Cognitive approach

Assumptions:

• Internal mental processes can and should be studied scientifically.
• Investigated areas such as memory, perception and thinking.
• Study the processes indirectly by making inferences about what is going on in the mind on the basis of behaviour.

Theoretical and computer models:

• Information processing approach - suggests that information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence of stages that includes input, storage and retrieval, as in the mulit-store model.
• Computer models - the mind is compared to a computer by suggesting there are similarities in the way information is processed. Central processing unit = brain. Coding = turning information into useable format. 'Stores' - where the information is kept.

Schema:

• Cognitive processing can be affected by a person's beliefs and expectations (schema).
• Schema = packages of ideas and information developed through experience. Act as a mental framework for the interpretation of information.
• Babies are born with a simple motor schema for innate behaviours such as sucking and grasping.
• Schema become more detailed and sophisticated with age.
• Allows people to process information quickly and prevents them from being overwhelemed by environmental stimuli.
• May distort interpretations of sensory information.

Emergence of cognitive neuroscience:

• Scientific study of the influence of brain structures…