Information Processing Child Development PSY 356 Dr. Schuetze

Information Processing Model Information Processing Approach: modeled after computer. Copies of Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968 model.

Information Processing Sensory Memory fraction of a second iconic and echoic Short-term Memory duration: 2-30 seconds capacity: 7+2 pieces of information maintenance rehearsal chunking interference Sensory register - fraction of a second (afterimage) -prevents you from being overwhelmed by thousands of incoming stimuli -give you a moment to decide whether to process that piece of information. -makes perception of lots of little pieces of information seem smooth & continuous. Short-term memory -limited duration (2-30 seconds) -limited capacity (7+2 pieces of information) Classroom Demonstration: “I’m going to read a list of numbers. After I complete each series write down as many numbers as you can remember in the right order.” 9 7 5 4 6 4 1 9 6 8 2 5 9 3 7 1 4 8 9 1 3 8 2 5 6 4 8 3 2 7 5 9 6 3 8 2 7 5 3 1 6 8 4 2 8 6 9 5 1 3 7 2 5 1 7 3 9 8 2 6 7 1 9 3 8 4 2 7 3 1 6 3 8 7 5 9 4 2 9 1 5 2 4 3 8 1 6 2 1 5 2 8 4 6 7 3 1 8 -maintenance rehearsal -chunking -interference

Information Processing Long-term Memory relatively permanent storage of information encoding elaborative rehearsal recognition memory recall memory Long-term memory: relatively permanent storage of information. Encoding: transfer of information from short-term into long-term. -recognition (external cues - multiple choice) vs. recall (no external cues - When did Columbus discover America”) memory

Elaborative Rehearsal

Implicit and Explicit Memory In LTM Implicit memory Unintentional and automatic Stable through lifespan Explicit memory Deliberate and effortful Recognition and recall tests Increases until old age

Development of Memory: Infancy Recognition memory: foot-kick paradigm Recall memory Recognition memory - present at birth - ability to differentiate between new and old stimuli. 2nd and 3rd months - recognition memory accelerates. 6 months - well developed Sullivan, Rovee-Collier, & Tynes, 1979 - foot-kick paradigm. Looking at duration of infant memory of contingency between kicking and mobile movement. At 3 months - exposed to stimuli for 9 minutes to text length of exposure for memory. Recognition of 8 days (context may function as retrieval cues) - increases with age. Recall memory: ability to spontaneously reconstruct a behavior seen before - assessed by deferred imitation (without prompting). -based on symbolic representations - infants not capable until 18 months.

Child Learning and Memory – Why memory improves Basic capacities Faster, more efficient processing Storage capacity stable Automaticity Strategies improve Rehearsal by age 7 Organization by age 10 Elaboration later Older children learn faster and remember more than younger children - why? (e.g., 2 year-olds can repeat back about 2 digits, 10-year-olds about 6). Changes in basic capacities. Older children - more hardware for manipulating info., can process info. Faster at executing basic mental processes - automatic pilot. Changes in memory strategies. Have learned & consistently use effective methods for getting information into long-term memory. -use of rehearsal increases dramatically with age. Flavell, 1985: 10% of 5-year-olds repeated names of pictures asked to recall, more than half of 7-year-olds, 85% of 10-year-olds used this strategy. -use of organization also increases (classifying items into meaningful groups). Until age 9-10, children no better at recalling lists of items that can be grouped than lists that cannot be easily grouped. Increased knowledge about memory. Know more about how long they must study, which kinds of memory tasks take more effort, etc. Increased knowledge about world. Makes material to be learned more familiar - easier to learn and remember than unfamiliar material. -increased knowledge base (think about how hard it is to learn about a completely unfamiliar topic).

Metamemory Knowledge of memory Memory monitoring and regulation Evidence by age 2 Unrealistic estimations Accuracy by age 6 Linked to improved memory