Procedural vs. Declarative Knowledge

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Cognition is concerned with a wide range of mental processes including thoughts, perception, performance, and personality and intellectual ability. The manner in which persons perceive and understand information has to do with cognitive processes. According to Sternberg (2006), the knowledge of symbols, objects, names, etc. are forms of representations based on cognitive maps defined as "internal representations of our physical environment" (p. 261). Two common forms of knowledge are discussed: procedural and declarative knowledge.

(1) Definition of Procedural and Declarative Knowledge

Procedural knowledge typically involves some type of skill such as skills in problem solving, linguistic, or musical operations with the skills increasing as a result of practice (Sternberg, 2006). According to Sternberg, the knowledge is based on some conscious attention. As explained by Pezzulo (2011), the primary understanding of procedural knowledge is that representations develop from the results of action-oriented mechanism that project different causes of actions. For example, he provides the example, the knowledge associated with the weight of a cup of wine is a procedural interaction in which a wine cup is grasped and then lifted. Eventually, as Sternberg asserts, performance skills may require little conscious attention, which is understood as declarative knowledge. Revisiting Pezzulo 's (2011) explanation of the wine cup, the representations of the cup can be detached from its context (something to be grasped and lifted). Therefore, the cup is not tied to any particular context of action (grasping and lifting), but instead support different decisions for its use such as drinking or being used as a paper weight.

Sternberg (2006) further distinguishes the two forms of knowledge in explaining that the knowledge of a telephone number is declarative knowledge; whereas "knowing" how to remember the phone number is an example of procedural knowledge. To clarify the individual has become skilled at understanding how to memorize ...