Article describes cognitive stimulation as a system of intrinsic motivation which draws upon neo-behavioral, cognitive, and information-processing theories and upon a body of related research. (Editor)

New knowledge is made meaningful by relating it to prior knowledge. Although meaningfulness usually relates new knowledge to prior superordinate knowledge, arbitrarily meaningful knowledge, coordinate, subordinate, and analogic ideas, experiential knowledge, and cognitive strategy also facilitate learning. Optimization of prior knowledge is done…