(2026 Exam) The Cognitive Approach 1

Q: Bartlett (1932) War of the Ghosts Study

**Bartlett’s** hypothesis was that memory is reconstructive and that people store and retrieve information according to expectations formed by cultural schemata.

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The Cognitive Approach: Study of Internal Mental Processes

The cognitive approach to psychology explains human behaviour in terms of thought processes such as beliefs and memories. It argues that if thinking changes, behaviour will also change.

Cognitive focus

The cognitive approach explains human behaviour in terms of internal mental processes.
This contrasts with learning approaches, which focus only on behaviour that can be observed from the outside.

Cognitive processes

The approach focuses on cognitive processes such:
- Memory.
- Perception.
- Language.
- Attention.
- Thoughts and beliefs.

Need for cognitive approach

Understanding these mental processes is seen as key to understanding human behaviour.
For example, researcher Noam Chomsky (1959) explained that language can’t be learned through classical and operant conditioning.
Instead, we build up mental models of the rules of grammar, such as the idea that (in English) we form the past tense by adding “-ed” to a verb.

Cognitive therapy

The cognitive approach is linked with an effective approach to therapy for disorders: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
CBT tries to solve problems such as anxiety and depression by changing people’s beliefs and habits, and tackling harmful patterns of thinking.

Schemas

Thoughts and memories are not stored as separate pieces of information, but are linked together into structures called ‘schemas’ (or ‘schemata’). These influence our thinking and behaviour.

Cognitive structures

A schema is a cognitive structure where thoughts and memories are linked together. It influences future thinking.

Schemas and learning

Schemas derive from learning throughout life. Because of this, schemas are influenced by the culture in which you grow up.
A young child tends to have very simple schemas about objects, situations and animals.

Assimilation

According to researcher Jean Piaget, new information is added to schemas through a process called assimilation.
But sometimes – due to inconsistent information – a new schema forms through a process called accommodation.

Example of accomodation

For example, a young child may have a schema for ‘a bug’ that includes both spiders and insects, but as they get older they learn that a spider is not a type of insect.
The spider schema and insect schema become separate in the child’s mind.

Schemas and memory

British researcher Frederick Bartlett showed how memories can be distorted by schemas.
When he told his students stories about a Native American battle, they tended to miss parts out and change things when they later recalled the stories.
This was because parts of the stories did not fit with the participants’ cultural schemas.

Stereotypes

A stereotype is an example of a schema.
It is an oversimplified set of ideas about a group of people, that can affect later thinking and behaviour.

Types of schemas

Role schema: knowledge about how to act in a certain role e.g. expectations about how a waiter should act.
Event schema: also known as scripts. Our knowledge and expectation about what should happen in certain scenarios e.g. going to the movies.
Self-schema: all about us, what we are now, what we were in the past and what we hope to be in the future. Our sense of self.

Problems with schema

Schemata is useful in our everyday life as schemas enable us to take cognitive shortcuts.
However, maladaptive schemata can lead to negative thoughts, bias and prejudice, so can be very unhelpful.
Maladaptive schemata can be a factor in many mental illnesses, especially depression, social phobias and OCD.

Bartlett (1932) War of the Ghosts Study

Bartlett’s hypothesis was that memory is reconstructive and that people store and retrieve information according to expectations formed by cultural schemata.

Procedure

An experimental design.
He told 20 student participants an unfamiliar story that was part of Native American Folklore.
They were then asked to recall it at several different time intervals, ranging from a few hours to years later.

Findings - assimilation

Bartlett found that participants changed the story as they tried to remember it - a process called distortion. Bartlett found that there were three patterns of distortion that took place.
- 1) Assimilation: The story became more consistent with the participants’ own cultural expectations - that is, details were unconsciously changed to fit the norms of British culture.

Findings - levelling

2) Levelling: The story also became shorter with each retelling as participants omitted information that was seen as not important. Participants shortened the story from its original 330 to on average 180 words.

Findings - sharpening

3) Sharpening: Participants also tended to change the order of the story to make sense of it using terms more familiar to their own culture.
They also added detail and/or emotions.
The participants remembered the main themes in the story, but changed the unfamiliar elements to match their own cultural expectations so that the story remained a coherent whole although changed.

Bartlett (1932 conclusion

The study demonstrated that memory is reconstructive, and it is shaped by cultural schemata.

Evaluation of Bartlett

Strengths
- Easy to replicate (controlled experiment).
- Practical applications for education etc.
Limitations
- Lacks ecological validity – not how we use memory in everyday life.