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Cognitive Approach, sensory memory, Input
from the environment,…
Cognitive Approach
- scientific methods
- P: uses objective, scientific methods
- E: cog psychologists use highly controlled & rigorous methods of study so researchers are able to infer cog processes at work. use of lab studies = reliable & objective. also emergence of cog neuroscience has combined biological and cog approach producing more scientific basis of study
- E: strength - means study of mine has a credible scientific basis.
- counterpoint
- P: can't apply to everyday life as can only infer (too abstract) from mental processes from the behaviour their observe.
- E: also, approach uses artificial stimuli (e.g. lists of words in memory test) which don't represent everyday life experiences
- E: weakness - research on cog processes may lack external validity.
- Real-world application
- P: cog approach has practical application.
- E: it's dominant approach in psych today and has been applied to wide range of practical and theoretical contexts. e.g. development of A.I.; improved treatment for mental health issues & reliability of eyewitness testimonies.
- E: strength - adds value to cog approach
- Machine reductionism (comparing brain to a computer)
- P: cog approach is based on machine reductionism
- E: computer analogy has been criticised - machine reductionism ignores influence of emotions and motivation on the cog system and how this can affect out ability to process info. e.g. research found human memory may be influenced by emotional factors, such as the influence of anxiety on an eyewitness testimony
- E: weakness - suggest machine reductionism may weaken validity of cog approach.
- argues that internal mental processes can & should be studies scientifically.
- investigates areas of human behaviour neglected by behaviourists such as memory, perception and thinking
(processes which are private &cannot be observed)
- these processes are 'private' and can't be observed. as result, cog psychologists have to study them indirectly by making inferences about what's going on inside the mind on the basis of behaviour
The Role of Schema
- cog processing is often affected by a person's beliefs or expectations which are referred to as schema.
- Schema = packages of ideas and information developed though experience.
- they act as a a mental framework and help us respond to incoming stimuli appropriately and quickly
- babies are born with simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as sucking and grasping
- our schema become more detailed and sophisticated as we grow
- schema allow us to process lots of info quickly and this is useful as a sort of mental shortcut that prevents us being overwhelmed from environmental stimuli.
- however, schema may distort our interpretation of sensory info, leading to perceptual errors
- The Emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience
- cognitive neuroscience = scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
- mapping brain areas specific to certain cog functions has history in psychology all the way back to the 1860s when Broca identified that damage to a specific area of the frontal lobe (Broca's area) could permanently impair speech production.
- only in recent years, with advances in brain imaging techniques
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- only in recent years, with advances in brain imaging techniques such as FMRI and PET scans, have scientists been able to systematically observe and describe the neurological basis of mental processes
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- a relatively modern approach which assumes that our thought processes affect the way in which we behave.
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- **E.g. of multi-store model
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- in comparison to the behaviourist approach