Information

Processing Theory
Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Describe the information processing theory as a

whole and the main theoretical concepts under it
2. Explain the main developmental approaches of the
theory
3. Contrast memory and metamemory
4. Explain the mechanisms of development of the
framework
History of the
Theory
History

● Arose from the growing focus on experimental

psychology
● Key points in 1940s-1950s
○ Dissatisfaction with the learning theory
○ Noam Chomsky and language acquisition
○ Exposure to conception of information in new
technology
History

● Technology from World War 2, the Korean War ,

communication engineering, and computer science
affected the theory
● Artificial intelligence tries to develop maximally
efficient and intelligent systems
History

● The focus to the information processing theory was

due to the ability to have controlled experiments
while having new methodology, language, and
metaphors to study development
● Focused on memory, attention and language
History

● Cognitive science— an amalgamation of cognitive

psychology, computer science, philosophy,
neuroscience, and linguistic
General
Orientation to the
Theory
 Humans as
Information-Processing
Systems
Humans as Information-Processing Systems

● Interested in the cognitive architecture or the

structure of cognitive systems
● Information-processing psychologists make a
step-by-step analysis of what a person does to the
information.
● Use models to outline this step-by-step
transformation
Humans as Information-Processing Systems

● A model is a theory about the structure, or

“blueprint,” of the mind, as well as how it functions
● Working memory - limited capacity workspace that
actively keeps information alive temporarily so that
this information can be used for thinking and
learning
Humans as Information-Processing Systems

● Central Executive - controls the process and what is

paid attention to
● Visuospatial sketchpad - for visual and spatial info
● Phonological loop - speech sounds
● Episodic buffer - temporary interface between the
phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad,
on the one hand, and long-term memory on the
other hand
Humans as Information-Processing Systems

● The sketchpad and loop decay quickly

● Episodic buffer is essential for episodic memory
(memory of a particular episode)
● Part of long-term memory
Humans as Information-Processing Systems

● Working memory and long-term memory

development go hand-in-hand
Humans as Information-Processing Systems
 Development as
Self-Modification
Development as Self-Modification

● A theory needs to have processes that bring about

change
● Needed to highlight how children learn from
experience
● Models of 3- and 4-year olds mimicked learning of
real-children at this age
Task Analysis
Task Analysis

● What cognitive skills and capacities does a child

have to have in order to do this task well?
● Need to distinguish between useful behaviors and
inadequate ones due to lack of
information-processing abilities
● Believe that children apply rules specifically to
certain domains only
Methodology
Methodology

● Information-processing psychologists typically use

rigorous experimental methods to conduct a
fine-grained analysis of the time course of problem
solving
● Rule-assessment approach based on error analysis.
the child is using to solve the problem.
● Microgenetic method
Methodology

● Flow Diagram
● Computer simulation models
Major Developmental
Approaches
Memory
Memory

● Big focus for information processing theorists

● Involves 3 steps:
○ Encode
○ Storage
○ Retrieval
● Both implicit and explicit memory are present in
infants but explicit memory matures over the years
Memory

● Preschool Age and the autobiographical memory

○ Development of sense of self
○ “things that happen to me”
● How parents talk to their children affect
development
Strategies

● Focuses on remembering when it is not

“meaningful”
● Strategies are “mentally effortful, goal-directed
processes that are adopted to enhance memory
performance”
● Production deficiency - have cognitive ability to use
strategies but deficient on when to use them
Strategies

● Different strategies develop over time

● A milestone during the grade school and adolescent
years involves learning to make maximal use of
one’s limited capacity.
Strategies

● Children may use strategies that don’t help with

memory (utilization deficiency), combine one or
more strategies, and change strategies from trial to
trial
● Strategy development hinges on knowledge,
metamemory, and capacity development
Knowledge
● As children increase in knowledge, they’re able to
remember what they understand
● New associations help with memory
● Development of scripts - “what’s supposed to
happen”
○ May in fact hinder memory at times
● Knowledge difference between adults and children
affect salient points in memory
Metamemory

● Aspect of metacognition - knowledge about any

aspect of human thought
● Metamemory is knowledge about memory
● Effective metacognition includes noticing whether a
strategy is helping recall or not, deciding whether to
switch to another strategy, and considering adding
a second strategy
Capacity

● Increase in capacity means being able to

remember more things in general
● However, increases in efficiency and speed of
processing also allow someone to use less capacity
for the same task
● “Intensive” strategies may leave children with less
capacity to remember
Strategies: Acquisition, Variability, and Choice

● Through Siegler’s research, it was found that

problem solving strategies tend to be more variable
and tended to use more than one strategy at a time
Strategies of Selective Information Gathering

● Talks about the child learning about what not to

pay attention to in order to better
Sociocultural Context

● Culture plays a role in what strategies a child ends

up learning
Production and Connectionist Simulations of Problem Solving
and Learning
● Production Systems - focus on “yes” or “no” flow
diagrams
● Learning involves acquiring, and sometimes
changing, production rules
Production and Connectionist Simulations of Problem Solving
and Learning
Production and Connectionist Simulations of Problem Solving
and Learning
Production and Connectionist Simulations of Problem Solving
and Learning
● Connectionist Systems - modeled on the brain, on
what is known about its structure, function, and
development
○ Also called “neural network models”
● Use units similar to neurons and mimic pathways
that activate when stimulated
Production and Connectionist Simulations of Problem Solving
and Learning
● Learning occurs when the pattern of connections
changes because of changes in the relative strength
of the connections in response to feedback as to
whether the output was accurate or inaccurate
Production and Connectionist Simulations of Problem Solving
and Learning
Intelligence
● Robert Sternberg had the “triarchic theory of
intelligence”
○ Componential subtheory - components
○ Experiential subtheory - deal with new demands
and automize information processing
○ Contextual subtheory - social and practical
behavior in its cultural context
Intelligence
● Componential subtheory has 3 components:
○ Knowledge acquisition component- obtain
relevant info
○ Metacomponents - planning, decision-making,
and combines new info to solve problem
○ Performance component - what solves the
problem
Intelligence
● Knowledge acquisition involves
○ Selective encoding - knowing what to pay
attention to
○ Selective combination - combining info in a
useful way
○ Selective comparison - matching what was
learned with what you already know
Intelligence
● Metacomponents are like the central executive
● Performance components involve the actual
strategies that were used
○ Focus is also where cognitive resources are
allocated
Intelligence
● Sternberg said intelligence is applied in:
○ Analytic problems - problems requiring abstract
judgments
○ Creativity - novel tasks
○ Practical thinking - applying the components of
intelligence so as to adapt to, shape, and select
environments
Mechanisms of
Development
Mechanisms
● Overlapping Waves model - child’s thinking never
stands still
○ Different strategies become more prominent as
a child grows older
○ Different waves influence others
○ “Survival” of best strategies
Mechanisms
● Automatization - things become “automatic”
● Encoding - features of the environment encourage
a child to notice and use different information
● Generalization - applying a strategy to problems
with a similar structure
● Strategy construction - has insight into a problem
and tries a new approach
Position on
Developmental Issues
Positions on Issues
● Human Nature - mechanistic but has organismic
elements (cognitive organization, active organism)
○ Holistic view directed by cognitive components
and changes in system
○ Rarely contextual
● Both qualitative and quantitative
Positions on Issues
● Nature vs Nurture - both interact
● What develops?
○ Cognitive processing
○ “Knowing”, “knowing about knowing”, “knowing
how to know”