10. Thinking and information processing

Information processing

  • ***not a stage like theory, and tend to be continuous in how it frames development

    • small quantitative changes that build overtime

theory → methodology

  • problem solving strategies

  • identifying goals and relevant information to reach a desired outcome or solve a problem

Assumptions of Information processing theories make about the mind and thinking process

  • Thinking = information processing info that comes into the brain

  • mental activity involves how the info operates in the mind

  • Cognitive development is self-organizing

  • Mechanisms of change underlie info processing

    • strategy to deal with incoming information

    • Change across age with information processing

      • What type of information we find critical to remember affects how we intake info

  • Thinking is self-modifying

    • we use problem solving experiences and reuse them

    • could be used to change approach if it didn’t work

Computer Analogy

  • Hardware

    • Refers to the nervous system

  • Software

    • rules

    • strategies

    • mental programs

What are cognitive processes?

  • ways that the human mental system operates on information

    • Encoding and representation

  • Strategies we use

    • Counting - using fingers

    • memorization - acronyms

  • Automization → cognitive effort at the start becomes more automatic overtime

  • Generalization

    • Application of a strategy learned in to problem solve in a situation that is applied to other problems

Memory development - Infancy

  • Rovee-collier et al.

    • 1980s

      • classic from its paradigm

        • A lot of her work demonstrates that babies have memory and use it

  • Use paradigm known as kicking mobile

    • conditioned learning for babies

      • Moving mobile from kicking action → babies gaze is at the mobile

      • Start of study she conditions babies that every time they kick the mobile move, they try to keep it happening

        • Learn they are in control of the mobile

    • Test phase

      • Removal of string

      • See whether they remember the action

      • test of recognition memory

  • How long do infant memories last?

    • using the mobile paradigm and train movement (same concept but w train)

    • She was able to map out infant memory retention with the paradigms

    • Over the span of 18 months

      • retention intervals get better as babies age

      • can be from changes in neural refinement

        • efficient processing with neural refinement = removal of neurons that arent as useful

  • She changes the context of the learning

    • setting in crib

    • Stripy crib environment - the babies remember kicking when back in this stripe crib

    • Context matters with babies learning and remembering

      • Not as major in adulthood

  • this study doesnt tell us

    • the type of memory that babies have

    • Recall memory

      • Requires extraction from previous event

        • Do you remember when this happened?

        • Have to generate details from this

    • cant ask infant - they cant speak

    • we dont know if they can recall pieces of that

Memory span development

  • Refers to short term memory storage

  • Memory increase for memory span with age

Why does memory span improve across developmental time?

Does the capacity of STM improve with age?

  • No

    • Chess player example

    • chess kids → same as expert chess adults

  • Efficiency → memory processing becoming more automatic

  • practice increasing processing speed

    • As we age we use those strategies and maturing makes processing speed more efficient

    • the cause of the linear increase

Why does memory span improve across developmental time?

  • “Software development”

    • Cognitive strategies are implemented in goal oriented ways to increase task performance

Strategies

Rehearsal memory strategies

  • repetition of a list of things to be remembered

    • Production deficiency

      • not able to use the strategy effectively

Organization memory strategies

  • imposing order on info to be remembered using categories or hierarchal relationships

    • e.g.

    • grouping food words and grouping sports

      • younger kids not able to do this, 8th graders more likely to use this strategy

Elaborative memory strategies

  • adding info we remembered to make it more meaningful and easier to remember

    • High effort strategy

    • Children don’t use this until adolescence

Development of strategies - Issues

  • production

    • Coming up with the strategy and using it

  • Utilization

    • Importance of the strategy use and actually using it

Metacognition

ones own knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognitive processes

2 components

  • Knowledge about knowing

    • Understanding about the task - comprehension

    • knowledge of strategies

  • Process info effectively

    • Awareness of what you know and what we dont know

    • present state of knowledge used to see what we have to find out

  • Malcolm et al.

** instruction missing about the card game → how to win it

  • Older children have realistic views on how their memory works

Hardware development: Physical changes

  • Neural myelination

    • sensory/ motor areas first

    • frontal areas last → strategy use

  • Synaptic pruning

    • experience and practice

    • refinement

Parallels with brain development

  • Frontal lobe

    • Source memory

  • Cortical areas including the Hippocampus

    • Recall/strategic memory

  • subcortical areas

    • habituation

    • recognition