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APPROACHES- cognitive psychology - Coggle Diagram
APPROACHES- cognitive psychology
what does the cognitive approach suggest?
behaviour is the result of information processing. thoughts can be conscious and non-conscious, these thoughts pass through stages called
internal mental proceses
mental processes are information processing completed by the brain, the processing can be compared to the processing of a computer
models
(like computer models) are used to provide testable theories about mental processing and these can be studied scientifically and inferences can be made
schema
are mental representations of experience and expectation about the world and objects, this is developed from experience with these objects
inferences
- internal mental processes are very closely looked at by cognitive psychologists but they cant be directly observed. so an inference goes beyong immediate evidence that has been observed to make assumptions about the underlying structure of mental processes
cognitive and biological proceses can be integrated leading to
cognitive neuroscience
as a way forward in understanding human behaviour. this relates mental processes to brain structure
models
computer model
this is how we can think of the brain system as analogous to a computer. CPU= brain, Coding= turning stimuli into thoughts, Memory stores= specialist memory areas in the brain, Output= behavioural responses
theoretical models
= they're like flow chart models used in computer programming and are a representation of how information flows and is processed through a mental system like memory or attention. A good example of this is the multi-store model of memory
the
purpose
of models is to produce testable theories that can be studied with scientific methods and inferences made from experiments
schema
schema
= cognitive frameworks formed from prior experience that helps us navigate life easily. helps us organise the large amount of new information that we experience every moment. I.E a chair. if we had to rediscover how to use a chair every time it looked slightly different then we wouldnt be able to action as quickly as we can, so we use assimulation
assimulation=
when new information is added to an existing schema (like adding the new design of chair to a chair schema)
accomodation=
when an old schema has to be adapted or a new schema has to be created
piaget=
he first used the term schema in psychology and suggested that as children develop they acquire new schema through interaction with the world and others
schemas can be:
self schemas= the ways that we view ourselves
role schemas= how someone, like a teacher, should behave
event schemas= schemas about certain events, like we know what the environment of a library should be like
inferences
inference=
after observing repeated instances of behaviour to a stimulus, psychologists go beyong the immediate evidence to make assumptions about the structure of underlying mental processes that can be directly observed
what is being inferred would be assumed on the basis of what is measured
cognitive neuroscience
cognitive neuroscience
= investigates how cognition is produced by the interaction of neyural mechanisms, brain structure and chemistry is a part of neuroscience
functional neuroimaging=
FMRI/PET scans are used to investigate brain activity while engaged in various cognitive tasks to see the interaction between separate brain regions
clinical case studies=
brain damaged patients with cognitive defacits compared to healthy brains are very useful in showing how some aspects of cognition are separate
brain mapping=
these techniques have been used to provide a map of the brain, showing localised functional sreas for memory, language and a range of individual tasks
applications=
identifying areas associated with memory, aging, psychopathology and language can help develop treatments. these findings can be used in the development of AI.
Evaluating the cognitive approach
NEGATIVE- the studies done are usually in highly controlled environments (memory studies) that might not be generalisable to everyday uses of memory, due to the experimental tasks lacking mundane realism
NEGATIVE- inferences are somewhat unscientific. this is because they cant be directly tested/observed and therefore inferences can be mistaken
evaluating using issues and debates
POSITIVE- the cognitive approach is an example of soft determinism. thoughts are influenced by previous experience (schemas) and brain structure, but conscious thought can override as an expression of free will. This is good because it doesnt lead people to beloeve they have no control over their behaviour
NEGATIVE- machine reductionism. this is because it describes human thinking as processing like a computer. this doesnt explain human irrationality in many decisions and the role of emotions
interactionalist debate. the inheritance of general brain structure leads to the development of mental processes however the development of schema is down to our experiences within the environment
NEG/POS- cognitive psychologists use large scale experiments to make general rules of human behaviour so its nomothetic however, they do unusual case studies of people with brain injuries to make suggestions of the impact brain structure has on internal mental processes
POSITIVE- the high level of control/objectivity in research is scientific. the use of models for ease of understanding has helped the development of neuroscience and other applications
NEGATIVE- individual mental processes such as attention are seen as distinct, however there is little explanation as to how these work together
NEGATIVE- reliability is questionable due to the use of self report as a method of data collection