information-processing approach
A theory that emphasizes that individuals manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it. The processes of memory and thinking are central.
information-processing involves
attention, memory, and thinking
selective attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus while ignoring other stimuli
divided attention
Concentrating on more than one activity at the same time.
sustained attention
The ability to maintain focused awareness on a target or idea
executive attention
involves action planning, allocating attention to goals, error detection and compensation, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances
habituation
An organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it
dishabituation
Increase in responsiveness that occurs when stimulation changes or is reintroduced after a period of time
infantile/childhood amnesia
inability as adults to remember events prior to age 3
long-term memory
includes implicit and explicit memory
implicit memory
Retention of information independent of conscious recollection. (Also called procedural memory.)...like dance routine
explicit memory
Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare
thinking
manipulating and transforming information in memory, in order to reason, reflect, think critically, evaluate ideas and solve problems, and make decisions
concepts
cognitive groupings of similar objects, events, people, or ideas
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 (goal-directed behavior and exercise self-control)
critical thinking
grasping the deeper meaning of ideas; keeping and open mind, "mindfulness", thinking reflectively and productively, and evaluating the evidence
mindfulness
being alert, mentally present, and cognitively flexible
Deanna Kuhn
argues that the most important cognitive change in adolescence is improvement in executive function
impulsive behavior
doing something before thinking about it
compulsive
doing something only after thinking about it, more hesitant and anxious
Cognitive skills are influenced by
use it or lose it" mentality
metacognition
Thinking about thinking" or the ability to evaluate a cognitive task to determine how best to accomplish it, and then to monitor and adjust one's performance on that task
theory of mind
awareness of one's own mental processes and the mental processes of others
Older adults tend to ___estimate the memory problems they experience.
OVER
In general, older adults are _______ as younger adults in monitoring the encoding and retrieval of information
as accurate