Evaluation Practical applications One strength is that we may be able to make person perception more accurate and objective. When we meet someone new, we nd it easy to make inaccurate judgements about their personality. Sometimes these are based on stereotypes, i.e. what we expect someone ‘should’ be like. This is undesirable because stereotypes are o¡en negative. Instead, we can make sure we take the time to properly know someone without making instant ‘snap’ judgements about them. Therefore, by knowing how person perception works, we can resist the tendency to negatively stereotype others. Research support Another strength is evidence to support the role of memory scripts. When people are presented with routine events where the steps are in the wrong order, they tend to recall them in the correct order. For instance, a ‘getting ready for college’ script might be presented as: ‘get dressed, get out of bed, wake up’, but is recalled as: ‘wake up, get out of bed, get dressed’ (Bower et al. 1979). The correct order is familiar and consistent with the script stored in memory. This nding supports the argument that cognitive scripts strongly in«uence how we remember everyday events. Cannot explain all behaviour One weakness is that we may assume a script is guiding behaviour when it is not. When someone behaves in a script-consistent way, how do we know it is because they are following a cognitive script? For instance, someone eating a meal in a restaurant might be imitating those around them and thus following external cues rather than an internal memory script. The same issue arises with person perception. On meeting a stranger, my impressions of them may be guided more by how others respond than by information stored in memory. Therefore, scripts and internal processes are not always important in«uences on behaviour. Making links to the key assumptions Assumption: Behaviour is a product of information processing We perceive a new person’s traits (‘they are friendly, talkative, sociable’). We focus our attention on (process) central traits that really stand out (‘friendly’). We retrieve knowledge from memory (more processing) to ll in what we don’t know (‘they’re probably also enthusiastic’). Assumption: The brain can be compared to a computer Explain how the concept of cognitive scripts relates to this assumption (see page 10). A1 Cognitive approach Learners must be able to understand and apply knowledge of key concepts to explain aspects of human behaviour, including: ● The role of cognitive scripts (memory scripts, person perception). Specification content It could be said that person perception is a bit like following a memory script. Can you explain how? [HINT: we expect some personality characteristics to go together – why is this?] An issue to consider Pearl pops into a supermarket, taking a couple of carrier bags with her and picking up a basket from inside the door. This is only Pearl’s third trip to this shop, but she knows she will get to the fruit and veg rst and she will have to go to the other end of the shop for the drinks. Once Pearl has everything she wants to buy, she gets out her loyalty card and bank card and heads for the checkouts. 1. Give two examples from the scenario above that could be part of Pearl’s cognitive script for ‘shopping in a supermarket’. (2 marks) 2. Give one example of a behaviour that is part of a cognitive script from any everyday scenario other than the one above. (1 mark) 3. Explain what psychologists mean by ‘memory scripts’. (2 marks) 4. When Pearl gets to the checkout she has a conversation with the assistant called Dean who she has never met before. Pearl feels that Dean comes across as very friendly and thinks to herself, ‘I bet Dean is clever and knows lots of people. I reckon he’s de nitely interested in travelling!’ Explain why Pearl thinks this about Dean. Use one key concept from the cognitive approach in your answer. (3 marks) 5. Brie«y assess the key concept you used in your previous answer as a way of explaining Pearl’s behaviour. (3 marks) Exam-style questions A very familiar script An example of a script that is highly relevant to students is ‘sitting an exam’. As you have a lot of experience of this, your script will be detailed – you are an expert on sitting exams. 1. Make a list of the behaviours that form your ‘sitting an exam’ script and put them in time order. 2. Does this script share any elements with other scripts such as ‘attending a class’ or ‘going to a concert’? 3. How has your ‘sitting an exam’ script evolved over the years? 4. What are the differences between the script of an expert and a novice? ACTIVE GET This image will probably cue a strong memory script you have built up over many years. 21 Copyright: Sample material
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