3.1 Outline principles that define the cognitive level of analysis and explain how these principles may be demonstrated in research.

3.1 Outline principles that define the cognitive level of analysis and explain how these principles may be demonstrated in research.

Principle 1: Human beings are information processors and mental processes guide behaviour.

People are active information processors. They perceive and interpret what is going on around them. This is often based on what they already know. There is a relationship between people’s mental representation and the way people perceive and think about the world.

Principle 1 demonstrated in:

Schema theory defines cognitive schemas as mental representations of knowledge. Mental representations (schemas) are stored in categories (concepts) in memory. These schemas provide guidelines for interpretation of incoming information when people try to make sense of the world. Schemas influence cognition in that schemas create expectations about what will happen in specific situation. Schema theory can, to a large extent, explain reconstructive memory and stereotyping.

Darley and Gross (1983) performed an experiment in which they showed participants videos of a girl playing in a poor environment, then in a wealthy environment. Then they saw a video of the girl in what could be an intelligence test. When the participants were asked to judge the future of the girl they all said that the ‘poor’ girl would do worse than the ‘wealthy’ girl. The study demonstrated how human beings actively process information based on a few salient details to form an overall impression that may not necessarily be correct.

Principle 2: The mind can be studied scientifically.

Cognitive researchers use a number of scientific methods to study the mind. The most used research method was, for a long time, the laboratory experiment, because it was considered to be the most scientific.

Principle 2 demonstrated in:

Loftus and Palmer (1974) performed an experiment to test reconstructive memory in relation to eyewitness testimony. The aim was to see whether misleading questions could distort memory. Participants saw a picture of a car crash and were asked to estimate the speed of the car based on questions such as “How fast was the car going when it smashed/hit/bumped into the other car?”. Words such as “smashed” elicited higher speed estimations. Because the experimental method was used, it was possible to establish a cause-effect relationship between the use of specific words and estimation of speed. Experimental research on memory has been criticized for lacking ecological validity.

Corkin et al. (1999) used MRI scans to observe the exact damage to H.M.’s brain. H.M. suffered from amnesia due to a brain operation where the hippocampus and adjacent areas had been removed to eliminate his epilepsy. The scans confirmed damage to these areas. Although a small part of the hippocampus had been spared, it was not enough to support storage of new explicit memory.

Principle 3: Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors.

Research shows that cognitive processes such as perception, memory, and thinking are influenced by sociocultural factors. Bartlett (1932) introduced the concept of “cultural schema” in memory research. He suggested that schemas influence memory in that they lead to distortion or “reconstructive memory”. Other researchers suggest that the environment in which people live leads to specific cultural and social demands that influence the way they process information. DiMaggio (1997) suggest that schemas are (1) representations of knowledge (e.g. stereotypes and social roles) and (2)  mechanisms that simplify cognition in the form of “cognitive shortcuts” that are shaped by culture. Schematic cognition is shaped and biased by culture (e.g.) culturally based stereotypes.

Principle 3 demonstrated in:

Bartlett (1932) suggested that memory is guided by schemas and that culture can influence schemas. Previous knowledge determines the way people interpret incoming information and memory (memory distortions). He asked British participants to read an unfamiliar Native American story and reproduce it. The participants changed details of the story to fit with their own cultural schemas.

Cole and Scribner (1974) investigated how memory strategies were influenced by culture. The study asked children from the USA to memorize items from four different categories: utensils, clothes, tools, and vegetables. Children from the US improved performance after practice but the Liberian children did not unless they had attended school. Learning memory strategies, like “chunking”, appears to be dependent on schooling and the illiterate children in the study did not use these strategies. The researchers concluded that the way cognitive psychologists study memory processes does not always reflect the way people learn to remember in real life.