What is the process of organizing information by categorizing it into chunks?

The process of organizing information by categorizing it into chunks is referred to as chunking. This cognitive strategy involves breaking down larger pieces of information into smaller, more manageable units or "chunks." For example, when remembering a long sequence of numbers, one might group them into smaller sets (like a phone number) to make them easier to recall.

Chunking takes advantage of our brain's capacity to process and remember information by reducing the cognitive load. Instead of trying to remember each individual element, the brain can focus on recalling a few larger units, which enhances memory retention and retrieval. This technique is particularly effective in learning and memory tasks, thus making it an essential tool in educational psychology.

Other terms like maintenance rehearsal and elaborative encoding describe different memory processes and do not specifically refer to the act of organizing information into categories. Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating information to maintain it in short-term memory, while elaborative encoding involves linking new information to existing knowledge for better retention. Attention is associated with the focus on specific stimuli but does not involve organizing the information. Each of these concepts serves a unique purpose but does not specifically address the process of chunking.