Cluster 8 Flashcards
Attention
Focus on a stimulus
Automaticity
The ability to perform thoroughly learned tasks without much mental effort
Bottom-up processing
Perceiving based on noticing separate defining features and assembling them into a recognizable pattern
Central executive
The part of working memory that is responsible for monitoring and directing attention and other mental resources
Chunking
Grouping individual bits of data into meaningful larger units
Cognitive load
The volume of resources necessary to complete a task
Cognitive science
The interdisciplinary study of thinking, language, intelligence, knowledge creation, and the brain
Cognitive view of learning
A general approach that views learning as an active mental process of acquiring, remembering, and using knowledge
Decay
The weakening and fading of memories with the passage of time
Domain-specific knowledge
Information that is useful in a particular situation or that applies mainly to one specific topic
Elaborative rehearsal
Keeping information in working memory by associating it with something else you already know
Episodic buffer
The process that brings together and integrates information from the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory under the supervision of the central executive
Extraneous cognitive load
The resources required to process stimuli irrelevant to the task
General knowledge
Information that is useful in many different kinds of tasks; information that applies to many situations
Germane cognitive load
Deep processing of information related to the task, including the application of prior knowledge to a new task or problem
Gestalt
German for pattern or whole. Gestalt theorists hold that people organize their perceptions into coherent wholes
Information processing
The human mind’s activity of taking in, storing, and using information
Interference
Processing new information interferes or gets confused with old information
Intrinsic cognitive load
The resources required by the task itself, regardless of other stimuli
Maintence rehearsal
Keeping information in working memory by repeating it to yourself
Mirror systems
Areas of the brain that fire both during perception of an action by someone else and when performing the action
Perception
Interpretation of sensory information
Phonological loop
Part of working memory. A speech and sound related system for holding and rehearsing (refreshing) words and sounds in short-term memory for about 1.5 to 2 seconds
Sensory memory
System that holds sensory information very briefly
Short-term memory
Component of memory system that holds information for about 20 seconds
Top-down
Making sense of information by using context and what we already know about the situation; sometimes called conceptually driven perception
Visuospatial sketchpad
Part of working memory. A holding system for visual and spatial information.
Working memory
The information that you are focusing on at a given moment
Acronym
Technique for remembering by using the first letter of each word in a phrase to form a new, memorable word
Automated basic skills
Skills that are applied without conscious thought
Chain mnemonics
Memory strategies that associate one element in a series with the next element
Concept
A category used to group similar events, ideas, objects, or people
Context
The physical or emotional backdrop associated with an event
Declarative knowledge
Verbal information; Facts; “knowing that” something is the case
Defining attribute
Qualities that connect members of a group to a specific concept
Distributed practice
Practice in brief periods with rest intervals
Domain-specific stratefies
Consciously applied skills to reach goals in a particular subject or problem
Dual coding theory
Suggests that information is stored in long term memory as either visual images or verbal units, or both
Elaboration
Adding and extending meaning by connecting new information to exiting knowledge
Episodic memory
Long-term memory for information tied to a particular time and place, especially memory of the events in a person’s life
Exemplar
An actual memory of a specific object
Explicit memory
Long-term memories that involve deliberate or conscious recall
Flashbulb memories
Clear, vivid memories of emotionally important events in your life
Images
Representations based on the physical attributes- the appearance- of information
Implicit memory
Knowledge that we are not conscious of recalling but that influences our behavior or thought without our awareness
Keyword method
System of associating new words or concepts with similar-sounding cue words and images
Levels of processing theory
Theory that recall of information is based on how deeply it is processed
Loci method
Technique of associating items with specific places
Long-term memory
Permanent store of knowledge
Massed practice
Practice for a single extended period
Mnemoics
Techniques for remembering; the art of memory
Organization
Ordered and logical network of relations
Part learning
Breaking a list of items into shorter lists
Priming
Activating a concept in memory or the spread of activation from one concept to another
Procedural knowledge
Knowledge that is demonstrated when we perform a task; “knowing how”
Procedural memory
Long-term memory for how to do thing
Productions
The contents of procedural memory; rules about what actions to take, given certain conditions. Units of knowledge that combine conditions with actions in “if this happens, do that” relationships that often are automatic
Propositional netwok
Set of interconnected concepts and relationships in which long-term knowledge is held
Prototype
A best example or best representative of a category
Reconstruction
Recreating information by using memories, expectations, logic, and existing knowledge
Retrieval
Process of searching for and finding information in long-term memory
Rote memorization
Remembering information by repetition without necessarily understanding the meaning of the information
Schema(s)
Basic structures for organizing information; concepts
Script
Schema or expected plan for the sequence of steps in a common event such as buying groceries or ordering pizza
Self-regulatory knowledge
Knowing how to manage your learning, or knowing how and when to use your declarative and procedural knowledge
Semantic memory
Memory for meaning
Serial-position effect
The tendency to remember the beginning and the end, but not the middle of a list
Spreading activation
Retrieval of pieces of information based on their relatedness to one another. Remembering one bit of information activates (stimulates) recall of associated information
Story grammer
Typical structure or organization for a category of stories
Theory-based
An explanation for concept formation that suggests our classifications are based on ideas about the world that we create to make sense of things
