Download 1 The Information Processing Theory The Information Processing

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The Information Processing Theory
The Information Processing Theory seeks to explain how the mind works. It is a "group
of theoretical frameworks that address how human beings receive, think about, mentally
modify, and remember information, and how such cognitive processes change over the course
of development" (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 186) There are several components to this
theory, some more prominent than others. Learning components such as rehearsal and
elaboration are associated with this theory but major emphasis is not on how learning happens
but rather on how information is processed. To this end, the three major components of the
Information Processing Theory are sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM) or working
memory, and long-term memory (LTM).
These processes function much like parts of a computer. The sensory register would be
any sort of input device (i.e. the keyboard or mouse). Information moves from there into the
short-term memory which translates to the CPU. Long-term memory would be the hard drive,
where only the most relevant material or memories should ultimately be stored. This metaphor
should help us understand how the Information Processing Theory works.
Sensory Registers are actually such things as hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, etc. If
these things, when received as input, are ignored then they fade from memory and are lost. If
however, they are attended to in some fashion then they proceed into short -term memory.
Thus, attention is a key idea in information processing, without it information cannot move
from the sensory registers into short-term memory. Decay is usually the cause of forgetting and
duration is 2-3 seconds for sounds and 250 milliseconds visually.
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Short-Term Memory or Working Memory "is where consciousness exists." (Orey, 2008)
Once a memory has entered here it is difficult to refer to it without also accessing long-term
memory because the two are so closely linked. It is here that what is currently happening meets
what has already been remembered and here where thinking takes place and is then moved
into long-term memory. Memory here is limited to 5-9 items and only lasts around 20 seconds.
(I.e. Phone numbers) There are three methods of movement between short-term and longterm memory; rehearsal, organization and elaboration. The primary cause of forgetting is
interference.
There is a mechanism that people have called the "central executive" mechanism that
controls exactly which information is processed. This mechanism is "critical for planning,
decision making, self-regulation and inhibition of unproductive thoughts and behaviors."
(McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 188). This mechanism is basically a supervisory system that
prevents irrelevant stimuli and data from making it into memory storage.
Long-term memory can be characterized as "everything we know and know how to do."
(Orey, 2008) Long-term memory is of three types: declarative, procedural, and episodic.
Declarative and procedural types of memories are the kinds that you might learn in school.
Declarative memories are those that might answer the question: "Knowing that...." Procedural
memories are skewed more towards answering questions that tell: "Knowing how....." (Orey,
2008)
Episodic memory is a memory type for events, such as your wedding or your first kiss.
There are those who say that episodic memory is not as complete as declarative and procedural
memories. The theory has thus been extended that memory for images is different from
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memory for words, that perhaps it has "dual-coding." Dual coding refers to something having
more than one label, such as an apple having the smell of an apple along with the word label
"apple."
Some have suggested that control processes called "metacognition" control thinking
and learning, monitor comprehension and take the form of strategies. Examples of such
strategies might be for mathematics students to monitor whether or not their current
strategies are working so that they will be aware if a change in tactics is needed, or for strategic
readers to constantly be asking themselves the question, "Do I understand?"
Information has made its way into the Long-term memory through a process called
elaboration. This is an active process in which the learner is actively (mentally) engaged with
the material to be learned and are integrating it with ideas they already know and knowledge
they already have. Long-term memory is often thought of as a network. If a memory has not
become firmly enough linked to the network of known memories or enough elaborative
pathways have not been formed to that information, it will be more difficult to remember. The
primary cause of forgetting in long-term memory is failure to retrieve.
According to the Information Processing Theory, cognitive processes and abilities
develop and occur steadily and gradually through trends. The mind and the manner in which it
processes information is very complex and develops over time. As a child grows so too will the
manner in which they process information .The way the process works also develops and
changes as the child grows.
When children are infants, they show signs of learning as soon as they are born. They
also show a "preference for moderately complex stimuli". The ability to classify objects is evident
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during infancy, and an infant's attention (is) easily drawn to intense and novel stimuli."
(McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 201)
During their early childhood a child's attention span is short and they are easily
distracted. Children are limited in relation to their knowledge at this young age because their
experience with variable stimuli has also been limited. From six to ten years of age children
become less distractible and more capable of focus on important information. Middle
childhood is also characterized by "increasingly symbolic nature of thought and knowledge",
gradual automatization of basic skills", and an "expanding base of knowledge" (McDevitt &
Ormrod, 2004, p. 201).
The ability to focus on one task for an hour or so develops in early adolescence. The
knowledge base has become larger in relation to school subjects, and interests and basic skills
such as writing and math have become basically automatic. Late adolescence brings the
extended ability to focus on tasks for a lengthy period of time and knowledge has increased to
become "extensive and somewhat integrated" in some content areas (McDevitt & Ormrod,
2004, p. 201).
Environment influences perception of one's surroundings and "perception of one's
surroundings is essential for survival. The human species has undoubtedly evolved some
biologically built in perceptual mechanisms." (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 201), thus
environment certainly influences the processing of information. Environment almost certainly
also influences intelligence because children are of necessity born into an environment and
whatever nurturing situation they encounter, the stimulation it gives them comes directly
from that environment.
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A child at first cannot act upon their environment and its surroundings are decided upon
completely without their input. The environments that may be encountered are as varied as the
children who encounter them but invariably they will instill their impression in those children in
relation to knowledge and memory. The environment will expand as the child grows older and
the child's knowledge base will expand with it.
Heredity is also a factor that influences intelligence and the processing of information.
Numerous studies of identical and fraternal twins have shown that heredity influences
intelligence. Identical twins raised in the same homes have a correlation of .80. Identical twins
raised in different homes have a correlation .72 and even this is more similar to each other than
fraternal twins raised in the same home. (McDevitt, 2006)
Genetic influences can cause mental illness which can prevent the natural development
of mental processes at a normal rate. To a certain extent, heredity may also influence a child's
natural inclination to remember certain information or possess certain talents for processing
information types. (i.e. good at math or reading)
The information processing theory attempts to categorize how information is
recognized, used and ultimately stored in memory. This theory recognizes an individuals' ability
to control the information processed and the fact that that ability grows and changes as the
person ages. It is an important theory for teachers to be familiar with because it brings with it
an awareness of how a child develops. This awareness will better enable teachers to effectively
teach students to maximize the potential of their information processing ability. It may also aid
teachers in planning developmentally appropriate lessons and increase their awareness of
students who may not be developing at a normal rate. On the whole, the information
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processing theory is an invaluable tool for effective teaching and understanding the process of
working memory.
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References
1. Ganly, S. (2010). Information Processing and its effect on Children and Learning. Retrieved
March 12, 2010, from Helium.com: http://www.helium.com/items/1678590-the-informationprocessing-theory-and-its-effect-on-children-and-learning?page=4
2. Martinez, M. (2010). Learning and Cognition. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.
3. McDevitt, J. &. (2006). Retrieved March 12, 2010, from Effects of Heredity and Environment
of Intelligence: http://www.education.com/reference/article/effects-heredity-environmentintelligence/
4. Orey, M. (2008, September 2). Review of Information Processing. Retrieved March 12, 2010,
from Information Processing:
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Information_processing
5. McDevitt, T., & Ormrod, J. (2004). Child Development: Educating and Working with Children
and Adolescents (2nd ed.). : Prentice Hall