Do You Have Any Control ?

By Makenzie Molden

Control it’s hard to handle sometimes. Especially as a freshman since you have this new found freedom but as they also freedom come reasonability. The change from high school to college especially if your living on campus is hard enough but there I also the learning, studying and time management transition, Study, learning and time management is all so different once you start college, the same skills can sometime no linger be helpful so while your trying to make new friends, and learn your way around campus you also have to relearn how to learn and study while making sure you’re not falling behind and that where cognitive control will become your best friends especially your first year.

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Retrieve to Achieve

By Brock Bower-Preece

As incoming college freshmen, you are likely to encounter new and challenging material that requires a great deal of memorization. Whether you are studying for an exam or trying to retain information from a lecture, memorization is a critical component of academic success. Research on the correlation between note-taking and test scores does not necessarily support that just studying your notes the night before a test will lead to a good grade. Fortunately, research has shown that using retrieval practice, or actively recalling information from memory, can improve your ability to remember information and perform well on tests. By practicing retrieval, you are not only strengthening your memory, but you are also enhancing your understanding of the material, which can help you excel in your classes. In this way, retrieval practice is a valuable tool that can help you achieve academic success throughout your college career.

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How to Pass College While Saving your Sanity

By Alexis Charlton

To all college students, especially freshmen, are you tired of blanking on tests? Are you tired of studying for hours and not remembering your content? I have something to tell you, it’s not how long or how hard you study, it is how you study. How would it feel to show up to a test and feel more confident than ever? How would you feel about sleeping peacefully the night before a test? I can give you the answer on how to feel confident and calm before you show up to a test. Once again, it is not about how long you study, it is all about how you encode the information you study. 

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Get Your Brain Buzzing: The Generation Effect in Cognitive Psychology for Incoming College Students

By Makenzie Cook

As an incoming student, you may be wondering how to make the best of your learning and retention of new information. Well lucky for you there are many cognitive processes that may help you learn and retain information, one of which is the generation effect. In this blog post, we will be exploring the basics of the generation effect in cognitive psychology, we will discuss its benefits, and even provide you with some tips you may add for good study habits. 

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Benefits of Contextual Learning

By Alexis Cole

Have you ever studied for a test but then when the time came to actually take the test you  completely blanked? Many factors play a role in how well our memory works in different  circumstances. One way you can try to improve your memory when studying for school is to use  the encoding specificity principle. The encoding specificity principle is the idea that when we  learn information we are processing both the information and the environment in which we  learned it so we have better recall of that information when we are trying to remember it in an  environment similar to the one we learned the information in (1). If we apply this concept to  school we see that it is important to study for exams in an environment similar to the  environment we will be in when we take the exam.

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Wait… the lifehack to learning is using what I already know?

By Rae Smith

Picture this: you’re standing at the starting line of the biggest 5k race of your life, but you were so nervous you forgot your running shoes. Now what do you do in this situation? You could always just put your Crocs into “sports mode,” but that probably wouldn’t end well. Instead, you may try to borrow a pair of shoes from a friend. What’s the first thing you would do before slipping them on? You will probably take a quick peek at the inside of the tongue to check the size label to see if they fit your feet. That’s your brain using a schema! “Schemas support memory and perception by providing an organizational framework within which we can encode and store relevant information and efficiently incorporate new information,” according to The National Library of Medicine. Just like making smart shoe decisions, schemas can help students of any age study and learn by providing a framework for organizing new information using what they already know. In this post, we’ll learn about schemas and how they can help you run the race toward academic success! 

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Dual-Coding Theory Explained: Classroom Doodles May Just Be Helpful!

By Matthew Crabtree

The dual-coding theory was proposed by Paivio (1991), and it states that, “… human cognition is divided into two processing systems: visual and verbal … if the information to be processed is coded both visually and verbally, the acquisition chances for learners would be doubled because the information is presented physically as a whole” (O’Neil H. F. et al., 2010).

In other words, the dual-coding hypothesis argues that the combination of visual and verbal representations of information helps increase the ability to encode and later recall that information. With this theory in mind, I would suggest that incoming freshman should prioritize class attendance and engagement because the use of visual representations (such as slideshow presentations) and verbal representations (such as the professors lecture) will promote a better learning outcome, which can be reflected in quiz/exam scores.

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Is My Memory Correct?

By Annalise Siegler

A flashbulb memory is what you would call a “core memory”. This type of memory is where you remember where you were, how you felt, and what you were doing. Some would say this memory is “carved” into your brain. A flashbulb memory is a newsworthy event that has personal value to it. The journal article “Flashbulb Memories in Older Adults” by Gillian Cohen, Martin A. Conway, and Elizabeth A. Maylor, explains that “The term flashbulb memories, which was introduced by Brown and Kulik (1977), has been used to denote unusually vivid and detailed veridical memories that persist unchanged over long periods of time”. The article also describes flashbulb memories as “ The existence, nature, and aetiology of flashbulb memories have been the subject of considerable debate and remain controversial. According to one view (Brown & Kulik, 1977; Gold, 1987; Schmidt & Bohannon, 1988), flashbulbs are a distinct type of memory created by a special encoding mechanism that is triggered by high levels of emotion, surprise, and consequentiality ( Cohen, Conway, and Maylor 1). 

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Imagery Within Cognitive Psychology

By Christion Beamon

Imagery is defined simply by the APA Dictionary of Psychology as “cognitive generation of sensory input from the five senses, individually or collectively, which is recalled from experience or self-generated in a non experienced form”. Imagery is also associated with the ability to form mental images about certain things you think about. This is something that occurs with people everyday. You create mental images of different thoughts every single day. The most relatable thing I could compare it to is when you go a certain amount of time without eating and you have that one craving in your mind. You can see it and almost perfectly imagine what it will taste like once you can eat it. 

Individual differences shape the content of visual representations -  ScienceDirect
This is an explanation of the entire process in a picture.
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Everyday Memory: College Edition

By Brooklyn Lyles

College is typically overwhelming for many, but is also considered to be one of the best times of your life. There are various ways in which each student navigates their way throughout these years whether it pertains to studying, learning, finding your way to different buildings on campus, where resources may be located, and much more. It comes down to what works best for each individual themselves. Another aspect of everyday memory is remembering directions, which typically applies to your everyday driving route whether that be to work, to campus, or back home.  As it is time to transition to the new chapter in your life(college), it is crucial knowing the ins and outs of things as well as what your professor expects from you and how to engage/interact with the environment cognitively in order to learn better.  However, something we all have in common that can be used to benefit/improve these different aspects is something called everyday memory.

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