An Evaluation of Case Studies and Their Contribution to...

Cognitive psychology is the study of the brains internal processes that guide behaviour; to study cognition, psychologists examine case studies of patients with damaged brains that can infer areas, and functions involved in particular processes. Patient studies have provided insights into the processes that take place within our minds, and have enabled psychologists to create models, which can be tested and fractionated. Cognitive neuropsychology has developed from cognitive psychology to become a discipline in its own right; it investigates the function and structures of the brain involved in cognitive processes and should not be confused with cognitive neuroscience, which is primarily concerned with neural structures and their†¦show more content†¦Studying unseen processes presents difficulties, it would not be practical or ethical to open a persons’ head to try to unravel the processes that take place whilst they make a cup of tea or drive their car to work. Alth ough examining processes presents difficulties, studying patients who have sustained brain damage can provide insights into parts that play a role in cognitive processes. Findings from case studies are extrapolated to the general population to provide an insight into normal cognition. An early example and often-cited case study is Phineas Gage who suffered damage to his frontal lobe because of an accident in 1848; prior to the accident, he was friendly and dependable, however after the accident, he became unreliable and his social skills suffered, this suggests the frontal lobe is involved in planning and social skills. Damasio (1994, (cited in Jansari, 2010)) recreated damage sustained by Gage, after a patient exhibited the same changes in behaviour after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour in the frontal lobe. The recreation confirmed the suggestions made at the time of Phineas Gage, thus providing an insight into how a part of the brain the frontal lobe in this case is invo lved in cognitive functioning. The study of Phineas Gage is an early example of the kind of studies that are used inShow MoreRelatedUnderstanding Cognitive Processes in the Development Cognitive Neuropsychology2388 Words   |  10 PagesContribution Patient Case Studies Made In Understanding Cognitive Processes And In the Development Cognitive Neuropsychology A Discipline Introduction Cognitive processes are described as the performance of composite cognitive actions. Notably cognitive processes are operations that influence the content of the brain or the thinking process as well as the remembering operation (Lamberts Goldstone, 2005). 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