1. Cognitive approach

2. Homework: due in 8th OctoberA
Complete the 'check it' questions on page 167, 169, 171, 173 and 177 of the digi book to test knowledge of RM so far. B
Complete the 'apply it' questions on page (ethical issues and ways of dealing with them). 
Complete the compare and contrast chart so far for the approaches that you have covered in your approaches pack C
Research pilot studies in preparation for next week's lesson - find a definition (add to glossary) and briefly explain why psychologists conduct pilot studies. 
Folder check/textbook check next Wednesday/Thursday

3. Un-jumble and reveal
You have been given the main assumptions of the behaviourist approach, SLT and Cognitive approach
Task:
Highlight in two different colours, the main assumptions of the behaviourist approach and SLT to reveal the main assumptions of the cognitive approach
Challenge: Where does the cognitive approach fall on the nature vs. nurture debate?

4. Cognitive assumptions
A person’s behaviour is determined by the way they think about the world
We can make inferences about what is going on inside someone’s head based on how they are behaving
Faulty thought processes lead to behavioural abnormalities
The human mind processes information much the same as a computer
Behaviour is influenced by the person’s schemas – a schema is a set of ideas about a particular concept

5. Cognitive assumptions
Thought processes can and should be studied scientifically. Well controlled laboratory studies can investigate what we are thinking.
Mental processes are ‘private’ and can’t be observed. Cognitive psychologists study them indirectly by making inferences about what is going on inside people’s head.
Inferences are the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour.

6. Define the key terms Inference Schema Theoretical models
Information processing (computer) model
Cognitive Neuroscience

8. ‘Time’ to Pay Attention
The key aspects covered:
The role of schemas
The role of theoretical and computer models
The emergence of cognitive neuroscience

9. ‘Time’ to Pay Attention
Task: You have 30 seconds to memorise, IN DETAIL, the picture below.

10. ‘Time’ to Draw Task: You now have 2 minutes to draw,
as accurately as possible, the
picture of the clock you just saw.

11. ‘Time’ to Pay Attention
Task: Swap drawings and rate the drawing on a scale of
1-10 (1 – not very accurate, 10 – very acute).

12. I predict that you drew the four correctly as IV rather than IIII?

13. ‘Time’ to Pay Attention
Here is the original.
How many of you drew the four correctly, as IV rather than IIII?
This is an example of a ‘schema’…
Question:
Why do you think you did this?

14. Each file in the cabinet is a schema
What is a Schema?
Schema are the mental representation of experience and knowledge and understanding
Schemas are like filing cabinets, as they organise and contain information.
Your mind
Schemas are ways we organize and store thoughts and information in our minds which are about ourselves and our world around us.
Each file in the cabinet is a schema
When we take in information we often link it with information we already know.

15. Restaurant Schema
Question: What do you think will happen if you go to a posh restaurant? How might you use a schema?
Your schema will tell you…

16. Restaurant Schema
Question: Is your schema for this restaurant the same…

17. Why do we have Schemas? They help us organise information in our mind.
Allow us to take short cuts (process information quickly) when dealing with huge amounts of information.
However, schemas distort our memory and how we interpret things…
These mental frameworks also cause us to exclude pertinent information to focus instead only on things that confirm our pre-existing beliefs and ideas. Schemas can contribute to stereotypes and make it difficult to retain new information that does not conform to our established ideas about the world

18. Different types of schemas
Role schema – Ideas about the behaviour expected from someone with a certain role.
Give an example of a role schema
Event schema – A script containing information of what happens in a certain situation.
Give an example of an event schema
Self schema - Information about ourselves based on our characteristics, beliefs and values.
Give an example of a self schema.

19. Exam focus: Explain the role of a schema in helping you make sense of the information below (2 marks)

20. Schema consolidation: Bartlett war of the ghosts
Read through the story.
Bartlett asked British participants to hear a story and reproduce it after a short time and then repeatedly over a period of months or years (serial reproduction).
The story was an unfamiliar Native American legend called “The War of the Ghosts”.  
What do you think the main findings/conclusions are?

21. Findings
The participants remembered the gist of the story (the main idea) but they changed unfamiliar elements to make sense of the story by using terms more familiar to their own cultural expectations.
The story remained a coherent whole although it was changed.
It became noticeably shorter for each reproduction. Bartlett concluded that remembering is an active process.
Memories are not copies of experience but rather ”reconstructions”.

22. Conclusions
Memory recall is influenced by our pre-existing knowledge, or our schema, which is influenced by our cultural background. 

23. Evaluation +Suggests that memory is an active reconstruction process.
+Due to the experimental design, a cause-and-effect relationship was established (high control of the independent and counfounding variables) therefore there were many black rivers
+Practical applications: people's memories have been changed in court etc.
- The results are not entirely reliable as the intervals of time at which the story had to be recalled are unknown and could have been different for each participant.
- Demand characteristics could have created bias because the participants had been told what the experiment was about, when giving their informed consent. (lack of internal validity).
- Additionally, he did not explicitly ask his participants to be as accurate as possible.

24. The role of theoretical models
These are simplified representations based on current research evidence. There are often in picture form represented by boxed and arrows that represent flow direction and stages.
Theoretical and computer models are proposed to attempt to explain and infer information about mental processes.

25. The role of computer models
The development of computers and computer programming led to a focus on the way that sensory information is passed through the system. Using a computer analogy information is passed through the senses, encoded into memory and then combined with previously stored information to complete a task.

26. Information Processing Model
Input
Processing
Output
From the environment via the senses
Info is encoded and processed eg using schema
Observable behaviour

27. Information Processing Model
Input
Processing
Output
Remember that dogs can be scared of fireworks and infer that the dog saw the firework
Hear your dog bark outside at night and see a firework
Bring the dog into the house

28. Create your own example
Input
Processing
Output
Task: Identify and explain one limitation with this analogy

29. Why are humans not identical to computers?
Too simplistic
Ignores the biological complexity of the brain
Does not consider human emotion
Does not consider motivation
Research shows we are affected by human emotion
(e.g anxiety and memory)
Difficult to objectively measure

30. Machine reductionism
Reductionist To a complex phenomenon (like the human mind and behaviour) psychologist often need to “reduce” it to it’s smallest parts. Machine reductionism Theoretical and computer models use the analogy of machine systems, and the simple components of such machines, as a means to describe and explain behaviour. This is reductionist as it ignores the complexity of human behaviour and more specifically it ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation.

31. Cognitive approach
Evaluation

32. Cognitive neuroscience Practical applications
Starter
Mental processes
Theoretical models
Computer models
Schema
Cognitive neuroscience
scientific
objective
Machine reductionist
External validity
Practical applications
Soft determinism
Individually, mind map as much as you know in relation to the Cognitive approach

33. Create your own example
Input
Processing
Output
Task: Identify and explain one limitation with this analogy

34. Why are humans not identical to computers?
Too simplistic
Ignores the biological complexity of the brain
Does not consider human emotion
Does not consider motivation
Research shows we are affected by human emotion
(e.g anxiety and memory)
Difficult to objectively measure

35. Machine reductionism
Reductionist To a complex phenomenon (like the human mind and behaviour) psychologist often need to “reduce” it to it’s smallest parts. Machine reductionism Theoretical and computer models use the analogy of machine systems, and the simple components of such machines, as a means to describe and explain behaviour. This is reductionist as it ignores the complexity of human behaviour and more specifically it ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation.

36. Cognitive neuroscience
An academic field that studies the influence of brain structures on mental processes using techniques such as brain scans.
The emergence of cognitive neuroscience occurred due to advances in brain imaging techniques such as fMRI and PET scans, which allow scientists to study the neurobiological basis of mental processes like memory.

37. The Cognitive Approach
Cognitive Neuroscience
The focus is on the biology behind the thinking
Maps human behaviour to brain function (neural connections/lobes)
Use methods such as brain scanning and brain lesioning
1970’s
Cognitive Psychology
The focus is on the thinking
Explain behaviour by looking at processes such as perception, memory and attention
Use methods such as experiments
1950’s

38. Research brain scanning techniques
Using the internet/textbooks, research Maguire’s taxi driver (2000) study.
Task:
Outline the aim, participants, and findings of his research and how it links to cognitive neuroscience.
As an extension you can research a further study into cognitive neuroscience.

39. Maguire (2000)
The aim of this study is to see if there are structural changes in the brain of people with extensive experience of spatial navigation.

40. Who
Used MRI scans on 16 male, right handed taxi drivers who had been driving for more than 1.5 years.
A comparison group of 50 healthy right handed males who were not taxi drivers.

41. Findings
There was increased grey matter in the posterior region of the right and left hippocampi of the taxi drivers.
There was a correlation in the amount of time the participant had been a taxi driver and the increase in volume in the right, posterior hippocampus.

43. Exam consolidation
Describe two main assumption of the cognitive approach (4 marks)
Challenge: how could we evaluate the cognitive approach?

44. One feature of the cognitive approach is the use of theoretical models
One feature of the cognitive approach is the use of theoretical models. Models enable the representation of complex cognitive processes so that their components can be better understood. An example of this is the multi-store model of memory which presents a picture of memory.
A second feature of the cognitive approach is schema theory. Schemas organise and interpret information in the brain (acting as a mental representation. This allows us to make sense of an often ambiguous world by “filling in the gaps” in our knowledge and thus enable us to act comfortably even when our information is incomplete.

45. First thoughts
With the person next to you, come up with one strength or one weakness of the cognitive approach

46. Extension: find out what these words mean and add to your glossary
Evaluation
In your groups on the whiteboards, complete an evaluation point for the cognitive approach being scientific
Extension: find out what these words mean and add to your glossary
Soft determinism

47. Help with evaluation: key words that you might include
highly controlled and rigorous methods
use of lab experiments
reliable, objective data.
credible scientific basis.
Cognitive Neuroscience
reliability and validity
Scientific methods

48. Evaluation: scientific approach
Cognitive Psychologists emphasise scientific methods which is a particular strength of the approach. The experimental methods use highly controlled conditions in an attempt to discover relationships between variables. These are able to provide researchers with objective evidence about how the mind works. The emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience has meant that Psychologists are now able to use technology to dramatically enhance the scientific methods used in researching cognition such as the use of PET scanning techniques to evidence the biological basis of mental processes. This means that conclusions drawn are based on more than introspection improving both the reliability and validity of the research and theory in this area.

49. However…

50. STM: Duration

51. Duration
Peterson and Peterson claim that information in the STM can disappear in less than 30 seconds if it is not rehearsed On each trial the participants saw a trigram, which consisted of three consonants (e.g. BVM, CTG) A different trigram was used for each trial. They were asked to recall each trigram after a delay of seconds: 3,6,9,12,15 or 18. Once they were shown the trigram they had to perform an interference task, which prevented repetition of the trigram in STM. They were shown a random three digit number (e.g.866, 532) and had to count backwards from it in threes. After the appropriate time delay the trigram had to be recalled.

52. Duration of STM Peterson and Peterson (1959) Watch the powerpoint
You will be presented with 3 letters
You will count backwards in threes from three numbers then recall the original

53. Practice

54. SMP

55. 395

56. Ready?

57. XTR

58. 289

60. FBW

61. 495

63. LCP

64. 987

66. GZV

67. 531

69. HSL

70. 246

72. XFT

73. 267

74. What do you think a limitation could be of testing memory this way?
Results
How many did you get right?
XTR
FBW
LCP
GZU
HSL
XFT
What do you think a limitation could be of testing memory this way?

75. A limitation of the cognitive approach is the over-reliance on laboratory-based experiments which can often lack ecological validity. For example, research examining memory often reduces complex human behaviour (memory) to a single variable for testing. Furthermore, researchers use artificial stimuli which does not necessarily reflect how we use our memory in real life. Therefore many psychologists argue that this experimentally reductionist approach overlooks a detailed understanding of human behaviour and therefore limits the generalisability of the findings to everyday human memory.

76. Evaluation: Real life application
How useful is the cognitive approach?
The cognitive approach has influenced many areas of psychology, and this is one of its greatest strengths. Within psychology, pure cognitive psychology has been useful in generating theories and research helping us gain a greater insight into how the mind works (e.g. memory). Outside of academic psychology, the cognitive approach has been useful in the real world. This is known as applied cognitive psychology, where cognitive theories are applied to a real world situation. For example…..
Research:
How has the cognitive approach been
applied in to psychopathology (e.g. depression)?

77. For example…
The Cognitive Approach to Psychopathology has helped to explain the link between abnormal behaviour and faulty thinking. For example this has helped to treat individuals suffering from depression through the use of Cognitive Behaviour therapy.

78. Evaluation: Nature vs. nurture
Task: Where do the assumptions fit on the nature vs. nurture debate
The cognitive approach does not really take the nature/nurture debate into account. While it does consider the influence of both internal and external factors on behaviour, (for example processes within the mind are “internal” and the role of experience in the formation of schemas is “external”), it fails to consider important elements of the nature/nurture debate. For example, the role of genes (nature) in human thinking is ignored, yet research into intelligence has consistently found a relationship between genes and intelligence through the use of twin studies (covered in the biological approach). Also, elements of nurture such as social and cultural factors are ignored. This stance on the nature/nurture debate is a weakness as it could be argued to not provide a full explanation.

79. Complete the hand out in your pack evaluating the cognitive approach
Next to page 25
Complete the hand out in your pack evaluating the cognitive approach

80. Discuss the Cognitive approach in psychology (12 marks)
Exam focus: plan
Discuss the Cognitive approach in psychology (12 marks)

81. Can you…
Explain what is meant by internal mental processes, schema, theoretical and computer models, and cognitive neuroscience (2 marks each)
Outline the use of theoretical and computer models as an explanation of mental processes (3 marks)
Using examples from research, explain the emergence of cognitive neuroscience(4 marks)
Outline two strengths of the cognitive approach in psychology (4 marks)
Outline two weaknesses of the cognitive approach in psychology (4 marks)