Evaluation of the cognitive approach

Mediational processes:

Focus on the important processes that can occur between stimulus and response. Mediational processes, such as perception and memory, can affect how we respond to the world around us. In comparison to the behaviourist approach who did not attempt to investigate this. This has helped explain practical elements of human behaviour, such as memory.

Important contributions:

Helpful in the field of therapy, such as CBT, to successfully treat disorders. Also, used in developmental psychology, such as Piagets different stages of children development, which has been used in school to help teach children in a way that they understand. Another area is memory, the use EWT and leading questions(Loftus) has helped interviewing techniques.

Scientific approach:

It is based on objective and controlled scientific research. Uses labatory conditions and used brain scanning techniques to pin point the exact locations that effect our behaviour. Because casual relationships can be made we can also make predictions using cognitive approaches.

Nature and nurture:

Considers the influence of both, such as processes and schemas, but it fails to consider important elements of nature and nurture. For example, genes is ignored, yet research has shown it can influence our cognition, such as intelligence. It also ignores important social and cultural factors such as gender and culture on development.

Determinist approach:

Schemas is one of the main assumptions of the cognitive approach. People aquire these through social interactions. These could be stereotypes about people and situations, these stereotypes determine the way we interpret a situation. It is out of our control.

Mechanistic approach:

Portrays human behaviour as being that of a machine. Ignores social and emotional factors, for example the thinking pattern of a depressed person may be changed but their situation that caused it has not. (could come back). Ignores emotions that effect us in comparison to computors, therefore our behaviour is not a predictable as it might be changed due to our emotions.