CS2.

1 Cognitive Area

Classic Study: Loftus and Palmer

Contemporary Study: Grant et al
Key Theme: Memory
 Lesson Objectives
• Identify how the cognitive approach explains
behaviour.
• Outline the Principles and Concepts of the
cognitive approach.
• Apply the cognitive approach to key cognitive
issues.
• Draw the Queen side of an old school 5 pound
note
• What does this tell us about human memory?
 Cognitive Explanations
• Cognitive: behaviour is caused by thoughts
and the way we process information. The
mind is like a computer with, inputs, process
and outputs.

• How does the biological area explain

behaviour. Use two sentences:
• Biological:
Cognitive Area Principles and Concepts

Cognitive Principles and Concepts

• Mental processes determine behaviour, not
just environment.
• Human mind is like a computer processor.
• Psychology should be studied scientifically.
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Mental processes determine behaviour, not
just environment
• Which way do you see the ballerina spinning?
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Mental processes determine behaviour, not
just environment

Input Process Output

Stimuli Mental Event Response
Environment (Can be studied) Behaviour
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Mental processes determine behaviour, not just
environment
• Can explain the differences between people.

Stressful Focus on Stressed

event negatives behaviour

Stressful Focus on Coping

event positives behaviour
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Mental processes determine behaviour, not just
environment
• Can explain similarities between people.

Lack of
Seeing a 5 Poor
attention to
pound note recollection
detail
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Human mind is like a computer processor
• Information is made available by the
environment (vision, sound, etc). It is inputted
into us through our senses.
• We then process and alter the information,
like a computer programme.
• We then have different outputs and
behaviours, depending on the programme.
• How is the human mind
like a computer?
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Human mind is like a computer processor
• The computer helped cognitive psychologists
as an analogy for how the mind works.
• Humans are information processors, just like
computers.
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Human mind is like a computer processor
• How did computers help cognitive psychologists
understand people:
• Include: Brain, Hardware, Software, Mind, Analogy
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Psychology should be studied scientifically
• Science is a method of discovering truth.
– It involves discovering objective facts, not
subjective opinion.
– It tries to establish cause and effect, measuring
differences with quantitative data.
– It creates control conditions to test hypotheses
and theories.
– It creates replicable studies so others can test.
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Psychology should be studied scientifically
• When people originally studied the mind they were heavily
biased.
• There was lots of subjective interpretation and opinion
pretending to be fact.
• Psychologists had different ways of trying to be scientific:
– Biological psychologists had to wait for objective machines and
techniques to measure physiology.
– Behaviourists tried to solve this problem by explaining behaviour
without thoughts, just focusing on behaviour.
– Cognitive psychologists believe you can explain thoughts whilst
still being scientific, using lab experiments, quantitative data and
establishing cause and effect.
 Cognitive Principles and Concepts
Cognitive Principles and Concepts
• Mental processes determine behaviour, not just
environment.
• Human mind is like a computer processor.
• Psychology should be studied scientifically.

• Biological Principles and Concepts:

–1
–2
–3
• Scientific controlled study into memory.

• IV will be...

• DV will be number of items recalled...

 House, chair,
pencil, phone...

Input Process Output

Information Attention Recall
Stimuli Memory Behaviour
 Question times
• How many people were at the bus stop?
• How many were wearing sunglasses?
• How many were checking their phones?
• How many were sitting down?
• How many had a suitcase with them?
• What colour was the sign behind them?
• What colour was the woman's dress?
 Cognitive Key terms
Match the key term to the definition:
1. Remembering an event or detail
• Memory: that was not experienced.
• Eyewitness 2. Stimuli from the environment that
testimony: makes it easier to recall information.
• Attention: 3. Information is easier to remember if
it is recalled in the same
• Context environment as it was learned in.
dependent 4. Recalled information about a
memory: specific event for official purposes.
• Reconstructed 5. The process of selecting and
memory: rejecting specific information.
• Memory cues: 6. The process of storing and retrieving
information.
 Cognitive Key Theme
• The two aspects of memory we will be looking
at are:
– Loftus and Palmer: the effect of information after
an event to reconstruct and distort a memory.

– Grant: the effect of context on improving memory

 Cognitive and Debates
• What position do you think cognitive will take
on the reductionism/holism debate and why:

• Define reductionism in two sentences:

• Define holism in two sentences:

A researcher is looking into whether the way people respond to
violence affects how much it affects them. He exposes participant to a
violent incident, then makes some participants contemplate seeking
revenge and other ignore the violent incident. He then measures each
of the participants problem solving ability.

• How does the cognitive area explain behaviour (2 marks)

• Explain why this article can be viewed as being relevant
to cognitive psychology. (4)
– P: Identify a principles or concepts of biological psychology.
– E: Explain (in detail) the principle or concept.
– E: Gives examples (in detail) of the principle or concept in the
article.