Information Processing Study Guide - Child & Adolescent Development

What are the two primary attentional processes?

Filtering: the process by which the brain selects and prioritizes sensory information, allowing us to focus on relevant stimuli while ignoring distractions

Searching: actively scanning a visual environment to find a specific target among distractors

Attention improves with development

What are the different types of attention?

selective attention, divided attention, sustained attention, and executive attention

What is selective attention?

Focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others that are irrelevant

What is divided attention?

Concentrating on more that one activity at the same time

What is sustained attention?

Maintaining attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period (aka, vigilance)

What is executive attention?

Involves planning activities, detecting errors, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with difficult circumstances. 

What are the 3 components of the multi-store memory model?

sensory store, short-term/working memory, long term memory

What is sensory store?

Initial, extremely brief memory stage that holds raw sensory information from the environment

What is short term memory?

A memory system that has a limited capacity and information is retained for 15-30 seconds. 

What is long term memory?

What is working memory?

Where people actively use memory to manipulate and assemble information, solve problems, and comprehend written and spoken language.

What are the different types of memory strategies?

Mnemonics, rehearsal, semantic organization, elaboration, scripts

What are mnemonics?

A memory device that is a pattern that correlates with what you are trying to remember (ex: ROYGBIV)

What is rehearsal?

Repeating information, good by age 7, good for STM but not LTM

What is semantic organization?

Grouping items by meaning, starts age 9-10

What is elaboration?

Add to info/mental picture

What are scripts?

Framework for action sequences, organizes memory and fills in information

What are the two types of memory retrieval?

Recall, recognition

What is recall?

This is when you can retrieve info that is not present. This shows up as short answer questions. This is easier with cues, improves with age, and some recall by age 1.

What is recognition?

When you realize that you have encountered info before. This shows up as multiple-choice questions. Young infants show this, and this becomes very accurate by age 4. Recognition is easier, it’s easier to circle information that you’ve seen before than must give all that information on the spot.

What are the levels of processing?

Shallow and deep

What is shallow processing?

physical/sensory. Holding place for raw sensory information, info will disappear unless processed.

What is deep processing?

meaning/associational. Analyzes information based on its meaning and relates it to existing knowledge.

What are the primary problems of the information processing approach?

Fragmented focus in different specific skills, underestimates the richness of cognition, and vague like Piaget.

In what 4 ways does children’s information processing improve as they mature?

They can process faster, they have more room for their working memory, they use more effective memory strategies, have greater knowledge of memory process, and they have a broader knowledge base.

What is theory of mind?

When someone can attribute thoughts, desires, intentions, to others or predict/explain their actions.

What is a false-belief task?

A task that is done to see if a person understands that someone else can hold a belief that differs from reality.

According to fuzzy-trace theory, how are the memories of young children different from those of older children and adults?

Preschool age children are more likely to remember verbatim information while elementary aged children and adults are more likely to remember gist information.