Chapter 6 - Information Processing and Cognitive Theories of Learning

Question 0

Sensory Register

Answer 0

Component of the memory system in which information is received and held for very short periods of time.

Question 1

Information-Processing Theory

Answer 1

Cognitive theory of learning that describes the processing, storage, and retrieval of knowledge in the mind.

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

A person’s interpretation of stimuli

Question 3

Attention

Answer 3

Active focus on certain stimuli to the exclusion of others

Question 4

Short-Term of Working Memory

Answer 4

The component of memory in which limited amounts of information can be stored for a few seconds.

Question 5

Rehearsal

Answer 5

Mental repetition of information, which can improve its retention.

Question 6

Long-Term Memory

Answer 6

The components of memory in which large amounts of information can be stored for long periods of time.

Question 7

Episodic Memory

Answer 7

A part of long-term memory that stores images of our personal experiences.

Question 8

Semantic Memory

Answer 8

A part of long-term memory that stores facts and general knowledge.

Question 9

Procedural Memory

Answer 9

A part of long-term memory that stores information about how to do things.

Question 10

Flashbulb Memory

Answer 10

Important events that are fixed mainly in visual and auditory memory.

Question 11

Schemata

Answer 11

Mental networks of related concepts that influence understanding of new information; the singular is schema.

Question 12

Levels-of-Processing Theory

Answer 12

Explanation of memory that links recall of a stimulus with the amount of mental processing it receives.

Question 13

Dual Code Theory of Memory

Answer 13

Theory suggesting that information coded both visually and verbally is remembered better than information coded in only one of those two ways.

Question 14

Interference

Answer 14

Inhibition of recall of certain information by the presence of other information in memory.

Question 15

Retroactive Inhibition

Answer 15

Decreased ability to recall previously learned information, caused by learning of new information.

Question 16

Proactive Inhibition

Answer 16

Decreased ability to learn new information, caused by interference from existing knowledge.

Question 17

Proactive Facilitation

Answer 17

Increased ability to learn new information based on the presence of previously acquired information.

Question 18

Retroactive Facilitation

Answer 18

Increased comprehension of previously learned information because of the acquisition of new information.

Question 19

Primacy Effect

Answer 19

The tendency for items at the beginning of a list to be recalled more easily than other items.

Question 20

Recency Effect

Answer 20

The tendency for items at the end of a list to be recalled more easily than other items.

Question 21

Automaticity

Answer 21

A level of rapidity and ease such that tasks can be performed or skills utilized with little mental effort.

Question 22

Massed Practice

Answer 22

Technique in which facts or skills to be learned are repeated often over a concentrated period of time.

Question 23

Distributed Practice

Answer 23

Technique in which items to be learned are repeated at intervals over a period of time.

Question 24

Enactment

Answer 24

A learning process in which individuals physically carry out tasks.

Question 25

Verbal Learning

Answer 25

Learning of words (or facts expressed in words)

Question 26

Paired-Associate Learning

Answer 26

Learning of items in linked pairs so that when one member of a pair is presented, the other can be recalled.

Question 27

Serial Learning

Answer 27

Memorization of a series of items in a particular order.

Question 28

Free-Recall Learning

Answer 28

Learning of a list of items in any orders.

Question 29

Imagery

Answer 29

Mental visualization of images to improve memory.

Question 30

Mnemonics

Answer 30

Devices or strategies for aiding the memory.

Question 31

Keyword Method

Answer 31

A strategy for improving memory by using images to link pairs of items.

Question 32

Loci Method

Answer 32

A strategy for remembering lists by picturing items in familiar locations.

Question 33

Pegword Method

Answer 33

A strategy for memorization in which images are used to link lists of facts to a familiar set of words or numbers.

Question 34

Initial-Letter Strategies

Answer 34

Strategies for learning in which initial letters of items to be memorized are made into a more easily remembered word or phrase.

Question 35

Rote Learning

Answer 35

Memorization of facts or associations that might be essentially arbitrary.

Question 36

Meaningful Learning

Answer 36

Mental processing of new information that relates to previously learned knowledge.

Question 37

Inert Knowledge

Answer 37

Learned information that could be applied to a wide range of situations but whose use is limited to restricted, often artificial, applications.

Question 38

Schema Theory

Answer 38

Theory stating that information is stored in long-term memory in schemata (networks of connected facts and concepts), which provide a structure for making sense of new knowledge.

Question 39

Metacognition

Answer 39

Knowledge about one’s own learning or about how to learn (“thinking about thinking”).

Question 40

Metacognitive Skills

Answer 40

Methods for learning, studying, or solving problems.

Question 41

Self-Questioning Strategies

Answer 41

Learning strategies that call on students to ask themselves who, what, where, and how questions as they read material.

Question 42

Note-Taking

Answer 42

A study strategy that requires decisions about what to write.

Question 43

Summarizing

Answer 43

Writing brief statements that represent the main idea of the information being read.

Question 44

Outlining

Answer 44

Representing the main points of material in hierarchical format.

Question 45

Concept Mapping

Answer 45

Diagramming main ideas and the connections between them.

Question 46

PQ4R Method

Answer 46

A study strategy that has students preview, question, read, reflect, recite, and review material.

Question 47

Advance Organizers

Answer 47

Activities and techniques that orient students to the material before reading or class presentation.

Question 48

Analogies

Answer 48

Images, concepts, or narratives that compare new material to information students already understand.

Question 49

Elaboration

Answer 49

The process of connecting new material to information or ideas already in the learner’s mind.