Chapter 6: Cognitive Growth: Information Processing Approaches (copy)

Exam 2 covers chapters 6-10

encoding

initial recording of information

storage

information saved for future use

retrieval

recovery of stored information

cognitive architecture

basic, enduring structures and features of information processing that are relatively constant over development

working memory

stresses the active processing occurring in the second memory stage

retrieval cues

stimuli that allow people to recall information

automatization

degree to which an activity requires attention

concepts

categorization of objects, events, or people that share common properties

attention

information processing involving the ability to strategically choose among and sort out different stimuli in the environment

attention-getting stimuli

exogenous of bottom-up attention

attention-holding stimuli

endogenous or top-down attention

planning

the ability to allocate attentional resources on the basis of desired goal (AKA prospective memory)

infantile amnesia

lack of memory for experiences that occurred prior to age three

explicit memory

conscious memory

mainly processed in hippocampus and frontal lobes

episodic memory

memory that includes sensory experiences (i.e., vision, sounds) of the event

autobiographical memory

memory of one’s own life

semantic memory

memory for facts/abstract information

operating efficiency hypothesis

increasing speed and efficiency of processing with age

metamemory

an understanding about the processes that underlie memory, with emerges and improves during middle childhood

keyword strategy

pairing similar-sounding words for better retention

scripts

general representation in memory of a sequence or series of events

mnemonics

formal strategies for organizing material in ways that make it more likely to be remembered

code-based approaches

emphasize components of reading and how letters and sounds are combined to make words (supports information processing theory or cognition)

whole-language approaches

learn to read through exposure to complete writing (supports Chomsky’s Universal Grammar theory)

critical thinking

thinking that makes use of cognitive skills and strategies that increase the likelihood of solving problems, forming inferences, and making decisions appropriately and successfully