Applied research (Chapter 1) – Research that takes what we know about basic processes and applies them to real-life questions and settings.
Attention (Chapter 6) – A limited-capacity cognitive resource that directs and maintains focus on a specific stimulus.
Attentional Control Theory (Chapter 6) – states that those who have better attentional control are able to more effectively select what to focus on, and maintain this focus for longer without getting distracted or starting to mind-wander.
Bottom-up processing (Chapter 5) – Information processing that begins and ends with the stimulus: you focus on the information coming from whatever you are trying to perceive, and you try to understand it just by piecing this information together.
Central executive (Chapter 6) – A component of working memory that is responsible for coordinating the other processes, but has not been precisely defined in the literature.
Chunking (Chapter 6) – Grouping smaller pieces of information into larger, more meaningful pieces of information so that they can be held in working memory more easily.
Cognitive load (Chapter 6) – The amount of information requiring our attention; the demands on working memory of processing information (see also Perceptual load).
Cognitive Load Theory (Chapter 6) – Sweller’s theory of attention as it relates to education; the main tenet is that we can only process a limited amount of information at any one time, so we have to avoid overloading attention with unnecessary or extraneous material.
Cognitive psychology (Chapter 1) – The study of the mind, including processes such as perception, attention, and memory.
Concrete examples (Chapter 8) – Specific stories, pictures, analogies, and other items that illustrate abstract ideas.
Confirmation bias (Chapter 3) – The tendency for people to search out information that confirms their own beliefs, or interpret information in a way that confirms them.
Consolidation (Chapter 7) – The process by which new activation patterns that represent memories are reinforced after learning.
Correlational studies (Chapter 2) – Studies that show correlation; they can demonstrate that a relationship exists between two variables, but cannot prove that one variable causes a change in the other variable.
Curse of knowledge (Chapter 5) – Erroneously assuming that something is easy or obvious because you have had a lot of experience with it.
Declarative/explicit memory (Chapter 7) – Memories that we can access directly, voluntarily report the contents of, and are aware of remembering.
Deeper processing (Chapter 9) – Thinking about the meaning of information that is being encoded.
Dual coding (Chapter 9) – Combining words with visuals.
Elaboration (Chapter 8) – Adding details to memories and integrating new information with existing knowledge.
Elaborative interrogation (Chapter 9) – A specific method of elaboration where you ask yourself questions about how and why things work, and then produce the answers to those questions.
Empirical evidence (Chapter 2) – Knowledge that is gained through experimentation or observation; knowledge that is data driven.
Encoding (Chapter 7) – The process by which information moves from short-term to long-term memory.
Engram (Chapter 7) – A memory, represented in the brain by groups of neurons that are connected to each other by synapses and are activated simultaneously.
Experiment (Chapter 2) – An investigation into a research question where the researcher manipulates one or more of the variables (independent variable) and the resulting effect (dependent variable) is measured.
False memories (Chapter 7) – Memories of things that never happened, or happened differently to the way we remember them.
Implicit memory (Chapter 7) – Memory without conscious awareness.
Increased Saliency Theory (Chapter 6) – States that attentional resources constantly shift around so that some things become more noticeable or important (more salient) than others.
Individual interest (Chapter 6) – The extent to which someone is inherently interested in a certain topic.
Interference (Chapter 7) – When previously learned information interacts with new information in memory.
Interleaving (Chapter 8) – Switching between ideas or problem types while studying.
Learning Styles Theory (Chapter 9) – The idea that students learn best in different ways, for example visual and verbal styles, and that instruction should be matched to these styles.
Load Theory (Chapter 6) – Lavie’s theory of attention that distinguishes between different types of load: perceptual load and cognitive load.
Long-term memory (Chapter 7) – Theoretically, an unlimited capacity process that retains information and skills over time. It typically involves four stages: encoding, consolidation, storage, and retrieval.
Mind-wandering (Chapter 6) – Having thoughts that are unrelated or irrelevant to the task you are trying to pay attention to.
Neuromyths (Chapter 4) – A term often used to describe misunderstandings about the brain.
Neuroscience (Chapter 2) – The study of the structure and functions of the brain.
Perception (Chapter 5) – The subjective interpretation of sensory information.
Perceptual load (Chapter 6) – The amount of bottom-up information (sensory signals) that has to be processed.
Phonological loop (Chapter 6) – One of the three key processes of working memory that stores and also rehearses verbal/auditory information.
Procedural memory (Chapter 7) – Memory for tasks without conscious awareness.
Processing Speed Theory (Chapter 6) – Describes our attentional resources in terms of how quickly we can process information.
Prospective memory (Chapter 7) – Allows us to be able to plan to do something
Qualitative data (Chapter 2) – Data that are not inherently numeric (e.g., words, pictures).
Quantitative data (Chapter 2) – Data that are numeric or can be relatively easily transformed into numerical information.
Randomized controlled trial (Chapter 2) – Experimental manipulations that include a control group and a group where one variable is manipulated, random assignment of participants (or students) to each condition to create equivalent groups, and measurement of at least one dependent variable to see if the manipulation caused a change.
Refutational teaching (Chapter 4) – Includes three stages: facts, refutation, and inoculation. Begins with presenting correct information, introduces the misinformation, and then explains why the misinformation is incorrect.
Retrieval cues (Chapter 7) – Hints that help you to recall a certain memory.
Retrieval practice (Chapter 8) – Bringing learned information to mind from long-term memory.
Scaffolded retrieval tasks (Chapter 10) – Retrieval practice tasks that are made easier with retrieval cues or hints.
Schema (Chapter 7) – Pre-determined categorizations of the world and the behavior of objects and people.
Self-explanation (Chapter 9) – A study strategy by which students try to explain out loud the steps that they are taking as they solve a problem.
Sensation (Chapter 5) – Objective signals received by your organs through the five senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell).
Shallow processing (Chapter 9) – Analyzing information with regard to surface or superficial details.
Short-term memory (Chapter 6) – A small temporary storage capacity with a moving 15–30-second window.
Situational interest (Chapter 6) – The extent which you find environmental factors engaging, such as how absorbing a text is or how enjoyable you are finding a lecture.
Source Monitoring Framework (Chapter 7) – A theoretical framework that explains how we attribute sources to our memories, sometimes attributing memories to incorrect sources, e.g., thinking something actually happened to you when it was just a dream.
Spaced practice (Chapter 8) – Having multiple opportunities to study or practice something at two distinct time-points.
Task-switching costs (Chapter 6) – Decreased efficiency and slowed reaction times that result from trying to go between two or more different tasks.
Testing effect (Chapter 10) – The benefit to learning from practicing retrieval.
Test-potentiated learning (Chapter 10) – The finding that later learning from reading is enhanced after a test.
Top-down processing (Chapter 5) – Using your knowledge to understand something, instead of just relying on the stimulus; bringing your prior knowledge to bear on your interpretation of the input you are receiving.
Visuospatial sketchpad (Chapter 6) – Helps you store visual information, plan using visual imagery, and create mental maps and spatial images.
Within-subjects design (Chapter 2) – Each individual participating in the experiment is serving as their own control; each subject participates in all of the conditions.
Working memory (Chapter 6) – A theory developed from short-term memory and made up of three key processes: the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and the central executive. It allows us to hold information for a short time, manipulate it, and send it to/from long-term memory.
Working Memory Theory of attention (Chapter 6) – States that the amount of “attentional resources” we have is dependent on how much information we can hold and manipulate at any one time.