The document discusses the cognitive approach in psychology. The cognitive approach focuses on how thought processes like memory, perception, and attention affect behavior. It views human behavior as a series of responses to internal and external stimuli, and attempts to create general rules to explain human behavior. A key idea is that if our mental representations or reasoning abilities are flawed, it can lead to disordered emotions and behavior. The cognitive approach has been applied in cognitive therapies and has empirical support, but it also has limitations like being reductionist and ignoring biological factors.

1. THE COGNITIVE APPROACH

2. ‘The mental approach to human behaviour that focuses on how we think, with
the belief that such thought processes affect the way we behave’
WHAT IS THE COGNITIVE
APPROACH?

3. Behaviour is controlled by our own thought processes, as opposed to genetic
factors.
Our behaviour can be explained as a series of responses to our external stimuli,
such as our thoughts, perceptions, moods and desires
The cognitive approach attempts to create rules and explanations of human
behaviour and eventually generalize them to everyone's behaviour.
The cognitive approach is concerned with “mental” functions such as memory,
perception, attention etc. It views people as being like computers with how we
process information (e.g. input-process-output). For example, both human brains
and computers process information, store data and have input an output. This
bases the cognitive approach widely around science .
If our mental representations are inaccurate or our ways of reasoning are
inadequate then our emotions and behaviour may become disordered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz-ahJZ7r6s
KEY IDEAS

4. PIAGET
Piaget (1952) defined a schema as 'a cohesive, repeatable action sequence
possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by
a core meaning'.
BRUNER
Modes of representation are the way in which information or knowledge are
stored and encoded in memory.:
Enactive:(0 - 1 years), Iconic:(1 - 6 years), Symbolic:(7 years onwards)
KEY PSYCHOLOGISTS

5. Piaget (1973) showed that children think in considerably different ways than
adults do. This did not mean that children thought at a less intelligent degree,
or at a slower pace, they just thought differently when compared to adults.
Piaget’s work showed that children are born with a very basic genetically
inherited mental structure that evolves and is the foundation for all
subsequent learning and knowledge. He saw cognitive development as a
progressive reorganization of mental processes resulting from maturation and
experience.
1.Sensory-Motor Stage
2.Preoperational stage
3.Stage of Concrete Operations
4.Stage of Formal Operations
KEY STUDIES

6. The cognitive approach looks at the thought process which were ignored by
other psychologist. The process such as memory, attention and perception
have been studied as they have an effect on out behaviour. The research by
Loftus and Palmer (1974) has shown that memories on eye witness testimony
are unreliable.
The cognitive approach has also been applied to cognitive therapies such as
Rational Emotive Therapy. This therapy changes irrational thoughts to
rational ones and the success rate is 90%.
The cognitive approach also has many empirical (knowledge comes through
the senses around you) studies support its theories.
STRENGTHS

7. A weakness of the cognitive approach is that it is reductionist as it reduces
human behaviour to an individual process such as memory attention. It is a
weakness as the human brain works together and not in individual parts.
Another weakness is that the cognitive approach is too mechanical, as it
compares computers to the human brain. This is a weakness as the human
brain is more complex e.g. human feel emotions.
The cognitive approach also ignores biology e.g. testosterone and the
experiments have low ecological validity.
LIMITATIONS