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Cognitive & Developmental Psychology

Forgetting Curve and Spaced Repetition

  • Memory decays exponentially over time (Ebbinghaus, 1885)
  • Each successful retrieval strengthens the trace and slows future decay
  • Optimal timing: review just before you'd forget
  • In Spikuit: FSRS v6 models per-neuron stability and difficulty

Testing Effect

  • Actively retrieving > passively re-reading (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006)
  • Even failed retrieval attempts improve later recall
  • In Spikuit: the Learn protocol is "present → evaluate", not just "show content"

ZPD and Scaffolding

Can't do (yet)
ZPD: can do with support
Can do alone (mastered)
  • ZPD (Vygotsky, 1978): the gap between what you can do alone vs. with guidance
  • Scaffolding (Wood, Bruner & Ross, 1976): temporary support, gradually removed as competence grows
  • In Spikuit: Scaffold level computed from FSRS state + graph neighbors

Schema Theory

  • Schemas = mental frameworks that organize knowledge (Bartlett, 1932; Piaget)
  • New info is easier to learn when it connects to existing schemas
  • In Spikuit: the knowledge graph is the schema; IngestSession.ingest() auto-discovers related concepts

References

  • Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Über das Gedächtnis. Duncker & Humblot. (English translation: Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology, 1913.)
  • Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge University Press.
  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
  • Wood, D., Bruner, J. S. & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), 89–100.
  • Roediger, H. L. & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
  • Piaget, J. (1952). The Origins of Intelligence in Children. International Universities Press.