A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development 6e Chapter Seven: Information Processing John W. Santrock

Information-Processing Approach Analyzes the ways people process information about their world Manipulate information Monitor it Create strategies to deal with it Effectiveness involves attention, memory, thinking

Figure 7.1 - Simplified Model of Information Processing

Information-Processing Approach Mechanisms of Change Encoding Mechanism by which information enters memory Automaticity Ability to process information with little or no effort Strategy construction Discovering new procedure for processing information Metacognition Cognition about cognition, or “knowing about knowing”

Information-Processing Approach Speed of processing information Assessed using reaction time tasks Changes in speed of processing Improves dramatically through childhood and adolescence Changes due to myelination or experience? Decline begins in middle adulthood; continues into late adulthood

Information-Processing Approach Does processing speed matter? Linked with competence in thinking For many everyday tasks, speed is unimportant Efficient strategies can compensate for slower reaction times and speed Processing linked to accumulated knowledge and abilities to perform

Figure 7.2 - The Relation of Age to Reaction Time

Attention Attention: Focusing of mental resources Infancy Four types First year: Orienting/Investigative process Directs attention to locations (‘where’) Recognize objects and their features (‘what’) Attention gains flexibility and speed Sustained (focused) attention increases

Types of Attention Selective attention Focusing on specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others Divided attention Concentrating on more than one activity at a time Sustained attention Maintain focus on selected stimulus over prolonged period; called vigilance Executive attention Focus on action planning, goals, errors and compensation, monitoring, and unknown

Attention Infancy Sustained (focused) attention linked to Habituation: decreased responsiveness to stimulus after repeated presentations Dishabituation: recovery of a habituated response after change in stimulation Joint attention begins about 7 to 8 months of age Gaze following: begins 10 to 11 months of age

Attention Infancy Joint attention Individuals focus on same object or event and requires Ability to track another’s behavior One person directing another’s attention Reciprocal interaction Frequency of caregiver-infant interactions affect language development and vocabulary size

Attention Childhood Attention control ability increases with age Preschool child: deficits in attention control Attention to salient stimuli Planning improves as part of playfulness Young children: most advances in executive and sustained attention Affected by early experiences and education

Figure 7.4 - The Planfulness of Attention In three pairs of houses, the windows were different In three pairs of houses, all windows were identical J (b) (a) By filming the reflection in children’s eyes, one could determine what they looked at, how long they looked, and the sequence of their eye movements.

Attention Adolescence Processing of irrelevant information decreases Ability to shift from one activity to another at will Better at tasks that require this skill Better at multi-tasking Number of competing tasks increases with age Expands information attended to; distracting Processing ability varies among adolescents

Attention Adulthood Older adults may not be able to focus on relevant information as effectively as younger adults Less adept at selective attention Older adults (50-80) performed worse in the divided attention condition than two younger groups; affected by vision and environmental distractions

Memory Memory: Retention of information over time Processes of memory Allows humans to span time in reflection over life’s activities Processes of memory How information is encoded, retained, and stored in memory Memory has imperfections

Figure 7.5 - Processing Information in Memory

Memory Constructing memory Schema theory Schemas Many reasons for inaccuracy; “we fill in gaps” 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

Memory Culture, gender, and memory linked Culture selectively sensitizes members of society Cultural specificity hypothesis Cultural environment affects experiences Females better than males at Episodic and emotion-linked memories Processing information in elaborately and in more detail

Memory Infancy Recent research: limited type of memory at 3 mos. First memories Rovee-Collier infant memory experiments Implicit memory: Memory without conscious recollection; skills and routine done automatically Explicit memory: Conscious memory of facts and experiences; appears after 6 months

Memory Infancy Infantile Amnesia Also called childhood amnesia One cause: immature prefrontal lobe Adults recall little or none of first three years Prefrontal lobes in brain play important role in memory of events

Memory Childhood Memory improves considerably after infancy Short-term memory Retains information up to 15 to 30 seconds without rehearsal (span is very limited) Working memory Kind of mental workbench for manipulating and assembling information More active, powerful than short-term memory

Memory Childhood Working memory Long-term memory Make decisions, solve problems Comprehend written and spoken language Long-term memory Relatively permanent, unlimited type of memory Questions about child’s ability to testify in court Several factors affect this ability

Figure 7.9 - Working Memory Model

Memory Children’s long-term memory Children as eyewitnesses Age differences in susceptibility Individual differences in susceptibility Interviewing techniques can cause distortions; determines if child’s testimony is accurate Depends on number of factors involved Reliability influenced most by interviewer

Memory Children’s long-term memory Strategies used to improve Imagery Rehearsal: repetition better for short-term Organizing: making information relevant Imagery Creating mental images for verbal information Elaboration Engaging in more extensive processing of information; use of examples, self-referencing

Memory Children’s long-term memory Fuzzy trace theory Knowledge Two types of memory representations Verbatim memory trace: precise details Gist: central idea of information Knowledge Influences what people notice and how they organize, represent, interpret information

Figure 7.11 - Imagery and Memory of Verbal Information

Memory Adulthood Working memory and processing speed Linked to aging, reading and math achievement Performance peaks at 45; declines at age 57 Decline affects both new and old information Long-term memory has two systems

Memory Adulthood Long-term memory has two systems Explicit: conscious/declarative memory Episodic memory: retention of information about the where and when of events Autobiographical memory Reminiscence bump

Memory Adulthood Long-term memory has two systems Explicit: conscious/declarative memory Semantic memory: One’s knowledge about world including field of expertise Implicit memory: Routine skills and procedures performed automatically (unconscious memory)

Memory Adulthood Aging and explicit memory Younger adults have better episodic memory Older adults remember older events better than more recent events; take longer to retrieve semantic information Accuracy fades with the aging of a memory Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon

Figure 7.13 - Memory for Spanish as a Function of Age Since Spanish Was Learned

Memory Adulthood Aging and implicit memory Source memory Less adversely affected by aging than explicit memory Source memory Ability to remember where something is learned Physical, emotional setting; speaker identity Failures increase with age in adult years; relevancy of information affects ability

Memory Adulthood 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

Thinking What is thinking? Childhood Manipulating, transforming information in memory Childhood Key aspects of infant cognitive development Attention, memory, imitation, concepts Concepts: ideas about what categories represent Categories: Grouping based on characteristics

Thinking Childhood Concepts Perceptual categorization: as young as 7 mos. Categorization increases in second year; infants differentiate more Large gender differences based on interests Infant’s abilities much richer, more gradual, less stage-like, occurs earlier than Piaget thought

Thinking Critical thinking Grasping deeper meaning of ideas; open minded Ask what, how, and why Examine facts and determine evidence Recognize one or more explanations exist Evaluate before accepting as truth Speculate beyond what is known

Thinking Scientific thinking Aspects of thinking are domain specific (e.g. math) Aimed at identifying causal relationships ChiIdren: emphasize causal mechanisms Important differences in reasoning Cling to old theories regardless of evidence More influenced by happenstance Have difficulty designing experiments

Thinking Solving problems Involves finding appropriate way to attain a goal Children: need skill in and out of school) Teach strategies and rules to solve problems Teacher is model, motivate children Use effective strategy instruction Encourage alternative strategies/approaches Use analogies to solve problems

Thinking Adolescence Critical Thinking If fundamental skills not developed during childhood, critical-thinking skills unlikely to mature in adolescence Decision Making Older adolescents appear more competent Ability does not guarantee every day usage Social context plays key role here

Thinking Adulthood Practical problem solving, expertise improve Expertise: extensive, highly organized knowledge and understanding of particular domain Rely on accumulative experience Process and analyze data automatically Have better strategies and shortcuts

Thinking Adulthood Education, work, and health Influence older adult cognitive functioning Higher educational levels today than in past Work — now more cognitively oriented Health: better medicine, longer life spans

Thinking Cognitive neuroscience and aging Studies brain and cognitive functioning links Relies on fMRI and PET scans Changes in brain have affects Decline of neural circuits in prefrontal cortex Decline in hippocampus functioning Neural differences in age larger for retrieval than encoding

Thinking Older adulthood Use It or Lose It: Cognitive training Practice helps cognitive skills - mindfulness Exercise, mental health linked to cognitive fitness Cognitive training Training can improve some cognitive skills Some loss of plasticity in late adulthood

Metacognition Metacognition Takes many forms Knowledge about when and where to use particular strategies Metamemory: knowledge about memory Theory of mind: curiosity or thoughts about how mental processes work Changes as child ages

Metacognition Developmental changes Ages 2 to 3: awareness of emotions, perceptions, and desires Age 5: learn realization of false beliefs Age 7: deepening appreciation of the mind itself Middle and late childhood: mind seen as active constructor of knowledge Adolescence: realize ambivalent feelings exist

Figure 7.17 - Developmental Changes in False Belief Performance

Metacognition Individual differences Evidenced as children reach certain milestones in their theory of mind Executive function: several functions important for flexible, future-oriented behavior Theory of mind and autism Difficulty in social interactions, communication, repetitive behaviors, interests Have difficulty developing theory of mind

Metacognition Metamemory Limited in children Preschoolers have inflated opinion of memories, little appreciation for memory cue importance 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

The End