Sunday, May 26, 2013

CLA: Further Evaluation of Principles

  • Principles in the cognitive level of analysis:
  1. Human beings are information processors -- mental processes guide behavior:
    - The mind can be viewed as a complex machine, like an intelligent, information processing computer. The brain is the hardware, while the mental processing that takes place in the brain is the software. Mental processing is performed in order to make sense of the world. There are ways in which people can make mistakes when they process information, such as by the influence of schemata. (Schemata are mental frameworks developed by previous experiences that influence the way future events and situations are perceived.) In addition, the mind is able to fabricate completely false memories, which can often make our mental processes fallible.
    According to the cognitive level of analysis, information input to the mind occurs via bottom-up processing -- from the sensory systems of the organism to the mind.
  2. The mind can be studied scientifically, with the use of developing theories and scientific technology / scientific research methods: New theories that are often developed in the cognitive level of analysis can serve as an amendment for old theories, or can disprove old theories as false. This principle of the cognitive level of analysis is debatable because the research of scientific research methods in studying human behavior means that the studies often lack ecological validity. Cognition should be studied both in the laboratory environment as well as in a daily context.
  3. Cognitive processes are influenced by both social and cultural factors: Frederic Bartlett (the cognitive psychologist known for coining the term "schema" with his 1932 experiment, War of the Ghosts) was the first to suggest this principle. He observed the effect of cultural cognitive frameworks on memory (aka cultural schemata on memory) and found that the memories were greatly influenced by the subjects' already-possessed frameworks of thinking. He found that people had problems remembering details from stories that are from different cultures. Bartlett demonstrated in his research that memory is not like a tape-recorder, simply recording what is"there", but is a reconstructive process. The reconstructing of memory for recall is why memory has the tendency to be distorted

Studies that can be used for exam questions in the COGNITIVE LEVEL OF ANALYSIS (page numbers included for the IB DIPLOMA PROGRAMME PSYCHOLOGY COURSE COMPANION textbook)
-Yochelson and Samenow (1976) … “The way criminals think” … page 63 Companion Guide 
-Cornish and Clark (1987) … “The rational choice theory… criminal behaviour is the result of a reasoned decision making process” … page 63 Companion Guide 
-Wright (1984) … “Interview of convicted burglars and which factors influence their decision to rob a house” … page 63 Companion Guide 
-Anderson and Pichert (1978) … “Does schema processing affect encoding and retrieval of memories?” … page 72 Companion Guide 
-Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) … “The multi-store model of memory theory” … page 73 Companion Guide 
-Baddeley and Hitch (1974) … “The working memory model theory” … page 73 Companion Guide 
-Pickering and Gathercole (2001) … “The working memory test battery for children… discovery of improvement in performance in working memory capacity from age 5-15” … page 75 Companion Guide 
- The Cleave Wearing Case … page 78 
-Milner and Scoville (1957)… “Case study of HM… a man with a  head injury that caused him to suffer from epilepsy”… page 79 Companion Guide 
-Cole and Scribner (1974)… “Memory strategies across cultures – Liberian children” … page 80-81 Companion Guide 
-Frederic Bartlett (1932) … “Serial reproduction and studying the affect that cultural cognitive schema has on memory” … page 83 Companion Guide 
-Loftus and Palmer (1974)… “Changing one word in certain critical questions to see if the participants’ impressions would change” … page 84 Companion Guide 
-LeDoux (1999)… “Theory of the two biological pathways of emotion in the brain”… page 89 Companion Guide 
-Folkman and Lazarus (1984) … “Suggested that an individual’s experience of stress can be moderated by a number of factors that include appraisal of threat and appraisal of one’s own resources for dealing with stress” … page 90 Companion Guide 
-Folkman and Lazarus (1988) … “People use different strategies in stressful situations… problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping” … page 90 Companion Guide 
-Speisman et al. (1964) … “Investigation that people’s emotional reactions to unpleasant films can be manipulated via soundtrack music” … page 90 Companion Guide 
-Brown and Kulik (1977) … “The flashbulb theory: memories that are so clearly embedded into one’s mind, as if by the help of a camera flash” … page 91 Companion Guide 
-Neisser and Harsch (1992) … “Investigated people’s memory accuracy of tragic events” … page 91 Companion guide 
-Myers and Dieners (1995) … “Power of buying and the relationship of being happy” … page 94 Companion Guide 
-Hagerty (2003) … “Relationship between happiness and the distribution of wealth” … page 94 Companion Guide 
-Johnson and Kruger (2006) … “Satisfaction with one’s current income brings happiness”… page 94 Companion Guide 
-Conway, di Fazio and Mayman (1999) … “People’s opinions of happiness and wealth” … page 94-95 Companion Guide 
-Lykken (1996) … “Happiness Twin Study” … page 99 Companion Guide

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