Information Processing Theory
Child Development AED/202
October 15, 2011
Instructor: Stephanie Jacobs

The paper this week will focus on the information processing theory. The definition of its components and their functions are addressed. A summarization of the interrelationship among the components is given. As well as a description on how children process information, and how the process develops as the child grows older. Also, consideration will be given towards whether environment and heredity, influence intelligence and information processing. As humans we process information with amazing efficiency and often perform better than highly sophisticated machines at task such as problem solving and critical thinking (Halpern, 2003; Kuhn, 1999). The information processing theory is a group of theoretical frameworks. These frameworks address how humans receive, think about, mentally modify, and remember information, and how these processes change over the course of development (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). The most researched and articulated model is the information processing model (IPM), developed in the early 1950s. The IPM consists of three main components sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory (Schraw.G, 2006). The first component is the sensory memory; this processes incoming sensory information for very brief periods of time, usually within ½ to 3 seconds. The amount of information held in the sensory memory is limited to five to seven discrete elements such as letters of the alphabet or pictures of human faces. The main purpose of sensory memory is to screen incoming stimuli and process only those stimuli that are most relevant at the time. Information processing in sensory memory usually occurs too quickly for people to consciously control. Rather attention allocation and sensory processing are fast and unconscious. Information that is relevant to the task at hand and information that is familiar is therefore subjected to automatic processing and are most likely the type of information to be processed in the sensory memory.
The second component is the working memory; this is a term used to refer to a multi-component temporary memory system in which information is assigned meaning, linked to other information, and essential to mental operations. Working memory has a number of different models proposed; several terms have been developed to describe efficient cognitive processing in working memory. One term used is limited attentional resources, which refers to the highly limited nature of information processing (Anderson, 2000; Neath, 1998). All individuals experience limitations in how much mental activity they can engage in due to limited cognitive resources (Kane & Eagle, 2002). Another term used is automaticity; this refers to being able to perform a task very quickly and efficiently due to repeated practice (Stanovich, 2003). A third term is selective processing; this means the act of intentionally focusing one’s limited cognitive resources on stimuli most relevant to the task at hand. Selective processing enables learners to be optimally efficient, such as in the case of highly effective learners, who succeed because they are able to identify what is most important to learn and allocate limited attention to relevant information. However, the most common three component model of working memory was developed by Alan Baddeley. The three components are the executive control system, articulatory loop, and visual-spatial sketch pad. The role of the executive control system is to select incoming information, determine how to best process that information, construct meaning through organization and inferences, and subsequently transfer the processed information into long-term memory or delete it (Baddeley, 2001). Most models of working memory assume that the central executive is the place where humans make “conscious meaning of information they process” (Shah & Miyake, 1999). The role of the articulatory loop is to maintain and further process verbal information. The role of visual-spatial sketch pad is analogous to the articulatory loop in that is maintains and further processes non-verbal and visual information. Baddeley’s model makes two assumptions about the processing of information in working memory. One is that each of the three subsystems possesses its own pool of limited cognitive resources, which means under normal circumstances each subsystem performs work without taxing the other subsystems. A second assumption is that the executive control system regulates the articulatory loop and visual-spatial sketch pad (Baddeley, 2001). The third component is long-term memory, unlike sensory and working memory; long-term memory is not constrained by capacity or duration of attention limitations. The role of long-term memory is to provide a seemingly unlimited repository for all the facts and knowledge in memory. Different types of information exist in long-term memory and that information must be organized, and therefore quickly accessible to be of practical use. The interrelationships among the components are that the sensory and working memories are relatively short-term in nature. Their main roles are to screen incoming information, assign meaning, and relate individual unit of information to other units. While working and long-term memory components are connected by encoding and retrieval processes. Encoding refers to a large number of strategies that move information from temporary storage in working memory into long-term memory. Retrieval is the processes that enable individuals to search memory and access information for active processing in working memory. Long-term memory which is assumed to be more or less permanent and unlimited in terms of capacity, serves as a highly organized permanent storage system. The main processing constraint on long-term memory is the individual ability to quickly encode and retrieve information using an efficient organizational system. To simplify this process it means that sensory memory receives all information and then stores it temporarily or permanently. Working memory information is also stored temporarily until a decision is made regarding the information, then the information will either be discarded or transferred to the long-term memory. Long-term memory is where all the information is permanently stored, and can be retrieved later when the need arises. The information processing theory discusses how a person processes information as a child and how the child’s processing develops as the child ages. In infancy babies show signs of learning as soon as they are born; they also show a “preference for moderately complex stimuli” at this age (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004), such as the reaction an infant gives when seeing their mothers face compared to a stranger. Infants also show the ability to classify objects, and their attention is easily drawn to intense and novel stimuli (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). During early childhood the attention span of a child is short, so children are easily distracted. At this young age children are limited in relation to their knowledge because they have not had much experience with variable stimulation. They recognize previously encountered information, recall old information, and reconstruct it in the present. For example, a 4 year old can remember what they did at Christmas and relate it to her friends when they return to preschool after the holiday; this is a time when long-term memory begins to form. Middle childhood 6-10, children are more capable of focusing on important information. This time is characterized by “increasingly symbolic nature of thought and knowledge, gradual automation of basic skills, and an expanding base of knowledge” (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). This is a time when working memory increases and between the ages of 8-10 long-term memory matures. This can be seen through information-processing abilities such as reaction time, processing speed, increase in concentration, and increase meta-memory (McGraw-Hill, 2006). Early adolescence 10-14, is when children can focus on one task for an extended time is developed. Basic skills such as writing and math are basically automatized, and the knowledge base is expanded in areas of interest. During this time information- processing becomes sophisticated, through knowledge of different subjects’, and the ability to apply the knowledge to new situations. They demonstrate this through abstract thinking, and the way they see themselves. Late adolescence is a time when focus on multiple tasks increase, and knowledge becomes extensive and integrated (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). Thinking becomes more logical and systematic, and the ability to attain solutions to problems by comparing possible explanations. This shows that the interrelationship among the memory components have developed and are working properly. Hereditary is defined as “the sum of the characteristics and potentialities genetically derived from one’s ancestors and the transmission of such qualities from ancestor to descendant through the genes” (Merriam-Webster, 2011). Environment is defined as “the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded” (Merriam-Webster, 2011). Environment influences perception, and “perception of one’s surrounding is essential for survival, the human species has undoubtedly evolved some biologically built in perceptual mechanism” (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). From birth through adulthood the environments and the information we are confronted with comes from direct elements within the environments we have contact with. Our environments have an effect on what we perceive and what information is retained, and thought about. As we grow older our environment expands, along with our knowledge base. Heredity is also a factor that affects the development of processing information and intelligence. Heredity can cause mental illness which can affect the thinking processing, and cause irregular mental development. Heredity is also important to processing information because it influence what information to remember. Both environment and heredity do influence intelligence and the processing of information, because both influence development mentally and physically form infancy through adulthood.

References
Anderson, J.R. (2000). Cognitive psychology and its implication (5th Ed.). New York: Worth Publishing.
Baddely, A.D. (2001). Is working memory still working? American Psychologist, 56, 851-864.
Halpern, D.F. (2003). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking (4th Ed.) Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kane, M.J., & Engle, R.W. (2002). The role of prefrontal cortex in working memory capacity, executive attention, and general fluid intelligence: An individual differences perspective. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9, 637-671.
Kuhn, D. (1999). A developmental model of critical thinking. Educational Researcher, 28, 16-25.
McDevitt, T.M., & Ormrod, J.E. (2004). Child Development: educating and working with children and adolescents. (2nd Ed.). Prentice Hall.
McGraw-Hill. (2006). Human Development: Physical cognitive development in middle childhood. Retrieved from http://www.highered.mcgraw-hill.com
Merriam-Webster. (2011). Online Dictionary. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com Neath, I. (1998). Human memory: An introduction to research, data, and theory. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Schraw, G. (2006). Knowledge: Structures and processes. (2nd Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shah, P., & Miyake, A. (1999). Models of working memory. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Stanovich, K.E. (2003). The fundamental computational biases of human cognitive. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.