Chunking was put forward as a way of thinking by Miller. It was later explored by Rosenbllom and Newell where they came up with the following assertions. When a person acquires information, he organizes and arranges it forming storage expressions called chunks. These are the chunks that exist in the learning moments. What steers this hypothesis is the fact that human performance is enhanced by practice. An investigation based on choice-reaction-time-test was performed to verify whether chunking was a learning machine that was implementable. It was later discovered that in a machine information gathering environment, chunking was actually possible and its performance got increased with time. Newell and Rosenbloom later proposed that chunking is task independent general erudition mechanism. For instance, Soar incorporates chunking as its sole learning method for a variety of task-independent and task applications for research on intelligent behaviors and systems.
We use schema to simplify and organize what we know about the world around us. We apply schema in mechanical devices, ourselves, other people, and food and almost in everything. It is possible for schemas to be related to one another, sometimes in a hierarchy manner. Schemas are like filters that accentuate and downplay various elements. They alter what we notice, the way we interpret things and the way we act and make decisions. Through schemas, we are able to classify things like when we dismiss somebody. They also enable us make predictions about what is bound to happen. Through schemas, we are able to recall things and use them to encode memories. Schemas enable us to assess threats and forecast other things. Once a schema has been accepted or created, we fight hard for its sustainability. In cultures that allow short-cut communications schemas are generally accepted.
We tend to have favorite schema which we use often. When interpreting the world, we will try to use these first, going on to others if they do not sufficiently fit. Also, schemas are self sustaining. They are even able to persist in the front of disconfirming evidence. It is because if something mismatches the schema e.g. the evidence against it, it may be ignored. It is also easier to change some schemas than others. Other people change their schemas openly than other people.
Categorization is an implication of grouping things for a specific purpose. The categorization is majorly based on their similarities. According to prototype theory, categorization is perceived as the grouping of things basing them on prototypes. Systems of categories are not actually existent but occur in people’s experience. For example, when applying categorization in shopping, on is bound to remember the highest and lowest prices but more preference is given to the lowest prices. This is due to asymmetric and symmetric categorization since people have programmed themselves to getting fair deals.
There is some relation between the three aspects of human memory i.e. schema, chunking and categorization. They exhibit some sort of information analysis whereby the mind conducts some analysis then rules out some information as it keeps another.
Works Cited
http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/schema.html
J.J. Grefenstette, C.L. Ramsey, and A.C. Schultz:“Learning sequential decision rules using simulation models and competition”, Machine Learning, Vol. 5,Number 4, pp. 355-381, 1990
D.E. Goldberg, G. Korb & K. Deb: “Messy genetic algorithms: Motivation, analysis, and first results”, Complex Systems, pp. 3:493-530, 1989.
Cohen, H., & Lefebvre, C. (Eds.). (2005).Handbook of Categorization in Cognitive Science. Elsevier.
