psychlotron org uk What is happening inside the

? psychlotron. org. uk What is happening inside the black box?

? psychlotron. org. uk What is happening inside the black box?

? psychlotron. org. uk What is happening inside the black box?

psychlotron. org. uk • Do we need to look inside the black box to find out what it does?

Today’s session You will learn how to. . . You will learn about. . . and apply l. The cognitive approach psychological approaches & l. The information processing theories metaphor l. Consider the relationship l. Cognitive models between an approach and its methods psychlotron. org. uk l. Describe

Behaviourism R Behaviourists aren’t interested in what happens in between S and R. They don’t think you need to know. psychlotron. org. uk S

Social learning theory S O R psychlotron. org. uk Social Learning Theorists say that things take place within the organism that mediate between S and R. You do need to know about the person’s mental processes.

Cognitive approach S IP R psychlotron. org. uk Cognitive psychologists extend this idea and say that our behaviour is determined by the way we process information taken in from our environment.

In which ways is a brain similar to a computer? psychlotron. org. uk The computer metaphor

The computer metaphor Information storage Output processes psychlotron. org. uk Input processes Information manipulation processes

• Cognitive psychologists use the results of their research to develop models of how people process information • They infer mental processes from comparisons between the information (input) a person receives and the behaviour (output) they produce psychlotron. org. uk Cognitive models

What does this information processor do? psychlotron. org. uk 1. Takes in a shape. 2. Counts the vertices. 3. Adds one to this number. 4. Outputs a shape with the new number of vertices.

What does this information processor do? This may not be what is actually happening in the black box, but it allows us to account for how the box translates input into output. It is a useful model. psychlotron. org. uk 1. Takes in a shape. 2. Counts the vertices. 3. Adds one to this number. 4. Outputs a shape with the new number of vertices.

What will the output be? Our model allows us to predict how the information processor will behave. It is still not necessary for us to know what’s actually happening in the box. psychlotron. org. uk 1. Takes in a shape. 2. Counts the vertices. 3. Adds one to this number. 4. Outputs a shape with the new number of vertices.

Cognitive models LTM Info from environment WM B Behaviour Speech psychlotron. org. uk P

Cognitive methods • Experimental cognitive psychology – Laboratory experiments • Cognitive neuropsychology psychlotron. org. uk – Case studies – Investigations of the brain