Cognitive approach

• 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
• The cognitive approach sees mental processes as being separate from the brain
• 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)
• The invention of the computer in the 1960s was crucial in the development of cognitive psychology, as psychologists now had a metaphor for the mind
• 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
• Brief history of the emergence of cognitive neuroscience

  1. Brain Mapping in the 1870s

  2. Objectively Investigating Brain Localisation Theory in the 1970s

  3. Current Focuses of Cognitive Neuroscience
• Current research focuses on the neural basis of model-based planning (including the role of the dorsal hippocampus), the neurological basis of autism, and also the neural basis of moral reasoning (involving the ventral striatum)
• 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
• Emergence of cognitive neuroscience

  • It has substantially increased the scientific credibility of psychology, bringing it closer to that of biology, physics etc. This is due to the emphasis on objectively collecting reliable data through direct observation of the neural processes underlying cognition, as seen in PET, CT, MRI and fMRI scans
• Cognitive psychology makes extensive use of schemas and analogies as ways of indirectly studying and inferring the cognitive basis of behaviour
• 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
• This reduces the potential practical applications of cognitive research, as it remains mainly theoretical
• Practical Applications of Cognitive Neuroscience

  • An increased understanding of the neural processes underlying cognition have proven to be useful in many areas. For example, the design and manufacture of modern technology relies on an understanding of behavioural science and human-computer interactions. In education, cognitive neuroscientists can study a child's performance in phonological tests to serve as a more accurate prediction of their reading ability
• Soft Determinism


  The cognitive approach sees humans as being able to reason and make conscious decisions within the limits of what they know or their 'cognitive system', and so adopts a soft deterministic approach. This is more flexible than the behaviourist hard determinism stance because it allows for humans to have some conscious insight into their behaviour: a complexity which differentiates us from animals, and so provides a better explanation for human behaviour than behaviourism