THE COGNITIVE APPROACH

KEYWORD: Cognition
To know; or the mental process uses to process information
Learning Objectives
1: To know and understand the basic assumptions
of the cognitive approach
2: To know models that can be used to explain
internal mental processes
3: To be able to suggest some applications of
the cognitive approach
4: To be able to evaluate the cognitive
approach
 THE COGNITIVE APPROACH
STARTER: Rearrange the sentences below to work out the basic
assumption of the cognitive approach.

and response. Humans are information processors

and
we organise and manipulate information from the
environment.
In short, our mind is like a computer, we encode,
store and output data.
Mental processes lie between stimulus
Assumptions of the cognitive approach
 The cognitive approach was developed as a reaction
against the behaviourist stimulus-response approach.
 For cognitive psychologists, it is the events within a person
that must be studied if behaviour is to be fully understood.
 Unlike behaviourists, cognitive psychologists believe that it is
possible to study internal mental processes in an objective
way and that insight into mental processes may be inferred
from behaviour.
 The cognitive approach is concerned with how thinking
shapes our behaviour.
 Cognition means ‘knowing’ and cognitive processes refer
to the way in which knowledge is gained, used and
retained
 Cognitive psychologists explain all behaviour in terms of
thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and study how these direct our
behaviour.
 Internal mental processes
 Humans are basically seen as
information processers. The
main concern of cognitive
psychology is how information
received from our senses is
processed by the brain and
how this processing directs
how we behave. perception
attention
 The cognitive approach also memory
looks at how various cognitive language
functions work together to thinking
help us make sense of the problem
world. solving
Schemata
For example,
 Part of the mental processes identified by the
Itcognitive
has a large metal door
approach are schemata (singular:
Buttons
schema).and dials
Gets hot inside
 These are mental structures that represent an
Has hot metal rings on top
aspect of the world, such as an object or event.
It’s probably a cooker. You don’t need to have seen this
 Schemata help us to make sense of the world, by
particular cooker before to identify it. Your schema for
providing
“cooker” allowsshort
you cuts
to betoable
identifying things
to identify all that we so
cookers
longcome across
as they don’t(our building
veer too far blocks of knowledge).
from your mental
schema.
The Cognitive Approach Assumptions

IMPORTANT: Radically different to other approaches

in 2 ways

1. Cognitive approach uses a scientific approach to

measuring mental processes and use experimental
designs where variables can be tested and
controlled

2. Cognitive approach advocates the importance of

beliefs, desires and motivation in explaining
behavioural, whereas the behavioural approach
does not (we will look at this in more detail).
What do you see? Ψ
Chocolate
Sky
Person
Water
TV
Pencil
Jumper
Picture
House
Bottle
Metal
Paper clip
 What parts of the brain are associated
with these internal mental processes? Ψ
Sensation &
perception
Attention/
memory

Perception/
Centre of attention/
visual organisation/
perception language/
system memory/
personality
Can you use the pictures to explain how
humans learn?
The Computer Analogy
Computers encode, process, store and output
information
The human eye sees and encodes information
Feeds it to brain via neural pathways
Brain processes it and transforms it into a decisions
Output may be spoken, or written, or physical
information i.e. our BEHAVIOUR in relation to the
information

TASK:
The above is the MENTAL PROCESS between stimulus and response.
Draw this process into your notes using a scenario. E.g. step by step
pictures, boxes, storyboard – for example….
 The Information Processing Example

 Playing a game of tennis

Alicia sees the ball coming towards her right hand side
(encoding). She decides to play a forearm shot
(transforming the information into a decision). She then hits
the ball over the net and wins the matchpoint (output…or
ACTION).

Now do your own!

By each section be sure to say whether it is the ENCODING,
TRANSFORMATION AND OUTPUT
 ENCODING
of Transformation
OUTPUT or
of information
information using MENTAL
BEHAVIOURAL
from the response
PROCESSES
environment

The information processing model

which represents our internal mental
processes
Cognitive Approach

TRUE OR FALSE – recap on Cog App

Assumes that humans are information processors

Also referred to as the environmental processing approach

We encode and transform the data to produce output e.g. a

decision

The cognitive approach does not consider goals and plans

The Connectionist Model
To understand and react to the world around us, we build up ideas
(or NODES) of the world and then link them together to form a
SCHEMA.
KEYWORD: Schema – a mental representation of the world
This is a NODE: it is
a NEURAL idea
about a certain
stimulus.

According to Connectionists,
when all these nodes are
activated, it represents that
learned representation e.g. of
a mammal
Models to explain internal mental processes-
TASK: Use diagrams or writing to understand the models

Computational Connectionist

For this, similar to the For this, perhaps draw a

computer analogy… diagram similar to the
one before…
Practical Applications of the
Cognitive Approach
Eye Witness Testimonies

How do people process

information and then
recall information?

Police use the cognitive

approach to help eye
witnesses remember a
crime or criminal
 Applications of the approach
Topic area Application
Cognitive development Piaget proposed stages of cognitive development which reflect the
increasing sophistication of children’s thinking. The information-
processing approach sees children's minds as computers that gradually
develop in processing ability.
Mood disorders Beck’s model of depression sees faulty thinking as the cause of
depression. Ellis believes emotional and behavioural disorders develop
because of irrational beliefs and thoughts

Memory Models of memory have helped us to understand these cognitive

processes further. Knowledge of how memory works has been applied to
interviewing witnesses e.g. the cognitive interview

Education Information–processing theory has been applied to improve educational

techniques
Therapy For example, Ellis’ rational emotive therapy (RET) to restructure faulty
thinking and perceptions in depression.
 The emergence of cognitive
neuroscience
The scientific study of biological structures
that underpin cognitive processes.
 Cognitive neuroscientists study many different aspects
of human cognition, including the neural processes
underlying memory, attention, perception and
awareness.
 They are also interested in social cognition, the brain
regions involved when we interact with others
 What is also of interest is how impairments in these
regions may characterise different psychological
conditions
How are these biological structures
investigated?
 It is only in the last 20 years, with advances in brain imaging
techniques that scientists have been able to systematically
observe and describe the neurological basis of mental
processes.
 This has been possible due to the development of brain
imaging techniques such as fMRI and PET scans (more on this in
biopsychology)
 As a result of the use of sophisticated scanning techniques (to
observe functioning in specific areas) alongside the
experimental methods (to infer the processes taking place),
cognitive neuroscience is rapidly becoming the dominant
paradigm in modern psychology.
How are these biological structures
investigated?

Example of
neuroscience use for
studying cognitive
processes:
It has been possible to
work out which parts
of the brain are
involved in the
processing of words
 Strengths of cognitive approach
 It is scientific and based on carefully controlled research.
 Use of computer models helps us to understand
unobservable mental processes
 It is less deterministic than other approaches as it allows for
individuals to think before responding to the stimulus
 It has many useful applications
 It has been successfully integrated into other approaches in
order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of
some behaviours
Limitations of the cognitive approach

 The metaphor of ‘man as machine’ is seen as simplistic

and reductionist, ignoring emotional, motivational and
social factors in human behaviour
 The emphasis on laboratory experiments means that
the findings may not reflect everyday life – lacking in
ecological validity
 The approach explains how cognitive processes
happen but tends to ignore why
 Can you?

1. Explain what is meant by internal mental processes, schema,

theoretical and computer models, and cognitive neuroscience (2
marks each)
2. Outline the use of theoretical and computer models as an
explanation of mental processes (3 marks)
3. Using examples from research, explain the emergence of
cognitive neuroscience (4 marks)
4. Outline two strengths of the cognitive approach in psychology (4
marks)
5. Outline two weaknesses of the cognitive approach in psychology
(4 marks)

 Answer the ‘Check it’ questions on page 107

Essay

Describe and evaluate the cognitive approach in

psychology.

Refer to at least one other approach in your response

(12 marks)