Chapter 7 - Cognitive Processing and Academic Skills Flashcards
What did Rovee-Collier’s experiments show?
That three important features of memory exist as early as 2 and 3 months of age
1) An event from the past is remembered
2) Over time, the even can no longer be recalled
3) A cue can serve to dredge up a forgotten memory
How can improvements in memory be traced?
In part, to growth in the brain regions that support memory
What are memory strategies?
Techniques or activities that improve remembering
What does preschool children looking and touching objects tell us?
They understand that they should be doing something to try to remember *but not very effective
What is rehearsal?
A strategy that 7- and 8-year olds use by repetitively naming information that is to be remembered
How is organization used as a memory strategy?
Structuring material to be remembered so that related information is placed together
How is elaboration used as a memory strategy?
Embellishing information to be remembered to make it more memorable
What is metamemory and what are two important elements of it?
A child’s informal understanding of memory
- Diagnosing memory problem accurately
- Monitoring the effectiveness of memory strategies
What is metacognitive knowledge?
Knowledge and awareness of cognitive processes
What is cognitive self-regulation?
Skill at identifying goals, selecting effective strategies, and monitoring accurately
What studies was done by Chi to see how knowledge influences memory?
- 10-year-olds and adults tried to remember sequences of numbers: Adults remembered more numbers
- 10-year-old skilled chess players were much better than novice adults at remembering the positions of chess pieces on a board from actual games
What is a script?
A memory structure used to describe the sequence in which events occur
How can knowledge distort memory?
If a specific experience does not match a child’s knowledge (e.g., it differs from a script), the experience is sometimes forgotten or distorted so that it conforms to the existing knowledge
Who is more prone to memory distortions? Why?
Older children because they often have more knowledge than younger children
What is the fuzzy trace theory?
Most experiences can be stored in memory exactly (verbatim) or in terms of their basic meaning (gist)
- Young children are biased toward verbatim theory
- False memories were less common in young children than in older children and adolescents
- Memory errors are a consequence of the greater tendency for older children and adults to remember the gist of what they’ve experienced
What is autobiographical memory?
Refers to people’s memory of the significant events and experiences of their own lives
Why is autobiographical memory important?
It helps people construct a personal life history and allows people to relate their experiences to others, creating socially shared memories
When does autobiographical memory originate?
In the preschool years
- Infants and toddlers have the basic memory skills that allow them to remember past events
- During the preschool years language skills and a child’s self of sense is layered on top of memory skills
What is infantile amnesia?
The inability to remember events from one’s early life
Why are preschool children particularly suggestible?
Due to limited source-monitoring skills - have trouble distinguishing what they actually experienced from what interviews imply that they experienced
Why do some young children sometimes fail to solve problems?
- They don’t encode all the important information in a problem
- They don’t plan ahead
What do encoding processes transform?
The information in a problem into a mental representation
What is phonological awareness?
The ability to hear the distinctive sounds of letters
