Cognitive Development (Information Processing) Flashcards
sensory register
broad panorama of sights and sounds are represented directly but stored only momentarily
short term memory store
we retain attended to information briefly so we can actively work on it to reach our goals
working memory
number of items that can be briefly held in mind while also engaging in some effort to monitor or manipulate those items
central executive
directs the flow of information, implementing the basic procedures just mentioned and also engaging in more sophisticated activities that enable complex flexible thinking
automatic processes
well-learned that they require no space in working memory and permit us to focus on other information while simultaneously performing the,
long-term memory
permanent knowledge base
executive function
the set of cognitive operations and strategies necessary for self-initiated, purposeful behavior in relatively novel, challenging situations
neo-Piagetian theory
accepts Piaget’s stages but attributes change within each stage and movement from one stage to the next, to increases in the efficiency with which children use their limited working memory capacity
central conceptual structures
networks of concepts and relations that permit them to think about a wide range of situations in more advanced ways
model of strategy choice
use of natural selection to help us understand cognitive change; trial and error
inhibition
ability to control internal and external distracting stimuli
production deficiency
preschoolers rarely engage in attentional strategies
control deficiency
young elementary school children sometimes produce strategies, but not consistently
utilization deficiency
slightly later, children execute strategies consistently, but their performance either does not improve or improves less than that of older children
effective strategy use
children use strategies consistently and performance improves
planning
thinking out a sequence of acts ahead of time and allocating attention accordingly to reach a goal
rehearsal
procedure mentioned earlier that holds information in working memory
organization
group related items
elaboration
creating a relationship or shared meaning, between two or more pieces of information that do not belong to the same category
recognition
noticing that a stimulus is identical or similar to one previously experienced
recall
generating a mental representation of an absent stimulus
reconstruction
recoding it while it is in the system or being retrieved
fuzzy-trace theory
when we first encode information, we reconstruct it automatically, creating a vague, fuzzy version called a gist, which preserves essential meaning without details and is especially useful for reasoning
semantic memory
our vast taxonomically organized and hierarchically structured general knowledge system, consisting of concepts, language meanings, facts and rules
episodic memory
recollections of personally experienced events that occurred at a specific time and place
scripts
general descriptions of what occurs and when it occurs
autobiographical memory
made up of representations of one-time events that are long-lasting because they are imbued with personal meaning
metacognition
awareness and understanding of various aspects of thought
theory of mind
coherent understanding of people as mental beings, which they revise as they encounter new evidence
cognitive self-regulation
process of continually monitoring and controlling progress towards a goal
emergent literacy
children’s active efforts to construct literacy knowledge through informal experiences
phonological awareness
ability to reflect on and manipulate the sound structure of spoken language
whole-language approach
children should be exposed to text in its complete form
phonics approach
children should be first coached on phonics–the basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds
ordinality
order relationships between quantities
cardinality
last word in a counting sequence indicates the quantity of items in a set
