Download E05 - Cognition Framing Questions (Modules 21

E05 - Cognition - (Modules 21-24)
Thinking, or cognition, refers to all the mental activities associated with processing
(encoding), understanding (concept formation), remembering (storing and retrieving),
and communicating.
Information Processing - Module 21
How do psychologists describe the human memory system? p269
How do automatic and effortful processing help us encode sights, sounds, and other
sensations and transfer them into our memory system? p271 How much does rehearsal
aid in forming memories? p271
What methods of effortful processing aid in forming memories? p274
How does sensory memory work? p277
What are the limits of short-term memory? p277
How large and durable is our long-term memory?p278
How are memories recorded on the brain? p279
How do we get information out of memory? p283
Forgetting, Memory Construction, and Improving Memory - Module 22
Why do we forget?
At what points in the memory system can our memory fail us? p290
How accurate are our memories? p295
How might we apply memory principles to everyday situations, such as remembering a
person’s name or even the material of this module? p301
Thinking - Module 23
What are the functions of concepts? p307
What strategies do we use to solve problems, and what obstacles hinder our problem
solving?
How do heuristics, overconfidence, and framing influence our decisions and judgments?
p310
How do our preexisting beliefs influence our decision making? p313
When do children acquire language, and how do they master this complex task? p319
What is the relationship between thinking and language? (p323)
Do animals - in some sense we can identify with - think? Do they even exhibit
language? p326
Language & Thought – Module 24
When do children acquire language and how do they master this complex task?
What is the relationship between thinking and language?
Do animals – in some sense that we can identify with - think? Do they even exhibit
language?
E05 - Cognition Notes - (Modules 21-24)
Thinking, or cognition, refers to all the mental activities associated with processing (encoding),
understanding (concept formation), remembering (storing and retrieving), and communicating.
Module 21 - Information Processing
1. How do psychologists describe the human memory system? p269
2. How do automatic and effortful processing help us encode sights, sounds, and other sensations
and transfer them into our memory system? p271 How much does rehearsal aid in forming
memories? p271
a. Some memories are stored automatically and some are called effortful processing
because for us to remember requires effort.
b. Terminology associated with effortful processing:
i.Rehearsal - conscious repetition, which is an effective way to learn if done properly.
ii.Spacing effect says that if we rehearse over time, long-term memory is improved.
p272. Thus, cramming for an exam is a bad idea. Overlearning (rehearsal even
after we know the material) will increase long-term memory.
iii.Serial Position effect says that the order in which items are presented effects
memory. Recency says that items presented closest to testing will be
remembered. Primacy says that items presented first will be remember.
3. What methods of effortful processing aid in forming memories? p274
a. Encoding meaning
i.Key points - spend time learning and make content meaningful.
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ii.When we retrieve, we recall not the literal event, but what we encoded. Processing a
word deeply - by its meaning (semantic encoding) produces better recognition
later than does shallow processing such as attending to its appearance (visual
encoding) or sound (acoustic encoding).
iii.The time you spend thinking about material you are reading and relating it to
previously stored material is about the most useful thing you can do in learning
any new subject matter.
b. Visual Encoding
i.Visual imagery is easier to remember than low-image words, i.e., typewriter is easier
to remember than void.
ii.Mnemonic devices are often image-filled.
c. Organizing Information for Encoding
i.Chunking
ii.Hierarchies
How does sensory memory work? p277
a. Iconic memory - a few tenths of a second.
b. Echoic memory - 3 to 4 seconds
What are the limits of short-term memory? p277
Limited both by amount of information (7-8 pieces max) as well as time. At any given
moment, we can consciously process only a very limited amount of information.
How large and durable is our long-term memory?p278
Limitless; there are some people who remember everything. Here is a 60 Minutes video
documenting the lives of some of them. Is this a problem?
How are memories recorded on the brain? p279
a. Memory trace - As memories whiz through brain circuits, they leave permanent neural
traces. Synapses are key. When learning happens, more serotonin appears at the
synapses. Strengthening of connectivity is called long-term potentiation (LTP).
Experience modifies the brain’s neural networks; given increased activity in a particular
pathway, neural interconnections form or strengthen.
b. Stress and memory - when we are stressed: (1) emotion-triggered stress hormones make
more glucose energy available to fuel brain activity, and; (2) the amygdala boosts activity
in the brain’s memory-forming area.
i.flashbulb memories ii.drug to reduce effect of flashbulb events?
c. Storing implicit and explicit memories - (Important). People can have problems
developing explicit memory (for example Alzheimer’s patients) but still continue
developing implicit memory.
i.Implicit memory aka nondeclarative memory is unconscious memory
ii.Explicit memory aka declarative memory is conscious memory.
d. Hippocampus and memory - Explicit memory is closely connected to the hippocampus.
i.With left-hippocampus damage, people have trouble remembering verbal
information, but no problems with designs and locations
ii.With right-hippocampus damage, people have trouble with designs and locations, but
no problems with verbal information.
e. Cerebellum - Implicit memory is closely connected to the cerebellum.
8. How do we get information out of memory? p283
a. Memories are like a web of associations. Retrieval cues help retrieve the information.
The more retrieval cues you have the better your chances of remembering the
information.
b. Priming is the wakening of associations. Watch this video for a great example.
c. Context can effect memory. Have you gone somewhere and to do something and then
forgotten why you are there?
d. deja-vu e. State-dependent memory - What we learn in one state- be it joyful or sad, drunk or sober may be more easily recalled when we are again in that state.
f. mood-congruence says that our memory of people is shaded by our mood. If we are
depressed, we may recall the world as rejecting, punitive and guilt-promoting, while if we
are happy, we see the world as OK.
Forgetting, Memory Construction, and Improving Memory - Module 22
1. Why do we forget? At what points in the memory system can our memory fail us? p290
g. Three sins of forgetting
i.absent-mindedness - inattention to details leads to encoding failure.
ii.Transcience - storage decay. Watch for forgetting curve.
iii.Blocking - inaccessability of stored information.
h. Three sins of distortion
i.misattribution - confusing the source of information. Proactive and Retroactive
interference.
ii.suggestability - the lingering effects of misinformation. Misinformation effect.
iii.bias - belief-colored recollections
i. One sin of intrustion
i.persistence - unwanted memories
2. How accurate are our memories? p295
j. A big problem is the misinformation effect. Our memories can be tainted if we are
exposed to even subtle misinformation after the event. Even imagining nonexistent
actions can result in false memories, i.e., imagination inflation.
k. Another problem is Source amnesia - it is easy for us to mis-attribute where a source of
a memory comes from.
l. Children - This is a big problem when there are allegations of child abuse. see p300.
3. How might we apply memory principles to everyday situations, such as remembering a person’s
name or even the material of this module? p301
m. Study repeatedly to boost long-term recall.
n. Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material.
o. Make the material personally meaningful.
p. Use mnemonic devices.
q. Refresh your memory by activating retrieval cues.
r. Minimize interference.
s. Test your own knowledge, both to rehearse it and to help determine what you do not yet
know.
Thinking - Module 23
1. What are the functions of concepts? p307
a. Concepts are mental groupings of similar objects, events, and people.
b. We form our concepts by developing prototypes - a mental image or best example that
incorporates all the features we associate with a category.
2. What strategies do we use to solve problems, and what obstacles hinder our problem solving?
p308 To try out your problem-solving skills, and learn more about problem-solving, check out
this NYT article.
c. Algorithms are step-by-step procedures that guarantee a solution.
d. Heuristics are also used - a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make
judgments and solve problems efficiently.
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e. Insight can be used as well - a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a
problem.
f. Obstacles to problem-solving are confirmation bias and fixation. Confirmation bias is a
tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions. Fixation is the
inability to see a problem from a new perspective.
How do heuristics, overconfidence, and framing influence our decisions and judgments? p310
g. Heuristics can be messed up by representativeness and by availability.
h. We are generally overconfident of our ability to problem-solve.
i. Framing effects our decisions and our opinions.
How do our preexisting beliefs influence our decision making? p313
j. Belief perseverance means clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which
they were formed has been discredited.
k. Fear and disgust - why do we fear the wrong things? And what about disgust? Here is a
great article about the evolutionary urge to find certain things “disgusting.”
i.We fear what our ancestral history has prepared us to fear.
ii.We fear what we cannot control.
iii.We fear what is immediate.
iv.We fear what is most readily available in memory.
When do children acquire language, and how do they master this complex task? p319
l. When do we learn? It starts with receptive language (ability to comprehend speech) and
then matures toward productive language. At 4 months, babies enter babbling stage.
At around one year, babies enter the one-word stage. At 18 months, they move to the
two-word stage.
m. Explaining language development - nature vs. nurture
v.Skinner - operant conditioning. Learning can be explained with association,
reinforcement and imitation.
vi.Chomsky - Inborn Universal Grammar.
What is the relationship between thinking and language? (p323)
n. Words do influence our thinking; how strongly? Linguistic determinism is the strongest
view of this.
Do animals - in some sense we can identify with - think? Do they even exhibit language? p326
Notes from Why Don’t Students Like School by Daniel T.
Willingham
1. People are naturally curious, but we are not naturally good thinkers; unless the cognitive
conditions are right, we will avoid thinking.
a. Be sure there are problems to be solved.
b. Respect students' cognitive limits.
c. Clarify the problems to be solved.
d. Reconsider when to puzzle students.
e. Accept and act on variation in student preparation.
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8.
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f. Change the pace.
g. Keep a diary.
Factual knowledge must precede skill.
a. Be sure that the knowledge base is mostly in place when you require critical thinking.
b. Shallow knowledge is better than no knowledge.
c. Do whatever you can to get kids to read.
d. Knowledge acquisition can be incidental (latent learning)
e. Start early.
f. Knowledge must be meaningful.
Memory is the residue of thought.
a. Review each lesson plan in terms of what the student is likely to think about.
b. Think carefully about attention grabbers.
c. Use discovery learning with care.
d. Design assignments so that students will unavoidably think about meaning.
e. Don't be afraid to use mnemonics.
f. Try organizing a lesson plan around the conflict.
We understand new things in the context of things we already know, and most of what we know
is concrete.
a. To help student comprehension, provide examples and ask students to compare them.
b. Make deep knowledge the spoken and unspoken emphasis.
c. Make your expectations for deep knowledge realistic.
It is virtually impossible to become proficient at a mental task without extended practice.
a. Prioritize what should be practiced.
b. Space out the practice.
c. Fold practice into more advanced skills.
Cognition early in training is fundamentally different from cognition late in training.
a. Students are ready to comprehend but not to create knowledge.
b. Activities that are appropriate for experts may at times be appropriate for students, but
not because they will do much for students cognitively.
c. Don't expect novices to learn by doing what experts do.
Children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn.
a. Think in terms of content, not in terms of students.
b. Change promotes attention.
c. There is value in every child, even if he or she is not "smart in some way.
d. Don't worry - and save your money.
Children do differ in intelligence, but intelligence can be changed through sustained hard work.
a. Praise effort, not ability.
b. Tell them that hard work pays off.
c. Treat failure as a natural part of learning.
d. Don't take study skills for granted.
e. Catching up is the long-term goal.
f. Show students that you have confidence in them.
Teaching, like any cognitive skill, must be practiced to be improved.
a. Identify another teacher (or two) with whom you would like to work.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Tape yourself and watch the tapes alone.
With your partner watch tapes of other teachers.
With your partner, watch and comment on each other's tapes.
Comments should be supportive
Comments should be concrete and about the behaviors you observe, not about qualities
you infer.
g. Bring it back to the classroom and follow up.
h. Other steps
i.Keep a teaching diary
ii.Start a discussion group with fellow teachers
iii.Observe
Cognitive Principle
Required Knowldge
About Students
Most Important
Classroom
Implication
1
People are naturally
curious, but we are
not naturally good
thinkers; unless the
cognitive conditions
are right, we will
avoid thinking.
What is just beyond
what my students
know and can do?
Think of to-belearned material as
answers, and take
the time to explain to
students the
questions.
2
Factual knowledge
must precede skill.
What do my students
know?
It's not possible to
think well on a topic
in the absence of
factual knowledge
about the topic.
3
Memory is the
residue of thought.
What will students
think during this
lesson?
The best barometer
for every lesson plan
is "OK, what will it
make the students
think?"
4
We understand new
things in the context
of things we already
know, and most of
what we know is
concrete.
What do students
already know that will
be a toehold on
understanding this
new material?
Always make deep
knowledge your goal,
spoken and
unspoken, but
recognize that
shallow knowledge
will come first.
Chapter
5
It is virtually
impossible to
become proficient at
a mental task without
extended practice.
How can I get
students to practice
without boredom?
Think carefully about
which material
students need at their
fingertips, and
practice it over time.
6
Cognition early in
training is
fundamentally
different from
cognition late in
training.
What is the
difference between
my students and an
expert?
Strive for deep
understanding with
students, not the
creation of new
knowledge.
7
Children are more
alike than different in
terms of how they
think and learn.
Knowledge of
students' learning
styles is not
necessary.
Think of lesson
content, not student
differences, driving
decisions about how
to teach.
8
Children do differ in
intelligence, but
intelligence can be
changed through
sustained hard work.
What do my students
believe about
intelligence?
Always talk about
successes and
failures in terms of
effort, not ability.
9
Teaching, like any
cognitive skill, must
be practiced to be
improved.
What aspects of my
teaching work well for
students, and what
parts need
improvement?
Improvement
requires more than
experience, it also
requires concious
effort and feedback.