What is Cognitive Psychology? Basically, it studies human cognitive processes - acquiring, storing, transforming and using knowledge to make decisions. From all of the lessons we tackled in this class, I consider memory as the most important. If you notice my concept map, I used the term memory as a link with all the other terms we discussed in COGPSYC. It is because for me, everything is linked to it and impossible without it. We cannot learn without memory; we cannot solve problems without memory; and we cannot have emotions without memory. It starts with the concept of schema. It is said that schema is where information is organized to form concepts using our mental network (Woolfolk, 2007). It acts as a baseline where all the new information a person gets from the external stimuli is organized. This process of organizing is then adapted until it balances with the other cognitive schemas. Memory can be classified into three categories: sensory, short-term, and long term (Baddeley, 2004). In the process of sensory memory, a person see, hear or touch the information using his attention and perception from the external stimuli. From that, the information which is successfully monitored is then transferred into the short term memory. Information in short-term memory needs to be rehearsed. This is called maintenance rehearsal which involves process of repeatedly verbalizing or thinking over specific information (Craik & Lockhart, 1972). One needs to repeat words or concepts again and again to remember. On the other hand, the information processing approach involves storage of information from external which is then transferred into our memory. Long-term memory involves retrieval of information by using elaborative rehearsal. Elaborative rehearsal involves deep semantic processing to remember information by giving significant meaning to it (Craik & Lockhart,