Download Chapter 9

Child Psychology:
The Modern Science, 3e
by
Vasta, Haith, and Miller
Paul J. Wellman
Texas A&M University
John Wiley and Sons, Inc. © 1999
PowerPoint  Presentation: Chapter 9
Cognitive Development: The InformationProcessing Approach
Information-Processing View


The information-processing view considers
the psychological activities that allow
children to deal with new information
The Information-Processing view can be
modeled using
– The flowchart
• Specifies an input and an output, with processing
in between
– The computer
• Starts with input, has programmed conversions,
and has multiple outputs
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
An Example of an InformationProcessing Flowchart
(Figure adapted with permission from “The Control of Short-Term Memory” by R.C. Atkinson
and R.M. Shiffrin, 1971, Scientific American, 225, p. 82. Copyright credit Allen Beechel)
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Vasta, 3e Fig. 9.1
Memory In Infancy

Evidence in support of memory
processing in infants
– Sensorimotor infant uses a familiar scheme
(sucking, grasping) when presented with a
familiar object
– Infants search for objects that have been
hidden from view
– Infants show a preference for their mother’s
voice
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Varieties of Memory

Recognition memory refers to the
understanding that a current stimulus
has been encountered in the past
– E.g. the recognition that a person has seen
a photograph in the past

Recall memory refers to the retrieval of
some past stimulus when the stimulus is
not present
– E.g. Answer the following question:
• Describe 3 examples of evidence for memory
processes in infants….
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Assessing Recognition Memory

Habituation-dishabituation procedure
– The infant is exposed repeatedly to a
stimulus until its looking at the stimulus is at
a low value
– This habituation is only possible if the infant
remembers the stimulus
– Dishabituation is only possible if the infant
can compare the stimulus to the original
stimulus
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Assessing Recognition Memory

Classical conditioning procedure
– Infant sucks a nipple (UCR) when a sweet
solution (UCS) is squirted into the mouth
– Experimenter then paired a stroking of the
baby’s forehead (CS) with delivery of
sucrose into the mouth (UCS)
– Eventually, forehead stroking (CS) elicited
sucking behavior (CR)

Operant conditioning procedures
– Infants can adjust their sucking rate to hear
their mother’s voice
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Assessing Recall Memory

Evidence supporting recall memory in
infancy
– Deferred imitation in which infant imitates a
behavior seen on the prior day for the first
time
– Infant search for hidden objects
– The appearance of language requires recall
– Infants can imitate (recall) sequences of
action
• E.g. those required to bath a doll
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Memory in Older Children

The improvement of memory with age
may reflect
– Greater use of mnemonic strategies
• Rehearsal (saying over-and-over)
• Organization into conceptual categories
• Elaboration of items by linkage to a general
image or story
– Greater knowledge about memory
• Metamemory refers to knowledge about memory
– More powerful cognitive structures
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Impact of Knowledge on
Memory

Constructive memory refers to the ways
in which the general knowledge of a
person interprets incoming information
so as to alter memory
– Basic idea is that memory is not like a tape
recording, but rather is constructed from our
current and past experiences
– Constructed memory can involve distortions
that are both negative and positive
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Piaget’s Demonstration of
Distortion in Constructive Memory
A. Stimuli presented to
child
B. Stimuli recalled by
child 1 week later
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Vasta, 3e Fig. 9.4
Expertise and Memory

Expertise refers to organized factual
knowledge about some content domain
– Expertise contributes to memory
• Chess experts show better recall for chess
positions than they do for other topics
• Chess experts show better recall about chess than
do chess novices
– Expertise leads to
• Richer storage of information
• Facilitation of the use of mnemonic strategies
• More rapid processing of information
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Expertise and Memory Recall
Meaningful chess positions:
Recall is better in chess experts
than chess novices
Random chess positions:
Recall is equal in chess experts
and chess novices
(Figure reprinted with permission from “Chess Expertise and Memory for Chess Positions in Children and Adults” by
W. Schneider, H. Gruber, A. Gold, and K. Opwis, 1993 J. of Experimental Child Psychology, 56, p. 535.
Copyright © 1993 by Academic Press.)
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Vasta, 3e Fig. 9.5
Autobiographical Memory


Autobiographical memory refers to
specific, personal, and long-lasting
memories of a person
The emergence of autobiographical
memory may relate to conversations with
parents
– Parents stimulate recall, emphasize
rehearsal, and teach elaboration
– This explanation may account for infantile
amnesia (lack of autobiographical memory
for the first 2-3 years of life)
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Mechanisms of Cognitive Change


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Encoding refers to attending to and
forming internal representations of certain
features of the environment
Automatization refers to cognitive
efficiency as a result of practice
Strategy construction allows information
to be processed faster
Strategy selection refers to greater use of
effective mental strategies over less
effective strategies
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Copyright
Copyright 1999 by John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.
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