Cognitive Approach | AQA Psychology | A-level

Summary

This video script explores cognitive psychology, focusing on internal mental processes like perception, memory, and problem-solving. It introduces the concept of schemas, which shape our understanding and predictability of the world, and discusses how they can both assist and mislead our interpretations. The script also covers cognitive neuroscience, linking mental processes to brain structures, and touches on the implications for mental health and behavior. Interactive experiments, such as the Stroop effect and memory capacity tests, are used to illustrate these concepts.

Takeaways

• 🐯 **Hidden Tiger**: The script mentions a hidden tiger, which is a test of perception to see if the viewer can spot it.
• 👤 **Who Do You See Here**: It asks who the viewer sees in the video, which is Tom, the psychology teacher.
• 🔵 **Squares or Circles**: There's a question about whether the viewer sees squares or circles, testing visual perception.
• 🎥 **Introduction to Cognitive Psychology**: Tom introduces cognitive psychology, focusing on internal mental processes.
• 🧠 **Internal Mental Processes**: The script explains internal mental processes like perception, memory, language, problem-solving, and attention.
• 🤔 **Cognitive vs. Behavioral Psychology**: It contrasts cognitive psychology with behavioral psychology, discussing the importance of studying mental processes.
• 🕒 **Stroop Effect**: The script includes a mini-experiment on the Stroop effect to demonstrate cognitive processes.
• 🔢 **Short-Term Memory Test**: There's a test of short-term memory capacity, referencing George Miller's 'magical number seven'.
• 👀 **Attention and Perception**: The script discusses how attention and schemas can affect perception and memory.
• 💡 **Schemas**: It explains what schemas are and how they help process information but can also lead to errors.
• 🧬 **Cognitive Neuroscience**: The script introduces cognitive neuroscience, linking mental processes to brain structures.

Q & A

What does the term 'cognitive' mean in psychology?

In psychology, the term 'cognitive' refers to mental processes or thinking. Cognitive psychologists are interested in studying internal mental processes and how they are involved in behavior.

What are internal mental processes?

Internal mental processes are private actions or processes of the mind that mediate between stimulus and response. They include perception, memory, language, problem-solving, and attention.

What is the role of schemas in cognitive psychology?

Schemas are organized units of knowledge that we have developed through experiences. They help us make sense of the world, predict what will happen, and know how to respond appropriately. They act as a framework for interpreting information.

How do cognitive psychologists study mental processes scientifically?

Cognitive psychologists study mental processes indirectly using inferences. They draw conclusions about the way mental processes work, which cannot be directly observed, by making assumptions based on behavior that can be directly observed.

What is the Stroop Effect and how does it relate to cognitive psychology?

The Stroop Effect is a cognitive phenomenon where the naming of the color of a word is interfered with when the word itself is a different color. It demonstrates that our mind has a preference for processing words over the color of the word.

What is the capacity of short-term memory according to George Miller's theory?

According to George Miller's theory, the average capacity for short-term memory is between five and nine items, which he referred to as 'seven plus or minus two'.

How can cognitive psychologists use computer models to understand mental processes?

Cognitive psychologists use computer models to represent mental processes by comparing the mind's operations to a computer's. This involves inputting information, processing it, storing it, and then retrieving it.

What is cognitive neuroscience and how does it relate to cognitive psychology?

Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes. It combines cognitive psychology's focus on mental processes with the biological processes of the brain.

How can schemas lead to errors in perception?

Schemas can sometimes distort our interpretation of sensory information because our expectations and beliefs can influence what we perceive. This can lead to errors when our schemas do not match the actual sensory input.

What is the multi-store model of memory and how does it explain the process of memory?

The multi-store model of memory suggests that there are separate stores for sensory, short-term, and long-term memory. Information goes through these stores in a linear pattern, from input through senses to short-term memory with attention, then to long-term memory with rehearsal.

How can cognitive psychologists test their theoretical models?

Cognitive psychologists can test their theoretical models through various research methods, including lab-based experiments, case studies, and brain scanning technology, which allow them to observe the relationship between mental processes and brain activity.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

This paragraph introduces the viewer to a perception test, hinting at the cognitive approach in psychology. The narrator, Tom, a psychology teacher, explains that cognitive psychology is about understanding internal mental processes like perception, memory, language, problem-solving, and attention. It contrasts with behaviorism, which disregards the study of internal mental processes due to their invisibility. Cognitive psychology, emerging in the 1960s, uses inferences to study these processes indirectly through observable behaviors. Tom invites viewers to conduct mini-experiments to understand inferences better, such as the Stroop effect, demonstrating how cognitive psychologists use scientific methods to investigate the mind.

05:02

🧠 Cognitive Psychology's Approach to Memory

Tom conducts an experiment to test viewers' short-term memory capacity by asking them to recall lists of numbers. He references George Miller's 'The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two,' which posits that the average person can hold between five and nine items in short-term memory. The paragraph also touches on the idea of change blindness, where viewers might not notice changes in the video, such as Tom's t-shirt color or a toy's appearance, illustrating the limits of attention. The concept of computer models in cognitive psychology is introduced, comparing the mind to a computer that processes information through input, processing, storage, and retrieval.

10:03

📚 The Multi-Store Model of Memory

The paragraph delves into the multi-store model of memory, which includes sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. It explains how information moves through these stores, with attention being key to transferring information from sensory to short-term memory. Rehearsal is highlighted as necessary for information to reach long-term memory. The paragraph also discusses how schemas, or organized units of knowledge, influence perception and memory, using the example of a restaurant date to illustrate how expectations shape our interpretation of experiences.

15:05

👥 Schemas and Their Impact on Perception

This section explores how schemas can both aid and mislead our perception. It uses the example of an ambiguous image that can be seen as either a young woman or an old lady, showing how expectations influence perception. The paragraph also discusses how schemas can cause oversights, as in the case of not noticing the word 'thus' in a sentence due to our reading expectations. It extends the discussion to the serious implications of schemas in eyewitness testimonies and the reconstruction of memories, which can be influenced by our expectations.

20:12

🧬 Cognitive Neuroscience and Its Applications

The final paragraph introduces cognitive neuroscience, which studies how brain structures influence mental processes. It mentions historical cases like Paul Broca's findings on speech production and modern techniques like fMRI that allow for real-time observation of brain activity during mental tasks. Examples include studies differentiating brain activity during episodic and semantic memory recall and a study measuring brain activity related to love. The paragraph concludes by encouraging viewers to test their understanding of cognitive psychology and explore related topics like depression from a cognitive perspective.

Keywords

💡Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on internal mental processes such as perception, memory, language, problem solving, and attention. In the video, cognitive psychology is discussed as a field that studies thinking and mental processes, with an emphasis on how these processes are involved in behavior. The video explores various aspects of cognitive psychology, such as the study of schemas, theoretical models, and cognitive neuroscience.

💡Internal Mental Processes

Internal mental processes refer to the private actions or processes of the mind that occur between stimulus and response. These include activities like perception, memory, language, problem solving, and attention. The video explains how cognitive psychologists are interested in studying these processes, which mediate between what we experience and how we respond.

💡Schema

A schema is an organized unit of knowledge that helps us make sense of the world and predict what will happen. In the video, schemas are described as frameworks that allow us to interpret information based on our past experiences. They can be useful for processing information quickly but can also lead to errors if they distort our interpretation of sensory information.

💡Stroop Effect

The Stroop Effect is a cognitive phenomenon where the naming of the color of a word is interfered with by the meaning of the word. The video uses the Stroop Effect to illustrate inferences in cognitive psychology, showing how cognitive psychologists use observable behavior to make conclusions about mental processes.

💡Inference

Inference in cognitive psychology refers to drawing a conclusion about the way mental processes work based on assumptions made from observable behavior. The video explains inferences as a key method in cognitive psychology, where scientists infer mental processes indirectly by observing behavior.

💡Cognitive Neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of how mental processes relate to brain structures. The video discusses how cognitive neuroscience combines the study of mental processes with the biological processes of the brain to understand how different cognitive functions are linked to specific brain areas.

💡Theoretical Models

Theoretical models in cognitive psychology are simplified representations of mental processes based on current research. The video mentions the multi-store model of memory as an example of a theoretical model, which attempts to show how memories are processed through different types of memory stores.

💡Short-term Memory

Short-term memory is a component of cognitive psychology that refers to the temporary storage and manipulation of information. The video conducts an experiment to measure the capacity of short-term memory, referencing George Miller's 'magical number seven plus or minus two' theory, which suggests that the average capacity for short-term memory is between five and nine items.

💡Attention

Attention in cognitive psychology is the process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things. The video discusses how attention is a limited resource and how easily schemas can influence our behavior, affecting what we pay attention to and what we don't see.

💡Perception

Perception in cognitive psychology is the process of interpreting sensory information. The video explains how perception can be influenced by our schemas and expectations, leading to potential distortions in how we interpret what we see or hear.

💡Memory

Memory in cognitive psychology refers to the processes by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. The video explores different types of memory, such as sensory, short-term, and long-term memory, and discusses how these are processed and can be influenced by cognitive processes.

Highlights

Introduction to the cognitive approach in psychology.

Definition of cognitive psychology as the study of internal mental processes.

Explanation of the role of schema in cognitive psychology.

Discussion on the use of theoretical and computer models in understanding cognitive processes.

Introduction to cognitive neuroscience and its emergence.

Description of mental processes as private actions or processes of the mind.

Critique of behaviorist views on the study of mental processes.

The development of the cognitive approach as a response to behaviorism.

Explanation of the term 'inference' in relation to the cognitive approach.

Use of scientific methods like lab experiments to investigate the human mind.

Introduction to the Stroop effect experiment to illustrate inferences.

Findings that it takes longer to process words based on color rather than meaning.

Explanation of how the Stroop effect suggests the mind's preference for processing words.

Experiment on the capacity of short-term memory using a list of numbers.

George Miller's 'Magical Number Seven' theory on short-term memory capacity.

Discussion on how attention and schemas influence perception and memory.

Example of how schemas can affect eyewitness testimony.

Introduction to the multi-store model of memory.

Explanation of how schemas can be useful but also lead to errors.

Discussion on the role of schemas in mental health, particularly in depression.

Introduction to cognitive neuroscience and its focus on the influence of brain structures on mental processes.

Examples of cognitive neuroscience research, including the love competition at Stanford University.

Conclusion and call to action to explore more about cognitive psychology.

Transcripts

here's a perception test are you ready

first can you see the hidden tiger

second who do you see here

third

squares or circles

and lastly

read this sentence

hey everyone welcome back to barity mind

my name is tom and i'm a teacher of

psychology and on this channel we

explore the world of psychology so that

we can better understand ourselves and

others in this video we're going to

explore the cognitive approach in

psychology and specifically the study of

internal mental processes the role of

schema the use of theoretical and

computer models and the emergence of

cognitive neuroscience

the term cognitive has come to mean

mental processes or in other words

thinking and so cognitive psychologists

are interested in studying internal

mental processes and how mental

processes are involved in behavior

internal mental processes can be defined

as private actions or processes of the

mind that mediate that come between

stimulus and response these mental

processes include things like perception

memory language problem solving and

attention so let's see how well you pay

attention in this video behavioral

psychologists such as bf skinner who

we've explored in other videos argued

that because our mental processes are

not something that can be directly

observed then we cannot study them

scientifically however the cognitive

approach who developed in the 1960s as a

response to the behaviorist's failure to

acknowledge mental processes argued that

mental processes can and should be

studied scientifically they argue that

this can be done indirectly using

inferences the word inference is a key

term to understand in relation to the

cognitive approach an inference is

drawing a conclusion about the way

mental processes work which we cannot

directly observe

by making assumptions based on behavior

that we can directly observe cognitive

psychologists use scientific methods

such as lab experiments to investigate

the human mind so let's conduct a couple

of mini experiments together to

illustrate inferences first up the

stroop effect you're going to need the

stopwatch on your phone for this in a

moment i'm going to put a list of words

on the screen when i say go you start

your timer your task is simply to say

the word aloud and not the colour

for example if you see this you would

say blue green orange aloud just like i

did you've got to complete the whole

list of words as fast as you can and you

press stop when you said the last word

just to be clear you are to say the word

not the colour of the word here's your

first list timer at the ready

go

easy right

make sure to write down somewhere how

long it took you now let's do that again

with another list of words but this time

you have to say the color of the word

not the word for example if you see this

you would say red blue green allowed

just like i did got it

timer at the ready go

so how did you do

which list did you complete the quickest

researchers have found again and again

that it takes people on average longer

to say the second list than the first

list now let's think about this in terms

of inferences

what can we conclude from these findings

about our mind we cannot directly

observe the mental processes that are

going on in your mind but we can observe

your behavior in this case the

observable behavior was the time taken

to complete the task there is no

subjective opinion here this is an

objective measurement so what conclusion

can we draw about your mind based on

your observable behavior

it appears to suggest that our mind has

a preference for the processing of words

over the colour of the word why might

this be well what if i told you that a

seven-year-old can complete the second

task faster than both you and me what

might that suggest the strip effect

suggests that our mind wants to

understand words first and this makes

sense given the education we've had from

very ill on in life emphasizing the

importance and the priority of reading

and that's why younger children who have

had less reading experience can complete

the task faster let's do another

experiment this time into the capacity

of your short-term memory i'm going to

present a list of numbers on the screen

which you need to read and then when and

only when i make them disappear from the

screen you can pause the video to try

and recall them by writing them down i

will then present you with another list

of numbers we're going to do this eight

times and at the end i'll reveal all the

numbers so you can check how many you

got right and you've got to really

concentrate for this so pen and paper

ready or phone ready here we go

make a note of where you made your first

mistake so this task is designed to

measure the capacity of your short-term

memory we cannot directly observe your

memory at work but we can do is observe

your behavior in terms of how many

numbers you correctly recalled and then

see at what point you started to make

errors from this we can draw a

conclusion about how much your short

term memory can hold george miller in

1956 published a paper called the

magical number seven plus or minus two

in this paper miller proposed a theory

as the name suggests that the average

capacity for short-term memory was

between five and nine items or what he

called seven plus or minus two

let me know if any of you managed to

score higher than seven in the comments

below now earlier in the video i said

that we would see how well you were

going to pay attention since i said that

several things have changed during this

video and i wonder how many of them

you've noticed for example i've changed

my t-shirt three times i started in a

white t-shirt and somehow i'm in this

one and maybe some of you noticed that

because you were looking out for it but

what else did you see change did you

notice how the color of the light behind

me swapped over

and what about the toy panda on the

bookshelf over here who's become peter

rabbit then at some point in the video a

large toy giraffes appeared nibbling on

the leaves of my plant

when did that appear

what we don't pay attention to

we don't see and what about that hidden

tiger image i showed you at the

beginning did you see it take a look at

the stripes on the tiger

it says

the hidden tiger

right in front of your eyes but because

you weren't looking for it

you couldn't see it

the development of the first computers

gave cognitive psychologists a metaphor

for describing mental processes mental

processes are regarded as information

processing with the mind operating in a

similar way to a computer computer

models refer to the process of using

computer analogies as a representation

of human thinking the computer model

allows mental processes to be thought of

in terms of inputting information

processing that information then storing

it and finally retrieving or downloading

the information in human terms

information is input through our senses

which is then processed by the brain it

can then be stored in our memory and can

then be retrieved from memory through

either recall or recognition

additionally cognitive psychologists use

theoretical models the word theory

simply means a system of ideas intended

to explain something so a cognitive

psychologists create models that try to

explain the way our mental processes

work

these models are simplified

representations based on current

research theoretical models often show

the stages of a particular mental

process as mental processes cannot be

directly seen models help to represent

different aspects of the cognitive

system for example here is a famous

model relating to memory it's called the

multi-store model isn't this the most

beautiful model you have ever seen this

model tries to show how memories are

processed as the name suggests the

multi-star model proposes that there are

multiple or separate stores for three

different types of memory sensory

short-term memory and long-term memory

and that information goes through each

of these stores in a linear pattern

notice from this model how you have the

computer model idea of input process and

output

this model suggests that memory enters

through our senses and then he's passed

to our short term memory but this only

happens when you pay attention then when

information is rehearsed we can

temporarily keep it in our minds for a

short period of time

then for it to go to long-term memory

the information needs further rehearsal

and then if we got asked about that

information in an exam for example we

would then retrieve that information

from long-term memory too short to

memory to be temporarily used to answer

the question for example consider the

stroop effect we talked about earlier

you may have never heard of that before

but through this video information is

coming through your eyes and ears if you

are paying attention to the video this

information would then have gone to your

short-term memory which you would have

needed to complete the streep effect

task at the end of this video they're

going to be some questions to help you

check your understanding which is a

great way to not only see if the

information has gone into your long-term

memory but also a great way to

strengthen and consolidate your

understanding of the streep effect

having theoretical models allows

psychologists to provide testable

theories about mental processes and

these can be studied scientifically lots

of research has been done to test the

accuracy of the multistar model to find

out how well it explains memory and

since then newer models have been

proposed that have improved our

understanding

now a fascinating aspect to our mental

processes relates to the role of schemas

mental processes like perception and

memory can often be affected by our

expectations and beliefs

schemers are organized units of

knowledge that we have developed through

experiences they help us to make sense

of the world so that we can predict what

is going to happen and know how to

respond appropriately they're a

framework through which you and i can

interpret information let's imagine a

young man is on a date with his

girlfriend and he's taking her out to a

restaurant can you think of everything

that is going to happen from the moment

the girl arrives outside the restaurant

to the moment they sit down at the table

what do you expect to happen well

because he's a classy guy he opens the

door for her of course then as soon as

they enter the waiter arrives and asks

have you booked and because he's a

gentleman of course he's booked the

waiter then shows them to the table and

being the classic guy that he is he

pulls out the chair for her the waiter

then asks if there's anything they would

like to drink before giving them each a

menu ladyfirst of course and explains

the specials for today notice how you

and i have a schema for a restaurant we

know what to expect because we have

built up through experience an organized

unit of knowledge specifically for

restaurants now let me ask you this is

mcdonald's a restaurant well technically

they call themselves a restaurant but we

all know that mcdonald's is different

from your typical restaurant i mean can

you imagine entering mcdonald's and

standing at the door until a waiter

comes to ask if you've booked and then

when you walk over to the table you go

to pull the chair out for your

girlfriend and you can't because

someone's nailed it to the floor now as

you have probably begun to appreciate

schemers can be very useful they enable

us to process lots of information

quickly and this is useful as a sort of

mental shortcut that prevents us from

being overwhelmed by environmental

stimuli they work on the basis that we

try and process stimuli in the simplest

and most economical route possible

schemas also help us predict what will

happen based on our past experiences

which also helps make life simpler can

you imagine not having a schema for a

restaurant every time you turn up you've

got to figure out what the protocol is

however schemas do sometimes have their

downside this is because they can often

distort our interpretation of sensory

information research into perception has

found that participants interpretation

of what they may hear or see is

influenced by their expectations for

example have another look at the picture

i showed you at the start

did you see a young woman or an old lady

researchers found that if you are shown

images associated with a young woman

before seeing this image you

unsurprisingly see a young woman but the

reverse is true if images associated

with an old woman are presented how you

perceive sensory information can be

influenced by your expectations for

another example do you remember what

that sentence said that i showed you at

the start of the video

want another look

now what did it say did you notice the

two thus

if you didn't that's because you have a

schema for what a sentence should look

like a set of expectations based on your

previous experiences of reading

sentences that helps you to predict what

is there and speeds up your reading

ability however the downside to this is

that you can miss things that are right

in front of your eyes in plain sight

this can be a very serious problem when

it comes to eyewitness testimony when we

recall events we've witnessed we are not

simply rewinding the video in our mind

and pressing play memories work by being

reconstructed in our minds and during

this reconstruction sometimes they are

influenced by our schemas our

expectations of events check out the

video where we evaluate the cognitive

approach to see how this knowledge has

been applied in order to improve the way

the police conduct interviews schemers

can also have an impact on an

individual's mental health where we can

develop a negative schema about

ourselves which is one part of albert

beck's theory of depression we've

explored this in videos on the topic of

psychopathology where we looked at

cognitive explanations of depression

i'll link that video in the description

below if you want to check that out

we can develop our understanding of

human behaviour further by combining

cognition our mental processes with

biological processes this brings us to

cognitive neuroscience cognitive

neuroscience is the scientific study of

the influence of brain structures on

mental processes

the word neuro relates to the nervous

system particularly the brain so

cognitive neuroscience looks at the

possibility of how mental processes

relate to brain structures trying to

figure out which parts of the brain may

be involved in specific cognitive mental

processes has somewhat of a history in

psychology for example in the 1960s

french physician paul brucker conducted

a case study of a patient called louis

victor laborn otherwise known as tan

because tan was the only word he could

clearly pronounce this patient had lost

the ability to produce speech but had no

problems hearing and comprehending

speech after tan died broca conducted a

post-mortem examination of his brain and

discovered a lesion in the left frontal

lobe broker discovered this also in a

number of other patients which led to

the conclusion that the specific area of

the brain must be responsible for speech

production linking the cognitive mental

process of language with a biological

structure with the relatively recent

development of technology particularly

with respect to brain scanning

techniques psychologists have the

ability to explore cognitive

neuroscience like never before for

example fmri machines can observe the

activity of the brain at the same time

as someone is performing a mental

process the famous memory researcher

endl tolving reported that data from

studies that use pet scans to monitor

the blood flow of the brain found that

when participants thought of episodic

memories these are personal

autobiographical memories such as what

you did on your birthday last year a

different part of the brain was

activated compared to when participants

thought of semantic memories and these

are fact-based memories with no personal

reference such as the capital of

sweden's stockholm this nicely related

the different types of long-term memory

to different biological structures for

another rather fun example researchers

at stanford university conducted what

they called the love competition where

they invited different people of varying

ages to think about the people they most

love in the world whilst their brain was

being scanned in an fmri machine they

were able to identify which individuals

loved more deeply in comparison to the

others by measuring the level of

activity in the dopamine serotonin and

oxytocin pathways in the brain linking

an emotion to a biological process it's

a fun video i'll put a link to that in

the description too so you can go and

check it out if you want and a quick

side note here you can see from the

examples we've covered that cognitive

psychologists can use a range of

research methods to study human behavior

this includes lab-based experiments such

as those researchers conduct into their

stroop effect or the capacity of

short-term memory they can also conduct

case studies which are in-depth analysis

of an individual or a small group of

people often with an unusual or rare

case such as patient tan and then

specifically with cognitive neuroscience

we can see them combining cognitive and

biological processes with brain scanning

technology for things like memory in the

research of toving and the emotion of

love in the research at stanford

university

each of these ways of studying human

behavior have their strengths and

limitations but that's something we

cover in the next video when we evaluate

the cognitive approach

so now let's test your understanding of

what we've covered about the cognitive

approach in this video a question will

appear with a few seconds for you to

pause the video before the answer

appears here we go

question one what does the word

cognitive mean

question two name three examples of

internal mental processes

question three in relation to cognitive

psychology define what is meant by an

inference

question four define what you meant by a

schema and give an example

question five explain how schemas can be

useful but also how they can potentially

lead to errors and mistakes

question six

what is meant by cognitive neuroscience

describe an example of this to

demonstrate your understanding

so now that you hopefully understand

something of the cognitive approach bear

in mind the limits of your mental

abilities particularly in terms of your

attention and how easily schemas can

influence our behavior if you'd like to

explore more about cognitive psychology

check out this video on the cognitive

explanation of depression and if you're

ready to evaluate the cognitive approach

you can click on that video now for more

on the other approaches in psychology

check out the link to the playlist in

the description below i hope you found

this video helpful and we'll see you in

the next one