Discuss+how+social+or+cultural+factors+affect+one+cognitive+process

__** How Social and Cultural Factors Affects Memory **__
 * __**Term**__ || __**Definition**__ ||
 * Chunking || Grouping bits of information into larger units ||
 * Narrative || Information presented in a meaningful way as part of a story ||

Cole and Scribner (1974) Memory strategies in different cultures

=__Trial 1__=

__Procedure:__
Compared recall of a series of words in the US and the Kpelle people of rural Liberia vs.

Same list of words cannot be used = Observed everyday cognitive activities in Liberia

Developed memory experiments - Closely collaborated with the local college-edicated people - Those spoke the language and acted as experiementers Words used were familiar to the participants

__Findings:__
striking cultural differences - remembering - solving

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=__Trial 2__=

__Liberian children:__


From different age groups Recall items as many items from 4 categories 1. Utensils 2. Clothes 3. Tools 4. Vegetables

__Expectations:__
Older children - recall more items

__Findings:__
Younger children recalled //more// items Non-schooled children - performance did not improve after the age of 10 : only around 10 items 15 practice trials : only +2 items

__Exception:__
Children who //attended school// for several years Learned list as rapidly as the children in the US Used same strategy - categorizing similar objects

__Analyzed Data:__
Illiterate Children - did not use **chunking**

=__Trial 3__=

__Procedure:__
Objects represented in a meaningful way, a **narattive**

__** Findings: **__

 * Illiterate Children - recalled objects easily + chunked them **

__** Evaluation: **__

 * Results have been supported on other studies about children's memorization skills **
 * - Rogoff + Wadell (1982) discovered that Mayan children easily recall objects if they are related meaningfully to the local scenery **

=__Conclusion__=

Ability to remember : Universial Strategies for remembering : Not Universial

Many memory studies are associated with schooling Schooling : Allows children to learn specialized information-processing tasks
 * organizing large amounts of information for remembering
 * using logic and abstract symbols in problem solving

People learn to remember in ways that are relevant for their everyday lives. (These strategies do not always mirror the activities that cognitive psychologists use to investigate mental processes)

Works Cited:

Crane, John, and Jette Hannibal. Psychology: course companion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009.

Core Cognitive Level of Analysis