Human Cognitive Architecture is Concerned with the Manner in which our Cognitive Structures are Organized

Human cognitive architecture is concerned with the manner in which our cognitive structures are organized. 

Most modern treatments of human cognitive architecture use the Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) sensory memory–working memory–long-term memory model as their base. 

Sensory memory is not relevant to the discussion here so it is not considered further.

The relations between working and long-term memory,in conjunction with the cognitive processes that support learning, are of critical importance to the argument. 

Our understanding of the role of long-term memory in human cognition has altered dramatically over the last few decades. 

It is no longer seen as a passive repository of discrete, isolated fragments of information that permit us to repeat what we have learned. 

Nor is it seen only as a component of human cognitive architecture that has merely peripheral influence on complex cognitive processes such as thinking and problem solving. 

Rather, long-term memory is now viewed as the central, dominant structure of human cognition. 

Everything we see, hear, and think about is critically dependent on and influenced by our long-term memory. 

De Groot’s (1945/1965) work on chess expertise, followed by Chase and Simon(1973),has served as a majori nfluence on the field’s reconceptualization of the role of long-term memory.

The finding that expert chess players are far better able than novices to reproduce briefly seen board configurations taken from real games,but do not differ in reproducing random board configurations, has been replicated in a variety of other areas(e.g.,Egan&Schwartz,1979;Jeffries,Turner,Polson,& Atwood, 1981; Sweller & Cooper, 1985). 

These results suggest that expert problem solvers derive their skill by drawing on the extensive experience stored in their long-term memory and then quickly select and apply the best procedures for solving problems. 

The fact that these differences can be used to fully explain problem-solving skill emphasizes the importance of long-term memory to cognition. 

We are skillful in an area because our long-term memory contains huge amounts of information concerning the area. 

That information permits us to quickly recognize the characteristics of a situation and indicates to us, often unconsciously, what to do and when to do it. 

Without our huge store of information in long-term memory, we would be largely incapable of everything from simple acts such as crossing a street (information in long-term memory informs us how to avoid speeding traffic, a skill many other animals are unable to store in their long-term memories) to complex activities such as playing chess or solving mathematical problems. 

Thus, our long-term memory incorporates a massive knowledge base that is central to all of our cognitively based activities. 

What are the instructional consequences of long-term memory? In the first instance and at its most basic, the architecture of long-term memory provides us with the ultimate justification for instruction. 

The aim of all instruction is to alter long-term memory. 

If nothing has changed in long-term memory, nothing has been learned. 

Any instructional recommendation that does not or cannot specify what has been changed in long-term memory, or that does not increase the efficiency with which relevant information is stored in or retrieved from long-term memory, is likely to be ineffective. 

Source : https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1?needAccess=true