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Summary AS psychology - cognitive psychology
AS psychology OCR - A fully comprehensive set of notes on cognitive psychology.
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Cognitive psychologyThe cognitive approach is interested in mental processes such as perception, memory, language and
thinking.
Main assumptions
Cognitive processes actively organise and manipulate the information an individual receives,
people do not passively respond to their environment.
Humans, like computers, are information processors. The brain receives, interprets and
responds to information in a similar way to a computer.
Information received form our senses is processed by the brain; this processing directs how
we behave or at least justifies how we behave the way we do – mental processes shape our
behaviour.
These processes can be modelled and tested scientifically.
Strengths and weaknesses of the cognitive approach
Strengths
Good scientific value – extraneous variables controlled, laboratory experiments, infer cause-
and-effect confidently.
Useful applications – greater understanding of human behaviour, Loftus and Palmer changed
the judicial system (leading questions)
Weaknesses
Computer analogy breaks down – we can only infer from behaviour ‘output’ our cognitions
unlike a computer where we can see the processes (are we really testing memory or
something else?)
Reductionism – ignores many other aspects such as emotions, instinct and logic these key
parts are neglected and cannot be explained by the cognitive approach. We do not process
in isolation but in social context, influenced by people around us.
Context:
Memory – it is a fundamental part of our lives, it tells us who we are and helps us make sense of the
situations we are in.
3 stages of memory:
Encoding – transforming incoming information into a form that can be stored in memory.
Storage – holding information in memory until it is needed.
Retrieval – locating information in memory and getting it out so it can be used.
Atkinson and Shiffrin – 1968 – multi-store model of memory (distinct stores of memory)
MEMORY STORE DURATION CAPACITY
SENSORY Few seconds Unlimited
SHORT TERM MEMORY 18 seconds 7±2
LONG TERM MEMORY Lifetime infinite
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