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Cognition: Memory, Attention, and Learning

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Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems

Abstract

Memory, attention, learning are intertwined in the user’s cognitive processing. These are the basic mechanisms of the user’s cognitive architecture and thus provide the basis for cognition. Users have several types of memory that are important for computer use. Attention can be seen as the set of items being processed at the same time and how they are being processed. If there are more items stored in memory or the items in memory are better organized these effects will improve performance and provide the appearance of more attention. Users also learn constantly. The effects of learning lead to more items being stored in memory and allow the user to attend to more aspects of a task.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This perverse statement is explained in a later section. Most students remember this part of the book.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of IST, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Frank E. Ritter

  2. School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK

    Gordon D. Baxter

  3. eBay Research Labs, San Jose, CA, USA

    Elizabeth F. Churchill

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  1. Frank E. Ritter
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  2. Gordon D. Baxter
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  3. Elizabeth F. Churchill
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Correspondence to Frank E. Ritter .

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Ritter, F.E., Baxter, G.D., Churchill, E.F. (2014). Cognition: Memory, Attention, and Learning. In: Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5134-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5134-0_5

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