CHAPTER 7: Cognitive Process and Academic Skills

Question 1

Memory during infancy

Answer 1

During infancy, memory improves as a result of development of:

A) hippocampus (formation of memories)
B) prefrontal cortex (retrieval of memories)

Question 2

Hippocampus

Answer 2

is where memories are initially formed and stored, and it’s not fully developed at birth; in fact, it continues to develop over the first two years of life

Question 3

Prefrontal Cortex

Answer 3

cortex is responsible for the retrieval of stored memories, and this area develops into the second year

• the memory of infants is quite basic compared to that of toddlers and older children

Question 4

Rovee-Collier (1995)

Answer 4

• infants learned to move mobile by kicking their leg
• returned several years later
• 3 months old remembered kicking response a week later
• 2-4 weeks later; forgot, but was recalled when given a cue

= infants can retain information they have learned for a few weeks, but not retrierve unless given a cue

Question 5

encoding

Answer 5

the processing of information into the memory system

Question 6

storage

Answer 6

the retention of recorded information over time

sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory

Question 7

retrieval

Answer 7

the process of getting information out of memory storage

Question 8

4 strategies for remembering

Answer 8

1. maintenance rehearsal (aka rote learning)
   - mechanical procedure
   - children do this by age 7-8
   - repeating something over and over
2. elaborative encoding
   - actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory
   - The more deeply we process an event – pay attention to its meaning – the more likely we’ll be to remember it
3. organization
   - categorizing info according to the relationships among a series of items
   chunking
4. superimposed meaningful structures
   - mnemonics - aid in memory

Question 9

Craik & Tulving (1975) experiment

Answer 9

elaborative encoding

presented with words, asked to make 1 of 3 types of judgments
1. visual (e.g., is it written in uppercase letters?
2. rhyme (e.g., does it rhyme with cat?)
3. semantic (e.g., is it something you can wear?)

results: thinking about a words meaning (making a semantic judgement) results in deeper processing - and better memory for the word later

Question 10

Stein et al. (1982)

Answer 10

participants were presented with open-ended sentences, containing elements that were unrelated

results: suggest that academically successful students may have a better understanding of the importance of elaborating information in a meaningful way
(eg. studying instead of cramming info)

Question 11

mnemonic devices

Answer 11

catchy verbal association that can act as a retrieval cue for what you’re trying to remember

Question 12

verbal mediator

Answer 12

involves making an association between two ideas

hippocampus - picture a hippo on campus

Question 13

method of loci

Answer 13

mnemonic device that involved imagery
- associating something with an image
- house example

Question 14

Autobiographical Memory

Answer 14

Memory for specific experiences from our life, including self-related knowledge (semantic) and memory for events (episodic)

• multidimensional
• prone to distortions/errors over time

Question 15

Fuzzy Trace Theory (FTT)

Answer 15

• explains how false memories can occur

remembering involves 2 things:
1. a gist memory trace (broad)
a verbatim memory trace (speciifc details)

theory = that false memories are possible because our experiences are stored in multiple fragments, and these fragments can be recombined in ways that differ from what actually happened.

Question 16

Wade et al. (2002)

Answer 16

experiment that tested if participants can recall events that have happend in their life
- after seeing false images over again they were able to re call it even though it didn’t happen but tricked themself that it did

Question 17

Ceci & Crotteau Huffman, 1997
“mouse-trap” study

Answer 17

kids can be convinced that an event happend to them after hearing about it multiple times over and over even though it didnt happen

Question 18

younger children have higher ________ than older children and adults

Answer 18

suggestibility

especially suggestible when:
- asked specific questions
- questions are repeated
- interviewer provides info before child was able to answer
- interviewer is of high status

Question 19

definition of a problem

Answer 19

obstacle between present state and goal
- all ages have problems

Question 20

definition of encoding

Answer 20

forming mental representation of a problem

Question 21

definition of problem solving

Answer 21

active efforts to discover what must be done to overcome obstacle and achieve goals

Question 22

problems of transformation

Answer 22

carry out sequence of transformations to reach a specific goal

• Initial state (knowledge at outset)
• Operators (actions that change your state)
• Goal state (solution)
• Path constraints (limitations that rule out certain solutions)

Question 23

Tower of Hanoi Problem

Answer 23

tower of 3 discs on a cone that have to be moved with certain conditions

• solved using means end analysis
• the goal is to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states
• set up subgoals

Question 24

Siegler’s overlapping waves model of strategy use

Answer 24

the use of various strategies
- attempts to explain how children often vary from one attempt to the next in their approach to solving a problem
- as children get older they use more advanced strategies (4 and 5)
- basic = 1 and 2

Question 25

2 limitations to children’s problem solving

Answer 25

1. over-reliance on heuristics (shortcuts)
2. problems with planning
   - overoptimism
   - difficulty inhibiting desire to solve problem immediately