A couple weeks ago in cognitive psychology class, we
discussed the process of encoding and retrieving information in our brain. The
concept that sparked my interest within this topic of cognitive psychology was
the encoding process, more specifically, the levels of processing. The level of
processing theory refers to how memory depends on how the information is
encoded: the “deeper.” the better. Craik and Lockhart’s level of processing
theory focuses on the depth of processing, which is categorized amongst shallow
processing and deep processing.
Immediately after hearing this way of processing
information, I thought of a kiddie swimming pool and a large in-ground swimming
pool. I thought of these two things because when we encode information into our
brain it’s very similar to how we experience swimming. Shallow processing
involves little attention to meaning, correspondingly to how a kiddie swimming
pool is very small with low water levels and requires little attention to what
you are even doing. As for deep processing, this involves close attention,
focus, and meaning. Swimming in a large, in-ground swimming pool requires you
to know how to swim and pay attention to what you are doing, for instance:
breathing.
Encoding information is most effective when deep processing
is occurring. By giving information meaning or relating it to yourself, this
allows you to create a connection that can trigger memory. Shallow processing is not as effective due to
its lack of interest, if you only recognize the surface of something it is more
difficult to determine exactly what you were doing or what you may be trying to
remember. I found this topic of encoding by deep processing and shallow
processing interesting because I was able to relate it to
something that I enjoy doing. Also, this is a really fascinating topic because
if you try deep processing while studying for a test, by creating deeper
meaning to what you are studying, you can see the difference compared to how
you were studying before.
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