%% ### #todo - [ ] Add to Anki - [ ] https://sites.google.com/view/efratfurst/makingsensecogsci - [ ] Consider adding something on metacognitive processes that orchestrate lower-level cognitive processes. - [ ] E.g., [[How People Learn II]], chapter 4. Orchestrating learning: Metacognition, executive function, self-regulation. - [[Learning is supported by an array of cognitive processes that must be coordinated for successful learning to occur]] - [[Metacognition is the ability to monitor and regulate one's own cognitive processes]] - [[Self-regulated learning (SRL) involves metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral processes that allow an individual to achieve their learning goals]] - [[Executive function refers to a set of cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior in the pursuit of some goal]] %% ### Situating this note [[Learning involves myriad systems and processes within an individual that coordinate, interact, and unfold over time]]. In this note, I want to take a closer look at the cognitive systems and processes involved in learning. The aim is to help me answer a more general question, namely: [[What are the mechanisms of learning and how do they work?]] ### How to interpret "cognitive mechanisms of learning"? By "[[Cognitive theories of learning focus on the mental processes of the individual learner|cognitive]]," I mean something like "mental" or "related to the mind." By "mechanism," I mean something like "a system of causally interacting parts that produce effects".^[Seth, 2021, p. 22] By "cognitive mechanism," then, I mean something like the systems and processes that realize the mental activities underlying learning, such as perception or memory. %%Seel (2012): Learning mechanisms are patterns or frameworks in which learning is processed by the brain and how a person subsequently behaves consistently.%% ### What are the different cognitive mechanisms of learning? How do they work? I've come up with the following selection of "mechanisms" based on my study:^[E.g. Bloom, 2023; Budson & Kensinger, 2023; Dehaene, 2021; Eagleman, 2020; Lieberman, 2021; Nathan, 2022; National Academies, 2018; Weinstein et al., 2019] - [[Attention is the selection and amplification of sensory information]] - [[Perception is the organization and interpretation of sensory information]] - [[Error feedback measures the difference between the expected and the actual outcome]] - [[Memory is the capacity to encode, store, and retrieve information]] Here, I'm taking an **information processing approach**, which assumes that we process information in our minds rather than simply responding to stimuli from the environment.^[Bloom, 2023; Seel, 2012] We encode input into mental representations, operate on this information, store and retrieve it from memory, and produce outputs in terms of actions. %% - Some graphical representations of these processes, which might be useful for future reference: - [[Learning and Memory]], chapter 10, Figure 10.15 One possible integration of current theories of memory. Note that although attention has been shown as occurring between sensory memory and short-term memory, selection probably occurs at many points during processing. Also, the diagram does not include processes such as organization and rehearsal. ![[Pasted image 20230224104132.png]] - [[Psych]], chapter 7, Standard model of memory. - ![[Pasted image 20230429082946.png|400]] %% ### How do these mechanisms operate in concert? The mechanisms listed above operate in concert to enable successful learning. Here's one way to explain how the mechanisms work together:^[Bloom, 2023; Budson & Kensinger, 2023; Eagleman, 2020; Lieberman, 2021] - There's a **world** out there that you find yourself in. - Your sensory organs register different aspects of the environment (stimuli) and convert those into electrochemical signals between neurons. This is called **sensation**. - The brain selects certain sensory information for further processing via **attention**. - Attended sensory information is combined with information from memory. Together, this gives rise to subjective experience in a process called **perception**, which aims to make sense of the world. - The mind compares memory-based expectations about how the world works with the sensory information it receives, which results in **error feedback** that serves to update and streamline an internal model of the external world. - Some of the information is encoded and stored in **memory** from where it can be retrieved and used for anything between seconds to years or even decades. %% ### How do these mechanisms contribute to adaptation? See [[What is the evolutionary function of learning?]] %% --- Topics: - [[Learning (Index)]] Related notes: - [[What are the mechanisms of learning and how do they work?]] - [[What are the biological mechanisms of learning and how do they work?]] - [[What are the sociocultural mechanisms of learning and how do they work?]]