• About how we think
  
• Tries to explain behaviour by looking at our perception, language, attention and memory
  
• Information recieved from our senses is processed by the brain and that processing directs how we behave
  
• Influenced by developments in computer science. However we are more sophisticated than computer systems
  

• Research is often carried out in artificial situations
  
• Often ignores the way in which other factors, e.g past experiences, influence how we process information
  
• Fails to take individual differences into account
  

• Process of memory can be distorted by other information
  
• Can be influenced by many events and changes to make sense of the

• Understand how other people are feeling and thinking
• Enables a person appreciate that other people have thoughts and belief
• Attempts to demonstrate that the central deficit of autism is a failure to fully develop this cognitive process

• Studied the language capabilities in pygmy chimps
• Language involves very sophisticated cognitive skills

• Scientific approach
• High control
• Establish cause and effect

Weaknesses

• Lacks ecological validity
  
• Difficult to generalise
• Relies heavily on self-report + observation
• We can only infer what the person is thinking
• Reliance on computer systems