Which option provides the best description of the cognitive approach to psychology?

• A. It examines how social and cultural factors shape individual behavior.
• B. It studies observable behaviors and the ways they are learned through conditioning.
• C. It emphasizes the influence of unconscious drives and childhood experiences on behavior.
• D. It focuses on mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem-solving to understand behavior.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand that the cognitive approach in psychology centers on internal mental processes rather than external behaviors or unconscious drives.
2. Step 2: Recognize that this approach studies how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems, which are all examples of mental processes.
3. Step 3: Compare the cognitive approach to other psychological perspectives: for example, the behavioral approach focuses on observable behaviors, and the psychodynamic approach emphasizes unconscious drives.
4. Step 4: Identify that the cognitive approach does not primarily focus on social or cultural influences, which are more relevant to the sociocultural perspective.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the best description of the cognitive approach is that it focuses on mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem-solving to understand behavior.