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Assumptions of the cognitive approach - Coggle Diagram
Assumptions of the cognitive approach
assumption 1 - computer analogy
computer and computer models are often used to explain how we think and behave
brain carrries out many processes - perception, attention, memory, decision making, language
computer and theoretical models are used to explain and make inferences about the mental processes
the brain is described as a processor and has an input and output
parts of the brain form networks
assumption 1 - computer analogy example
The Multistore Memory Model (Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968)
There are three stores of memory
The first store is sensory memory. This lasts for only a fraction of a second and involves input from your various senses
If you pay attention to the input, then the information moves to short term memory. This lasts for around 30 seconds and can hold between 5-9 items
Rehearsing this information will result in the information moving to long term memory
If information is needed, then it is retrieved from long term memory
Primary effect- research shows participants are able to recall the first few items of a list better than those in the middle
Recency effect- participants remember the last few items better than the middle
assumption 2 - internal mental processes
Humans are seen as information processers
How information received from our senses is processed by the brain and how this processes directs how we behave
Cognitive psychologists suggest that we use our senses and cognitive processes to gather information from the outside world
Examples of these processes are memory, language, attention, decision making and perception
E.g. If a friend asks you a question you will first pay attention to what is being said, use language processing to interpret the sounds, then call on your memory to recall relevant information and then formulate an answer
Attention: focusing on one task at a time or dividing our attention between a number of tasks
Memory: encoding, storing and recalling information from memory
Perception: taking in and interpreting information from our environment
Language: using words and images to communication with others and understanding communication from others
Decision making: manipulating information to reach a conclusion
Internal mental processes can go wrong and result in abnormal behaviour; depression, phobia and eating disorders
Cognitive deficiencies are when an individual does not think or plan sufficiently
E.g. Student fails an exam and gives up rather than trying again with a different approach to learning
Cognitive distortions are a result of the cognitive system inaccurately processing information
In order to study internal mental processes, psychologists use introspection, this is when a participant describes how a task/stimulus makes them feel out loud.
Griffiths (1994) asked participants to use introspection when playing on a fruit machine
Griffiths was interested in the processes that gamblers and non-regular gamblers made
Participants were asked to ‘think aloud’ (say everything they were thinking)
They found that regular gamblers made more irrational verbalisations than non-regular gamblers (e.g., I lost because I wasn’t concentrating or this machine doesn’t like me etc)
assumption 3 -
Schemas can be described as knowledge packets of information
Schemas contain all the information you know about an object
Schemas help you to organise and interpret information and experiences
Schemas are how our mind stores information in long term memory
Schemas can change with experience. If you learn a new fact (and rehearse it, this links back to internal mental processes) then your schema will adapt
Information is consistent with a schema it is assimilated into the schema
Information is not consistent with a schema accommodation occurs and the schema has to change in order to resolve the problem
For example: using a ‘dog schema’
How do we know a dog is a dog?
How do we know on how we should behave at a library or concert?
What does a ‘typical’ robber look like?
What do we do when we enter a restaurant?
Therefore, our schemas are formed based on past experiences
There are different types of schemas:
Role schema: ideas about the behaviour that is expected from someone in a role (e.g., a doctor)
Event schema: also called scripts, contain information about what to do in a situation (e.g., what to do in a library)
Self schema: information about ourselves based on physical characteristics, personality, beliefs and values (e.g., how we view ourselves)
Schemas can stop us from learning new information- prejudice and stereotypes
Bartlett (1932) The War of the Ghosts
English participants were asked to read a Native American folk tale 'The War of the Ghost'. It was an unfamiliar story and the participants were asked to recall the story after different lengths of time
All participants changed the story to fit their own schema. The story became more English. As the lengths of time between hearing and recalling the story increased the amount of information remembered became less
People use their own schemas to help interpret and remember the world around them
The study was conducted in a laboratory so it lacks ecological validity
The halo effect suggests that if our schema for an individual contains positive impressions, e.g. the person is friendly, then we are more likely to believe they have other positive characteristics as well, e.g. they are also intelligent