting empirical evidence of such mechanisms being observed
• Soft Determinism:


  • views humans as capable of reasoning and making conscious decisions within the constraints of their cognitive system
  • This complexity differentiates humans from animals and offers a better explanation for human behavior than behaviorism.
• Practical Applications of Cognitive Neuroscience

  • Improved understanding of neural processes aids various fields.
  • Technology: Informs design and manufacture, enhancing human-computer interactions.
  • Education: Uses phonological tests to predict children's reading abilities accurately.
• Emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience


  • Increased the scientific credibility of psychology, aligning it more with biology and physics.
  • Emphasizes objective, reliable data collection.
  • Utilizes direct observation of neural processes with PET, CT, MRI, and fMRI scans.