Chapter 8: Information Processing

Children are inherently active, inquisitive, and sense-making beings.
Their cognitive activities involve how they encode, store, and retrieve information.

Cognitive development is characterized by gradual increases in processing speed and capacity.
Changes are attributed to:
- Neurological development.
- Life experiences that enhance learning and memory.

Sustained Attention: The ability to focus on a task for a continued period.
Divided Attention: Managing multiple tasks simultaneously (also known as joint or shared attention).
Selective Attention: Focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring others.
Executive Attention: Involves higher-level cognitive processing such as planning and decision making.

Requires a quiet, awake, and alert state to engage.
Strongly influenced by novelty in the environment.
Sustained attention spans are limited (only a few seconds) but improve as infants grow, particularly by the second year.
The gradual emergence of joint attention around 7 months significantly aids in language development and self-regulation.

Sustained Attention: Improvements occur as children mature, allowing longer focus durations.
Divided Attention: Children start managing more than one activity but may still struggle with efficiency.
Selective Attention: Defining tasks like the Dimensional Card Sort, where children categorize based on color or shape.
Executive Attention: Assessed through strategies that require planning and mental flexibility, as illustrated in various studies (e.g., Miniature Zoo task).

Recognition Memory: Ability to recognize previously encountered stimuli.
Recall Memory: Begins around 6 months; infants can recall information, becoming less context-dependent by 9 months.

Recognition Memory: Continues to develop and enhance.
Recall Memory: Improves with age, primarily due to:
- Neurological developments that support memory functions.
- An expanding knowledge base that aids memory recall.
- The introduction and use of memory strategies.

Organization: Grouping information to aid recall.
Rehearsal: Repeating information to enhance retention.
Elaboration: Connecting new information to existing knowledge to improve memory.

Production Deficiency: Child does not produce the strategies that help memory.
Control Deficiency: Child produces the strategy but does not apply it effectively.
Utilization Deficiency: Child applies strategies, but it does not lead to improved memory.
Effective Use: Child effectively utilizes strategies for optimal memory performance.

Theory of Mind: Awareness of one’s own and others’ mental processes and the ability to understand that these processes can be both accurate and inaccurate.
By age 5 or 6, critical understandings emerge:
- Familiar items are easier to remember.
- Short lists are easier to memorize compared to longer ones.
- Gist-based remembering is favored.
- Recognition memory is generally easier than recall memory.
- There is an increased likelihood of forgetting over time.
- Multiple interpretations of information are understood.
- Children begin to select memory strategies based on their awareness of these principles.