A framework within cognitive psychology posits that knowledge is organized in the mind as interconnected concepts. This structure represents relationships between different pieces of information, where each concept is a node and the connections between them are links. Activation of one node can spread to related nodes, influencing cognitive processes such as memory retrieval and decision-making. For instance, activating the concept “bird” might also activate related concepts like “wings,” “feathers,” and “flight.”
This model is significant because it provides a mechanism for understanding how individuals store, retrieve, and utilize information. Its development offered an alternative to purely associative models of memory, suggesting a more complex and organized system. The framework has influenced various areas, including artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and educational psychology, informing the design of knowledge representation systems and instructional strategies.