Information Processing/Post-Piagetian Theories of Development

Description (2) + strength (1) of Post-Piagetian theories

• Influenced by an information-processing framework

• Attempt to understand nature + mechanism of change (fill gap in Piaget’s theory)

• Provide more detailed models of performance on cognitive tasks than Piagetian theories

Key features of information-processing theories (3)

• Describing in detail the processes involved in children’s thinking, using task analysis

• Emphasises thinking as a process that occurs over time (identifies sequence of unconscious mental operations leading up to a behaviour)

Continuous or discontinuous?

• Development as a continuous, incremental process of slowly increasing cognitive capacity (working memory, processing speed, + strategies)

Key assumption

• Children as active problem solvers

Broad description of development from info-processing perspective (1)

• Learn to execute basic processes more efficiently → increase in memory capacity (working memory, long-term memory + executive function), processing speed + strategies

Link to content knowledge (1)

• Increased content knowledge → improves memory through enhanced encoding + useful associations

Siegler’s overlapping waves theory description (2) + counterargument against Piaget (1)

• At any one age, children use a variety of strategies to solve problems

• Development involves changes in frequency of using certain strategies, moving towards increasingly advanced/efficient strategies + phasing out less efficient/effective ones

• Rejects idea of stages

Relational-complexity theory (1)

• Children’s thinking is constrained by how much information/how many variables they can hold in their WM

Relational-complexity theory ages (4), no. of variables (4) + example (4)

Age 1: unary relations (1 variables), e.g. concept of (dog)

Age 2: binary relations (2 variables), e.g. A > B

Age 5: ternary relations (3 variables), e.g. A > B + B > C → A > C

Age 11: quaternary relations (4 variables), e.g. proportions, A:B as C:D

Why is planning difficult for children? (2)

• Requires them to suppress desire to solve problem immediately using first method that comes to mind (rather than weighing up best strategy)

• They tend be overly optimistic about they’re abilities, believing they don’t need planning to solve problems