INFORMATION PROCESSING

The Information Processing Approach

Memory

Thinking

Computer and Human Comparison

The Information-Processing Approach

Mechanisms of Processing

The Information-Processing Approach

Encoding

Automaticity

StrategyConstruction

Mechanism by which information gets into memory

Ability to process information with little or no effort

Discovering new procedure for processing information

MetacognitionCognition about cognition, or

“knowing about knowing”

Speed of Processing Information

Assessed using reaction time tasks. Changes in speed processing:

Improves dramatically through childhood and adolescence. Changes due to both myelination and experience. Decline begins in middle adulthood; continues into late

adulthood.

The Information-Processing Approach

Does Processing Speed Matter?

Linked with competence in thinking. Efficient strategies can compensate for slower reaction

times and speed (mental retardation). Processing linked to accumulated knowledge and

abilities to perform.

Infancy to Adulthood

Newborns can detect contours and fixate. 4-month-olds have selective attention. Joint attention begins in 7-8 month olds.

Control over selective attention shows:

Preschooler attends to external salient stimuli.

Child of 6 to 7 attentive to relevant information. Ability to shift attention increases with age; allows for more complex

task involvement.

_________________________________________________ Less adept at selective attention. Older adults (50-80) performed worse in divided attention

conditions than younger groups.

Attention

Constructing Memories

Schema Theory: People construct and reconstruct memories; mold to fit information already

existing in mind. Schemas: mental frameworks that organize concepts and information;

affects encoding and retrieval

False Memories: New information such as questions or suggestions can alter memories Concerns about-

○ Implanting false memories in eyewitnesses.

○ Accuracy of eyewitness testimonies at trials.

Children as eyewitnesses:

Age differences in susceptibility. Interviewing techniques can cause distortions.

Memory

Infancy

Implicit memory: Memory without conscious recollection; skills and routine done

automatically.

Explicit memory: Conscious memory of facts and experiences; doesn’t appear until after 6

months.

Infantile Amnesia: Adults recall little or none of first three years. Due to immaturity of prefrontal lobes in brain.

Considerable improvement after infancy.

Memory

Imagery and Memory of Verbal Information

Memory

Working Memory and Processing Speed

Working memory performance peaked at 45 years of age; declined at 57 years of age.

Working memory linked to:

Reading and math achievement

Processing speed

Younger adults have better episodic memory than older adults.

Older adults remember older events better than more recent events; take longer to retrieve semantic information.

Accuracy fades with the aging of a memory.

Memory

Memory for Spanish as a Function of Age Since Spanish Was Learned

Memory

Source Memory

Source Memory: Ability to remember where something was learned. Contexts (Physical/Emotional Setting and Identity of Speaker) Failures increase with age in adult years; relevancy of

information affects ability.

Prospective Memory: Remembering to do something in the future.

Age-related declines depend on task.

Time-based tasks decline more.

Event-based tasks show less decline.

Memory

Influences on the Memory of Older Adults

Psychological Factors Health Beliefs, Expectations, and Feelings Education Training and mnemonics improve memory-

Method of loci: storing mental images Chunking: put into manageable units

Memory

Memory

Memory, Age, and Time of Day Tested

(A.M. or P.M.)

Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging

Brain changes influence cognitive functioning: Neural circuits Increased use of both hemispheres in processing Functioning of hippocampus Larger neural patterns for retrieval with aging

Thinking

What Is Thinking?

Manipulating and transforming information in memory. Reason, reflect, evaluate ideas, solve problems, make

decisions

Concepts-Categories that group things together. Perceptual categorization: as young as 7 mos. Categorization increases in second year; infants

differentiate more.

Thinking

Critical Thinking Grasping deeper meaning of

ideas

Involves:

Ask what, how, and why

Examine facts and determine

evidence

Recognize one or more

explanations exist

Compare various answers,

select the best

Evaluate before accepting as

truth

Speculate beyond what is

known

Few schools teach critical thinking to students: Students recite, define,

describe, state, list Students not asked to

analyze, create, rethink

Encourage by:

Presenting controversial

topics for discussion

Motivate students to delve

deeper into issues

Teachers should refrain

from giving own views

Strategies for Critical Thinking

Children teach children

Reciprocal teaching-Small-group discussions

Online computer consultation

Adults as role models Create culture of learning, negotiating, sharing, and producing

(active, not passive)

Thinking

Scientific Thinking

Aimed at identifying causal relationships Children:

emphasize causal mechanisms . more influenced by happenstance than by overall pattern. Cling to old theories regardless of evidence. Have difficulty designing experiments.

Problem solving and children:

Teach strategies and rules to solve problems-

○ Teacher is model, motivate children.

○ Use effective strategy instruction.

○ Encourage alternative strategies and approaches.

Analogical problem solving: ○ Occurs as early as age 1.

Thinking

Thinking in Adolescence

Critical Thinking If fundamental skills not developed during childhood, critical-

thinking skills unlikely to mature in adolescence.

Decision Making Older adolescents appear as more competent decision

makers than younger adolescents. Ability does not guarantee every day usage.

Thinking

Thinking in Adulthood

Practical problem solving and expertise improve: Expertise — extensive, highly organized knowledge and

understanding of particular domain

Use It or Lose It — practice helps cognitive skills

Cognitive Training — can help some if skills are being lost Cognitive improvement tied to physical fitness and vitality

Thinking

The Child’s Theory of Mind

Ages 2 to 3 — begin to understand Perceptions Desires Emotions

Age 5 — realization of false beliefs Middle and late childhood — mind seen as active constructor of

knowledge

Preschoolers have

Inflated opinion of memories

Little appreciation for importance of memory cues

Understanding of memory abilities and skill in evaluating performance on memory tasks improves considerably by 11-12 years of age

Metacognition

Metacognition in Adolescence and Adulthood

Adolescents more likely than children to effectively manage and monitor thinking

Middle age adults have accumulated a great deal of metacognitive knowledge

Older adults tend to overestimate memory problems they experience on daily basis

Metacognition