PSYC 2315: CH. 7

Source memory

the ability to remember where one learned something.

Strategy construction

the creation of new procedures for processing information. For example, children become more proficient readers when they develop the strategy of stopping periodically to take stock of what they have read so far.

Attention

the focusing of mental resources. Attention improves cognitive processing for many tasks. At any one time, though, people can pay attention to only a limited amount of information.

Encoding

the process by which information gets into memory. Changes in children's cognitive skills depend on increased skill at encoding relevant information and ignoring irrel-evant information. For example, to a 4-year-old, an s in cursive writing has a shape very different from an s that is printed. But a 10-year-old has learned to encode the relevant fact that both are the letter s and to ignore the irrelevant differences in shape.

Dishabituation

the recovery of responsiveness after a change in stimulation.

schemas

Mental frameworks that organize concepts and information.

phonological loop

where information about speech is stored and rehearsal takes place

visuospatial working memory

where visual and spatial information, including imagery, are stored.

contemplative science

a cross-disciplinary term that involves the study of how various types of mental and physical training might enhance children's development

declarative memory

?

semantic memory

A person's knowledge about the world, including fields of expertise, general academic knowledge, and "everyday knowledge" about meanings of words, names of famous individuals, important places, and common things.

Desires

All humans have some sort of desires. But when do children begin to recog-nize that someone else's desires may differ from their own? Toddlers recognize that if people want something, they will try to get it. For instance, a child might say, "I want my mommy."

Theory of Mind and Autism

Another individual difference in understanding the mind involves autism. Approximately 1 in 150 children are estimated to have some type of autism. Autism can usually be diagnosed by the age of 3 years and sometimes earlier. Children with autism show a number of behaviors different from other children their age, including deficits in social interaction and communication as well as repetitive behaviors or interests. However, children with autism might have difficulty understanding others' beliefs and emotions not solely due to theory of mind deficits but to other aspects of cognition such as problems in focusing attention, eye gaze, face recognition, memory, language impairment, or some general intel-lectual impairment. Children and adults with autism have difficulty in social interactions, often described as huge deficits in theory of mind -These deficits are generally greater than deficits in children the same mental age with developmental disabilities. Researchers have found that autistic children have difficulty in developing a theory of mind, especially in understanding others' beliefs and emotions. -Although children with autism tend to do poorly on reasoning in false-belief tasks, they can perform much better on reasoning tasks requiring an understanding of physical causality

Perceptions

By 2 years of age, children recognize that another person will see what's in front of her own eyes instead of what's in front of the child's eyes, and by 3 years of age, they realize that looking leads to knowing what's inside a container

Concepts

Cognitive groupings of similar objects, events, people, or ideas. Without concepts, you would see each object and event as unique and you would not be able to make any generalizations.

elaboration

Engagement in more extensive processing of information, benefiting memory. Thinking of examples, especially those related to yourself, is an effective way to elaborate information. Thinking about personal associations with information makes the information more meaningful and helps children to remember it.

joint attention

Focus by individuals on the same object or event; requires an ability to track another's behavior, one individual to direct another's attention, and reciprocal interaction.

expertise

Having extensive, highly organized knowledge and understanding of a particular domain.

Cognitive Training

If older adults are losing cognitive skills, can these skills be regained through training? An increasing number of research studies indicate that they can be restored to some extent. Consider a recent study of 60-to 90-year-olds which found that sustained engagement in cognitively demanding, novel activities improved the older adults' episodic memory. To produce this result, the older adults spent an average of 16.5 hours a week for three months learning to quilt or how to use digital photography. P.232

Metacognition

It includes thinking about and knowing when and where to use particular strategies for learning or for solving problems. Conceptualization of metacognition includes several dimensions of executive function, such as planning (deciding how much time to spend focusing on a task, for example), evaluation (monitoring progress toward task completion, for example), and self-regulation (mod-ifying strategies as the task progresses, for example) P. 237

Salient versus relevant dimensions

Preschool children are likely to pay attention to stimuli that stand out, or are salient, even when those stimuli are not relevant to solving a problem or performing a task. For example, if a flashy, attractive clown presents the directions for solving a problem, preschool children are likely to pay more atten-tion to the clown than to the directions. After the age of 6 or 7, children attend more efficiently to the dimensions of the task that are relevant, such as the directions for solving a problem. This change reflects a shift to cognitive control of attention, so that children act less impulsively and reflect more.

episodic memory

Retention of information about the where and when of life's happenings.

Emotions

The child can distinguish between positive and nega-tive (for example, sad) emotions. A child might say, "Tommy feels bad."

dual-process model

Theory stating that decision making is influenced by two cognitive systems—one analytical and one experiential—that compete with each other.

Fuzzy Trace Theory

Theory stating that memory is best understood by considering two types of memory representations: verbatim memory trace and gist. In this theory, older children's better memory is attributed to the fuzzy traces created by extracting the gist of information.

schema theory

Theory stating that people mold memories to fit information that already exists in their minds.

orienting/investigative process

This process involves directing attention to potentially important locations in the environment (that is, where) and recognizing objects and their features (such as color and form) (that is, what). From 3 to 9 months of age, infants can deploy their attention more flexibly and quickly.

working memory

a kind of mental "workbench" where individuals manipulate and assemble information when they make decisions, solve problems, and comprehend written and spoken language -a limited-capacity system, and information is stored there for only a brief time. Working memory interacts with long-term memory, using information from long-term memory in its work and transmitting information to long-term memory for longer storage.

executive function

an umbrella-like concept that encompasses a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the brain's prefrontal cortex. Involves managing one's thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and exercise self-control

information-processing approach

analyzes how individuals encode information, manipulate it, monitor it, and create strategies for handling it

executive function

decline in late adulthood, there is considerable variability in executive function among older adults. For example, some older adults have a better working memory and are more cognitively flexible than other older adults. And there is increasing research evidence that aerobic exercise improves executive function in older adults. For example, a recent study found that more physically fit older adults were more cognitively flexible than their less physically fit counterparts. -Some critics argue that not much benefit is derived from placing various cognitive pro-cesses under the broader concept of executive function. Although we have described a num-ber of components of executive function here—working memory, cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and so on—a consensus has not been reached on what the components are, how they are connected, and how they develop. That said, the concept of executive func-tion is not likely to go away any time soon, and further research, especially meta-analyses, should provide a clearer picture of executive function and how it develops through the human life span -which involves goal-directed behavior and self-control, and which was discussed earlier in the chapter, is linked to the development of a theory of mind -For example, in one executive function task, children are asked to say the word night when they see a picture of a sun, and the word day when they see a picture of a moon and stars. Children who perform better at executive function tasks seem also to have a better understanding of theory of mind

habituation

decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations of the stimulus.

Selective attention

focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others that are irrelevant. Focusing on one voice among many in a crowded room or a noisy restaurant is an example of selective attention. When you switched your attention to the toes on your right foot, you were engaging in selective attention.

developmental cognitive neuroscience

has emerged as the major discipline that studies links between development, the brain, and cognitive functioning. This field especially relies on brain-imaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron-emission tomography (PET), to reveal the areas of the brain that are activated when individuals are engaging in certain cognitive activities. For example, as an older adult is asked to encode and then retrieve verbal materials or images of scenes, the older adult's brain activity will be monitored by an fMRI brain scan. P. 230

Metamemory

individuals' knowledge about memory, is an especially important form of metacognition. Metamemory includes general knowledge about memory, such as knowing that recognition tests (for example, multiple-choice questions) are easier than recall tests (for example, essay questions). It also encompasses knowledge about one's own memory, such as knowing whether you have studied enough for an upcoming test.

Strategies

involve the use of mental activities to improve the processing of information -For memory, rehearsing information and organizing are two typical strategies that older children (and adults) use to remember information more effectively. Rehearsal (repetition) works better for short-term memory. Strategies such as organization, elaborating on the information to be remembered, and making it personally relevant can make long-term memory more effective. Preschool children usually do not use strategies such as rehearsal and organization to remember

Cognitive flexibility

involves being aware that options and alternatives are available and adapting to the situation. Before adolescents and emerging adults adapt their behavior in a situation, they must be aware that they need to change their way of thinking and be motivated to do so. Having confidence in their ability to adapt their thinking to a particular situation, an aspect of self-efficacy, also is important in being cognitively flexible

Divided attention

involves concentrating on more than one activity at the same time. If you are listening to music or the television while you are reading this chapter, you are engaging in divided attention.

Cognitive Control

involves exercising effective control in a number of areas, including focusing attention, reducing interfering thoughts, and being cognitively flexible -increases in adolescence and emerging adulthood

Critical thinking

involves grasping the deeper meaning of ideas, keeping an open mind about different approaches and perspectives, and deciding for oneself what to believe or do. -Thinking reflectively and productively, and evaluating the evidence.

Thinking

involves manipulating and transforming information in memory. We think in order to reason, reflect, evaluate ideas, solve problems, and make decisions.

Autobiograhical memory

involves memory of significant events and experiences in one's life. You are engaging in autobiographical memory when you answer questions such as: Who was your first grade teacher and what was s/he like? What is the most traumatic event that happened to you as a child?

Executive attention

involves planning actions, allocating attention to goals, detecting and compensating for errors, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances.

Prospective memory

involves remembering to do something in the future, such as remembering to take your medicine or remembering to do an errand

Short-term memory

involves retaining information for up to 30 seconds without rehearsal of the information. Using rehearsal, individuals can keep information in short-term memory longer

metacognition

means "thinking about thinking or knowing about knowing" One example of metacognition is what children know about the best ways to remember what they have read. Do they know that they will be better able to remember what they have read if they can relate it to their own lives in some way? Thus, in Siegler's application of information processing to develop-ment, children play an active role in their own cognitive development.

microgenetic method

obtain detailed information about processing mechanisms as they are occurring moment to moment. Siegler concludes that most research methods assess cognitive change indirectly, being more like snapshots than movies. The microgenetic method seeks to discover not just what children know but the cognitive processes involved in how they acquired the knowledge. A typical microgenetic study will be conducted across a number of trials assessed at various times over weeks or months

mechanisms of change

play especially important roles in the advances children make in cognitive development. According to Siegler, three mechanisms work together to create changes in children's cognitive skills: encoding, automaticity, and strategy construction.

theory of mind

refers to awareness of one's own mental processes and the mental processes of others. Studies of theory of mind view the child as "a thinker who is trying to explain, predict, and understand people's thoughts, feelings, and utterances". Researchers are increasingly discovering that children's theory of mind is linked to cognitive processes. For example, one study found that theory of mind competence at age 3 is related to a higher level of metamemory at age 5 Perceptions, emotions, desires P. 235

implicit memory

refers to memory of skills and routine procedures that are performed automatically.

Implicit memory

refers to memory without conscious recollection—memories of skills and routine procedures that are performed automatically.

Automaticity

refers to the ability to process information with little or no effort. Practice allows children to encode increasing amounts of information automatically. For example, once children have learned to read well, they do not think about each letter in a word as a letter; instead, they encode whole words. Once a task is automatic, it does not require conscious effort. As a result, as information processing becomes more automatic, we can complete tasks more quickly and handle more than one task at a time. If you did not encode words auto-matically but instead read this page by focusing your attention on each letter in each word, imagine how long it would take you to read it.

explicit memory

refers to the conscious memory of facts and experiences.

explicit memory

refers to the conscious recollection of facts and experiences. When people think about memory, they are usually referring to explicit memory. Most researchers find that babies do not show explicit memory until the second half of the first year.

long-term memory

relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information for a long time. One aspect of long-term memory that has been extensively studied in children's development is autobiographical memory. Also, there has been considerable interest in children's memory in the courtroom when they are asked about eyewitness testimony.

Sustained attention

the ability to maintain atten-tion to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time. Sustained attention, which is also called vigilance, involves being on high alert for opportunity or danger as well as paying attention for a length of time.

Memory

the retention of information over time. Without memory you would not be able to connect what happened to you yesterday with what is going on in your life today. Human memory is truly remarkable when you think of how much information we put into our memories and how much we must retrieve to perform all of life's activities. However, human memory has imperfections that will be discussed shortly.

long-term memory

which is relatively permanent and unlimited. When you remember the types of games you enjoyed playing as a child, details of your first date, or characteristics of the life-span perspective, you are drawing on your long-term memory. But when you remember the word you just read, you are using short-term memory.