Information-Processing Theory

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Information-Processing Theory

• By Robert S. Siegler

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Robert S. Siegler

• Teresa Heinz Professor of Cognitive Psychology
•  B.A. in psychology from the University of
  Illinois in 1970
• Ph.D. in psychology from SUNY Stony Brook in 1974

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Focus of his works

• Are on children's thinking, particularly their
  mathematical and scientific thinking.
• He also specializes in the cognitive development
  of problem solving and reasoning in children.

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Information-Processing Theory

• This theory attempts to account for changes in a
  child's cognitive ability via interactions
  between the developing brain and the child's
  increasing knowledge of the world.

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It aims to

• help social learning theorists and others
  understand how humans learn and solve problems
• to understand cognitive development in terms of
  how people of different ages process information
  (i.e., decode, encode, transfer, combine, store,
  retrieve it), particularly when solving
  challenging mental problems (Sternberg 2002, p.
  462).

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He suggested that children's ability to reason
improved with age, and that an older child is
able to draw upon a greater variety of mental
processes than a younger child.
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Infant Early Childhood Middle
Childhood
preference for moderately complex stimuli,
ability to classify objects
attention span of a child is short, easily
distracted,, limited knowledge because of lack of
experience with variable stimulation
more capable of focusing on important
information, and they are not distracted as
easily as before, increasingly symbolic nature of
thought and knowledge,
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ability to focus on one task for an hour or so is
developed, basic skills such as writing and math
are basically automatic, knowledge base is
expanded in relation to school subjects and
interests.

• Early Adolescence
• Late Adolescence

ability to focus on tasks is extended to lengthy
periods of time instead of an hour, knowledge has
increased to become "extensive and somewhat
integrated"
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• Siegler (1998) proposes that as children grow
  older, they develop progressively better rules
  and strategies for solving problems and for
  thinking logically.
• Siegler notes that change can be both continuous
  and discontinuous, as described by a branch of
  mathematics called catastrophe theory.
• viewed from afar, many changes in childrens
  thinking appear discontinuous when viewed from
  close up, the same changes often appear as part
  of a continuous, gradual progression (Siegler,
  1998, p.55)

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Key Components that are Involved in the
Information Processing Theory
directs attention
retrieve (activate memories)
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• Information processing theorists liken the
  sensory input to humans to the input functions of
  a computer. The processes of thinking--perception,
  problem solving, and memory --are similarly
  compared to the computer's data reading, data
  processing, and storage capabilities. The actions
  taken by humans are likened to a computer output.
• While the computer analogy is limited and
  limiting, information processing theory has
  provided a structure for the study of cognitive
  processes in children.

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Factors that can Influence The Processing of
Information

1. Environment influences perception, and
   "perception of one's surroundings is essential
   for survival, the human species has undoubtedly
   evolved some biologically built in perceptual
   mechanisms"

2. Heredity can cause children to have mental
illnesses that can cause mental developments to
not happen at the normal rate.
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Information-processing theorists believe that all
thinking is information processing.
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• Sources
• "Information Processing Theory". Encyclopedia of
  Childhood and Adolescence. FindArticles.com. 25
  Jun, 2011. http//findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g
  2602/is_0003/ai_2602000322/
• McDevitt, T., Ormrod, J. (2004). Child
  Development Educating and Working with Children
  and Adolescents (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall

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