Unit 7 -Cognition
UNIT OVERVIEW
Module 31
Studying Memory
• What is memory?
Building Memories: Encoding
• How can we improve our encoding of memories?
Module 32
Memory Storage
• Are parts of the brain more important to memory than others?
Retrieval: Getting Information Out
• What is the relationship between getting information into and out of memory?
Module 33
Forgetting
• Can forgetting ever be a good thing?
Memory Construction Errors
• How can we make our memory retrieval more reliable?
Improving Memory
• How can we improve memory?
Module 34
Thinking and Concepts
• What is the function of concepts?
Creativity
• What does it mean to be creative?
Module 35
Problem Solving: Strategies and Obstacles
• What are the best strategies for solving problems?
Forming Good and Bad Decisions and Judgments
• How can we avoid making bad decisions?
Module 36
Language Structure
• What is language?
Language Development
• How do we develop language?
The Brain and Language
• How does our brain process language?
Language and Thought
• Does language influence thought? Or vice versa
KEY TOPICS
A. Memory
B. Language
C. Thinking
D. Problem Solving and Creativity
In this unit students learn how humans convert sensory input into kinds of information. They examine how humans learn, remember, and retrieve information. This part of the course also addresses problem solving, language, and creativity. AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:
• Compare and contrast various cognitive processes: — effortful versus automatic processing; — deep versus shallow processing; — focused versus divided attention.
• Describe and differentiate psychological and physiological systems of memory (e.g., short-term memory, procedural memory).
• Outline the principles that underlie effective encoding, storage, and construction of memories.
• Describe strategies for memory improvement.
• Synthesize how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitate acquisition, development, and use of language.
• Identify problem-solving strategies as well as factors that influence their effectiveness.
• List the characteristics of creative thought and creative thinkers.
• Identify key contributors in cognitive psychology (e.g., Noam Chomsky, Hermann Ebbinghaus, Wolfgang Köhler, Elizabeth Loftus, George A. Miller).
Unit Articles
Unit Videos
Article 7.1 Why Bilinguals Are Smarter (NY Times)
Article 7.2 Broca and Wernicke are Dead- It’s Time to Rewrite the Neurobiology of Language (Neuroscience News)
Article 7.3 When you can’t remember where you are or how you got there (BBC)
Article 7.4 Bicycles Built from People’s Attempt to Draw them from Memory (BOOM)
Article 7.5 Making Learning Visible: Doodling Helps Memories Stick (MindShift)
Article 7.6 I Could Have Sworn: An Interview with Elizabeth Loftus
Article 7.7 How Reliable is Your Memory? Elizabeth Loftus (Ted Talk)
Article 7.8 The Forgotten Childhood: Why Early Memories Fade (NPR)
Article 7.9 How One Memory Attaches to Another (Scientific American)
Crash Course Episode 13 - How We Make Memories
Crash Course Episode 14 - Remembering and Forgetting
Crash Course Episode 15 - Cognition
Video Reviews - watch the videos below on the unit content content and complete the questions listed on the Google Form
Cognitive Development
Memory Retrieval
Models of Memory