 The Information Processing Approach  Attention  Memory  Thinking  Metacognition

What Is the 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 The Information-Processing Approach

Computers and Human Information Processing The Information-Processing Approach

Simplified Model of Information Processing The Information-Processing Approach

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

Comparisons With Piaget’s Theory The Information-Processing Approach Piaget Constructivist Cognitive capabilities and limits at points in development Development occurs abruptly in distinct stages Information Processing  Constructivist  Cognitive capabilities and limits at points in development  Individuals develop gradually increasing capacity for information- processing

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

The Relation of Age to Reaction Time The 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

What Is Attention?  Focusing of mental resources  Three ways attention can be allocated Sustained attention Selective attention Divided attention

Types of Attention Attention Sustained Attention Selective Attention Ability to maintain attention to selected stimulus over prolonged period; also called vigilance Focusing on specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others Divided Attention Concentrating on more than one activity at a time

Infancy  Newborns can detect contours and fixate  4-month-olds have selective attention  Processes closely linked to attention Habituation: decreased responsiveness to stimulus after repeated presentations Dishabituation: recovery of a habituated response after change in stimulation 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  Begins in 7-to-8 month old infants Attention

Childhood and Adolescence  Most research on selective attention  Control over attention shows changes Preschooler attends to external salient stimuli Child of 6 to 7 attentive to relevant information Ability to shift attention increases with age; allows for more complex task involvement 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 Attention

What Is Memory?  Retention of information over time  Allows humans to span time in reflection over life’s activities  Memory has imperfections Memory

Processes of Memory Memory

Constructing Memories  Schema theory Many reasons why memories are inaccurate 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

False Memories  New information such as questions or suggestions can alter memories  Concerns about Implanting false memories in eyewitnesses Accuracy of eyewitness testimonies at trials  Culture and gender linked to memory Memory

Infancy  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; doesn’t appear until after 6 months Memory

Infancy  Infantile Amnesia Adults recall little or none of first three years Also called childhood amnesia Due to immaturity of prefrontal lobes in brain; play important role in memory of events Memory

Childhood Memory  Considerable improvement after infancy  Short-term memory — memory span for up to 15 to 30 seconds without rehearsal  Working memory — kind of mental workbench for manipulating and assembling information Make decisions, solve problems Comprehend written and spoken language Memory

Childhood Memory  Long-term memory — relatively permanent and unlimited type of memory  Children as eyewitnesses Age differences in susceptibility Individual differences in susceptibility Interviewing techniques can cause distortions; determines if child’s testimony is accurate Memory

Working Memory Model Memory

Long-Term Memory Strategies  Activities to improve information processing  Rehearsal — repetition better for short- term  Organizing — making information relevant  Imagery — creating mental images  Elaboration — engaging in more extensive processing of information Memory

Imagery and Memory of Verbal Information Memory

Fuzzy Trace Theory  Memory best understood by considering two types of memory Verbatim memory trace: precise details Gist: central idea of information  Knowledge Influences what people notice and how they organize, represent, interpret information Memory

Working Memory and Processing Speed  Working memory performance peaked at 45 years of age; declined at 57 years of age  Decline affected both new and old information  Working memory linked to Reading and math achievement Processing speed Memory

Explicit and Implicit Memory  Part of long-term memory systems  Explicit memory: conscious or declarative memory Episodic memory—retention of information about where and when of life’s happenings Semantic memory—one’s knowledge about world including field of expertise  Implicit memory: routine skills and procedures Memory

Aging and Explicit Memory  Younger adults have better episodic memory than older adults  Older adults remember older events better than more recent events; take longer to retrieve semantic information Accuracy fades with the aging of a memory  Less adversely affected by aging than explicit memory Memory

Memory for Spanish as a Function of Age Since Spanish Was Learned Memory

Source Memory  Ability to remember where something was learned  Contexts of Physical setting Emotional setting Identity of speaker  Failures increase with age in adult years; relevancy of information affects ability Memory

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 Memory

Influences on the Memory of Older Adults  Physiological and psychological factors  Health  Beliefs, expectations, and feelings  Education, memory tasks, assessment  Training and mneumonics improve memory Method of loci: storing mental images Chunking: put into manageable units Memory

Memory, Age, and Time of Day Tested (A.M. or P.M.)

Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging  Emerged as a major discipline Studies links between aging and cognitive functioning Relies on MRI and PET scans Brain changes influence cognitive functioning ○ Neural circuits ○ Increased use of both hemispheres in processing ○ Functioning of hippocampus ○ Larger neural patterns for retrieval with aging Thinking

What Is Thinking?  Manipulating and transforming information in memory Reason, reflect, evaluate ideas, solve problems, make decisions  Concepts — categories that group things Perceptual categorization: as young as 7 mos. Categorization increases in second year; infants differentiate more Thinking

Critical Thinking  Grasping deeper meaning of ideas  Involves Ask what, how, and why Examine facts and determine evidence Recognize one or more explanations exist Compare various answers, select the best Evaluate before accepting as truth Speculate beyond what is known Thinking

Critical Thinking  Few schools teach to students Students recite, define, describe, state, list Students not asked to analyze, create, rethink  Encourage by Presenting controversial topics for discussion Motivate students to delve deeper into issues Teachers should refrain from giving own views Thinking

Strategies for Critical Thinking  Children teach children — older help younger Reciprocal teaching — small-group discussions Jigsaw classroom — cross-talk sessions  Online computer consultation  Adults as role models  Create culture of learning, negotiating, sharing, and producing (active, not passive) Thinking

Scientific Thinking  Aimed at identifying causal relationships  Children emphasize causal mechanisms more influenced by happenstance than by overall pattern Cling to old theories regardless of evidence Have difficulty designing experiments Thinking

Scientific Thinking  Problem solving and children Teach strategies and rules to solve problems ○ Teacher is model, motivate children ○ Use effective strategy instruction ○ Encourage alternative strategies and approaches Analogical problem solving: ○ occurs as early as age 1 Thinking

Thinking in Adolescence  Critical Thinking If fundamental skills not developed during childhood, critical-thinking skills unlikely to mature in adolescence  Decision Making Older adolescents appear as more competent decision makers than younger adolescents Ability does not guarantee every day usage Thinking

Thinking in Adulthood  Practical problem solving, expertise improve Expertise — extensive, highly organized knowledge and understanding of particular domain Use It or Lose It — practice helps cognitive skills Cognitive Training — can help some if skills are being lost Cognitive improvement tied to physical fitness and vitality Thinking

What Is Metacognition?  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

The Child’s Theory of Mind  Ages 2 to 3 — begin to understand Perceptions Desires Emotions  Age 5 — realization of false beliefs  Middle and late childhood — mind seen as active constructor of knowledge Metacognition

Developmental Changes In False Belief Performance

Metamemory in Children  Limited in children  Preschoolers have Inflated opinion of memories Little appreciation for importance of memory cues  Understanding of memory abilities and skill in evaluating performance on memory tasks improves considerably by 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 Metacognition