CCC- knowledge

Knowledge in cognition

Knowledge underpins memory, language, reasoning, and perception.

Episodic memory

Memory for personally experienced events organised in time and context.

Semantic memory

General knowledge about facts, concepts, and meanings, independent of context.

Key episodic features

Self-referential, conscious recollection, context dependent, and vulnerable to forgetting.

Key semantic features

Abstract, stable, context independent, and shared across individuals.

Distinction debate

Episodic and semantic memory interact and are not always clearly separable.

Semantic impairment patterns

Selective semantic loss can occur while episodic memory remains relatively preserved.

Knowledge in language comprehension

Knowledge supports inference-making and understanding beyond literal meaning.

Concept representation

Mental representations of categories and objects.

Feature-based models

Concepts represented as lists of defining and characteristic features.

Typicality effect

Some category members are verified faster because they share more features.

Limits of feature models

Many concepts lack clear defining features and features are interdependent.

Prototype models

Categories are organised around an average or most representative example.

Prototypicality effects

More typical category members are processed faster and remembered better.

Basic-level categories

Middle-level categories are preferred for naming and recognition.

Limits of prototype models

Prototypes lose detail and vary with context and expertise.

Exemplar models

Concepts are represented by stored examples rather than averages.

Strength of exemplar models

They preserve variability and handle complex categories well.

Network models

Concepts are stored as interconnected nodes linked by semantic relationships.

Schemas and scripts

Knowledge structures that organise expectations about situations and event sequences.

Schemas and memory

Schemas guide retrieval but can also distort memory.

Overall conclusion

Knowledge is structured, flexible, and shaped by both experience and context.