Intro to Cognitive Psychology - Lecture Notes Review

A set of Q&A flashcards covering the main concepts from the lecture notes on Cognition, learning strategies, metacognition, sleep, and course logistics.

What is a key finding from Kornell & Bjork (2007) about study habits?

Testing (retrieval practice) provides greater benefits to retention than restudying.

What is dual-code presentation?

Presenting information using two modalities (e.g., auditory and visual) to improve retention.

What is a potential drawback of multimedia learning?

Extraneous information can consume cognitive resources and hinder learning.

When might static media outperform multimedia?

When reducing extraneous info helps processing access to learning material.

Which learning strategy generally improves long-term retention: restudying or testing?

Testing.

Which sleep stage features sleep spindles and K-complexes?

Stage 2.

What characterizes Stage 1 sleep EEG activity?

Low-amplitude waves of mixed-but mostly high frequencies.

What is REM sleep?

A distinct sleep stage that occurs after non-REM stages.

What is metacognition?

Knowledge or awareness of one’s own cognitive processes and the ability to regulate them.

What is a Judgment of Learning (JOL)?

An assessment of how well something has been learned and how likely it is to be recalled.

What does the Direct Access View propose about memory judgments?

People have direct access to memory traces to judge their strength.

What did Castel et al. (2007) find about direct access?

Predictions often do not match actual memory recall, arguing against direct access to memory strength.

What are intrinsic cues in cue-utilization theory?

Learning-material characteristics (e.g., item relationships, concreteness).

What are extrinsic cues in cue-utilization theory?

Encoding conditions (e.g., massed vs spaced study, number of repetitions).

What are experience-based cues?

Internal experiences such as retrieval latency/fluency and encoding fluency.

What is encoding fluency?

Ease of encoding information, used as a cue for metacognitive judgments.

What is the difference between monitoring and control in metacognition?

Monitoring is evaluating one’s cognition; control is actions taken to regulate study or cognition.

What is the meta level vs the object level in metacognition?

Meta level is awareness of ongoing cognition; object level is the current cognitive activity (e.g., reading, encoding, recalling).

How can delayed JOLs improve accuracy?

Delays allow access to more diagnostic long-term memory information rather than short-term fluency.

What is the generation effect in learning?

Generating information yourself leads to stronger encoding and retention than passively receiving it.

What is spaced learning?

Distributing study sessions over time improves retention compared to massed practice.

What is the benefit of testing over restudy in the context of cue generation?

Testing strengthens retrieval practice, improving long-term retention and retrieval routes.

What is a metacognitive illusion related to fluency?

Fluency of processing (e.g., ease of reading or hearing) does not necessarily reflect actual memory strength.

What are the two key parts of metacognitive processes?

Monitoring (evaluating cognition) and Control (regulating cognition).