Computer Analogy

Overview of Computer Analogy

  • The computer analogy is based on the comparison between human cognition (how we think) and how a computer works.
  • It is fundamental to the cognitive approach, because it underpins the idea that our minds function like a complex, multi-layered information processor.

Information Processing

  • Information processing is the procedure of inputting, storing, and retrieving information, comparable to how a computer processes data.
  • Humans obtain information from the environment (the input), which is then transformed or dealt with in the mind (processed), and consequently utilised to guide behaviour (output).
  • This is often depicted as the Information Processing Model (IPM), with stages for input, processing and output.

Use of Models and Schemas

  • Cognitive psychologists employ simplified models as a method of understanding and conceptualizing the complex mental processes that the computer analogy suggests.
  • The concept of schemas, for example, is used to explain how information is organised and stored within the mind.
  • Just like a computer system uses files and folders, the mind organises data into schemas, which are then used to interpret and process information.

Strengths and Limitations

  • The computer analogy offers a clear framework for understanding cognition. It has helped develop Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and has contributed to the field of Artificial Intelligence.
  • However, the computer analogy is critically oversimplified. It ignores emotional, motivational, and personality factors that influence human cognition.
  • It also assumes that processing is linear and systematic in all humans, which may not always be the case.

Concepts and Key Researchers

  • Features of the computer analogy have been developed into further concepts and theories, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Connectionism.
  • Key figures in the development of the computer analogy include George Miller, Alan Turing, and John Anderson.
  • Researchers such as these have used the computer analogy to explore areas such as memory, problem-solving, and decision-making.