Psychology - Cognitive approach - Assumptions

Assumptions

Assumption 1 Behaviour can be explained by mental processes

This approach sees human beings basically as information processors, where essential cognitive processes all work together to enable us to make sense of, and respond to, the world around us. Some of the most well studied cognitive processes include perception, attention, memory and language. These processes all relate to each other, and constantly work together to help individuals understand their environment. It is possible to see how these processes work together if you consider the experience of recognising a dog. When we see a dog, what enables us to know it is a dog? We have to pay attention to it, perceive its features (e.g four legs, tail, fur), search though our memory store to see if the object matches an existing…