Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
27 results found in cognition.
- Anchoring Effect (Anchoring Bias, Cognitive Anchoring)
- A cognitive bias in which people rely too heavily on an initial piece of information (the "anchor") when making subsequent decisions or judgements. In the context of digital accessibility, the anchori…
- Cocktail Party Effect
- The human ability to focus auditory attention on a single speaker or sound source while filtering out competing voices and background noise. Named after the experience of following one conversation at…
- Cross-modal Plasticity (Cross-modal Reorganisation, Cross-modal Cortical Recruitment, Sensory Substitution)
- A neurological phenomenon in which brain regions typically dedicated to processing one sensory modality are repurposed to process information from another sense, often as a result of sensory deprivati…
- Fluid intelligence (Fluid reasoning, Gf)
- The cognitive ability to reason, solve novel problems, and identify patterns without relying on previously acquired knowledge or skills. Fluid intelligence typically declines with age and is commonly …
- Gaze Switching (Visual Attention Switching, Split Attention)
- The act of shifting visual focus between two or more information sources, such as between captions and presentation slides in a classroom, or between a sign language interpreter and a speaker. Gaze sw…
- Germane Cognitive Load (Germane Load)
- One of three types of cognitive load identified by cognitive load theory, referring to the mental effort devoted to processing, constructing, and automating knowledge schemas — the productive cognitiv…
- Incidental Learning (Observational Learning, Informal Learning)
- Knowledge and skills acquired without deliberate instruction, typically through casual observation of the environment and other people. An estimated 80% of early childhood learning occurs incidentally…
- Intrinsic Cognitive Load (Intrinsic Load)
- One of three types of cognitive load identified by cognitive load theory, referring to the inherent difficulty of the material being learned based on its complexity and the learner’s prior knowledge. …
- Model Human Processor (MHP, Human Processor Model)
- A cognitive architecture developed by Card, Moran, and Newell (1983) that models human information processing as three interconnected subsystems: perceptual, cognitive, and motor processors, each with…
- NASA-TLX (NASA Task Load Index, Task Load Index, NASA TLX, Raw-TLX, Raw TLX, RTLX)
- A widely used subjective workload assessment tool developed by NASA that measures perceived workload across six dimensions: mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, performance, effort, and fr…
- Perceptual Span (Reading Span, Visual Span)
- The area of text around a fixation point from which useful information can be extracted during reading. Research using eye-tracking has shown that skilled deaf readers have a larger perceptual span th…
- Perceptual speed (Processing speed, Cognitive processing speed)
- The speed at which an individual can accurately perceive, compare, and respond to visual or auditory stimuli, typically measured through timed tasks requiring rapid symbol comparison or pattern matchi…
- Perspective-taking (Cognitive empathy, Theory of mind)
- The cognitive ability to understand and consider another person's thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and point of view. In accessibility and neurodiversity contexts, perspective-taking is central to the dou…
- Processing Speed (Information Processing Speed, Cognitive Processing Speed)
- A cognitive ability referring to how quickly a person can perceive, process, and respond to information. Processing speed affects how rapidly someone can read, understand instructions, react to stimul…
- Prospective Memory
- The ability to remember to carry out intended actions in the future, such as taking medication at a specific time, attending an appointment, or completing a task when a particular cue arises. Prospect…
- Routinisation (Routinization, Age-Related Routinisation)
- The tendency of older adults to increasingly organise their daily activities into fixed, predictable routines as they age. As cognitive resources decline, older adults optimise their remaining capacit…
- Sensory Compensation (Cross-Modal Plasticity, Sensory Substitution)
- The phenomenon whereby the loss of one sense leads to enhanced abilities in remaining senses, driven by neuro-plasticity — the brain's capacity to reorganise its neural pathways. Research shows that b…
- Sighted Memory (Visual Memory, Sighted Recall)
- A mental representation of a physical environment developed through past visual experience, used by people who lose their sight later in life to navigate and understand spaces they previously knew vis…
- Social Attention (Social Orienting)
- The set of behaviours, motivations, and perceptual processes involved in directing and coordinating attention toward other people during social interaction. Social attention includes orienting toward …
- Special Interest (Hyperfocus Interest, Intense Interest)
- A special interest is a deep, focused, and often long-lasting passion for a specific topic, activity, or subject area, commonly experienced by autistic individuals. Special interests go beyond typical…