Child and Adolescent Stages of Information Processing

Development –
Input / Stimuli
Miller’s Information
Processing Theory
Sensory

Selection
Pattern Short- Long-
Store /

Filter
Dr Sau Yin LAU Recog- term term
Sensory
The Open University of Hong Kong nition memory memory
Memory
EDU E253F
Spring Term 2020

Output / Response

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Miller’s Information Processing Theory Stages of Information Processing

• George A. Miller (1920-2012) and other • Sensory Store / Sensory Memory
researchers developed a view that human • It provides brief storage for information in
mind is like a computer or information its original sensory form.
processor.
• Presumably, a sensory store exists for
• They believed that the acquisition, storage, each of the senses.
retrieval, and use of information comprise a
number of separate stages. • Filter
• It is the stage when some perceptual
information is blocked or filtered out and
not recognised, while other information
receives attention and is subsequently
recognised.

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Miller’s Information Processing Theory Stages of Information Processing

• Pattern Recognition
• It is the stage of perception during which a
stimulus is identified.
• Selection
• It is the stage when the person determines
which information is to be remembered.

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 Stages of Information Processing Types of Attention
• Short-term Memory • Focus attention
• This type of memory has limited capacity • when a person attends to a particular task
and lasts only about 20-30 seconds in the or stimulus at hand
absence of attending to its content. • Sustained attention
• Long-term Memory • when a person maintains attention to the
• This type of memory has no capacity limits same task over an extended period of time
and lasts from minutes to an entire • Selective attention
lifetime.
• when a person selects one stimulus to
attend and neglects other competing
stimuli

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Attention Types of Attention

• Attention is the focusing of perception • Divided attention
that leads to greater consciousness of a • when a person attends to more than one
limited number of (dimensions of) stimulus simultaneously
stimuli • Alternating attention
• It is the focusing of mental effort on • when a person shifts his/her focus of
sensory and/or mental events attention and move between tasks

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Types of Attention Types of Attention

• There are different ways to classify • Bottom-up attention
attention • driven by the sensory input data
• Focus attention; Sustained attention; • automatic and unconscious manners
Selective attention; Divided attention;
• Top-down attention
Alternating attention
• driven by conceptual data such as goals
• Bottom-up attention; Top-down attention
• conscious type of attention
• Visual attention; Auditory attention; Tactile
attention; Spatial attention; …

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 Major Theories of Attention Insights from Studies on ADHD
• Bottleneck Theories • Worldwide prevalence estimates
• A mechanism acts like a filter to allow just • 5.9% to 7.1% in children and adolescents
one stimulus passing through the channel. • Impacts:
• The mechanism can prevent the limited • On academic performance:
capacity to be overloaded. • have significantly lower scores in SATs
• more likely to be retained during
Left ear Right ear elementary school and at a higher risk for
7 3 dropping out of high school
4 2
1 5 • On behaviour:
• display more disruptive behaviour in
classrooms
• display more difficulties in peer relationship

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Major Theories of Attention Insights from Studies on ADHD

• Capacity Theories • Association with executive function deficits
• It views attention as a kind of cognitive • Executive functions are a collection of high-
effort, having limited cognitive capacity level cognitive processes, including four
components: Goal formation; Planning;
• Human activities that require attention Execution of goal-related plans; Effective
would compete for the limited cognitive performance
capacity.
• Examples of executive functions of the brain:
• Simultaneous activities create interference • Sustained attention
affecting with each other if the demands of • Temporary immobilization
these activities exceed available cognitive
• Working memory
capacity.
• Self-regulation
• Reflection

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Attention Difficulties Memory

• Some typical behaviours of students with • Memory is a general ability, or faculty, that
attention difficulties: enables us to interpret the perceptual
• easily distracted world to help organize responses to
• fidgeting, moving, running, climbing about changes that take place in the world.
• excessive talking
• difficult to wait for turn • It is complex cognitive or mental process
• difficult to persist that involves encoding, retention
• disorganised (storage) and retrieval of the information.
• Forgetful
• hyperactive-impulsive
• Daydreaming
• delay in response time
• …
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 Memory Short-term and Long-term Memories
• The 3 types of Processing:
• Encoding
• It is process of receiving input and
transforming it into a form or code, which
can be stored.
• Retention/Storage
• It is process of actually putting coded
information into memory.
• Retrieval
• It is process of gaining access to stored,
coded information when it is needed.

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Types of Memory Characteristics of Short-term of Memory

• There are different ways to classify • High Rate of Forgetting
memory • Limited Capacity
• Sensory memory; Short-term memory • Use of Memory Codes
(STM); Long-term memory (LTM)
• Serial Position Effect
• Explicit memory; Implicit memory;
semantic memory; episodic memory; • Working Memory
procedural memory • The Role Rehearsal
• Visual memory; acoustic memory

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Short-term and Long-term Memories High Rate of Forgetting in STM

• A research study that tested the recall
rates of information over a 18-second
retention interval showed that correct
recall rate declined rapidly if rehearsal of
Stimuli
the information was not allowed.
• The rapid forgetting rate implies that a
Short-term Memory person must rehearse the information to
keep it available in short-term memory.
Long-term Memory
• Researchers found that interference,
rather than decay, is the primary cause of
forgetting.

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 Limited Capacity in STM Use of Memory Codes in STM
• Memory span is the longest sequence that • Most people read by subvocalising
a person can typically recall. (saying to themselves) the words in the
• Research studies showed that the text.
memory span ranged from 5 items for • Research studies showed that although
English words to 9 items for binary digits. people can comprehend the meaning of
words without subvocalisation,
• The transient quality limited storage subvocalisation is useful in facilitating the
capacity is 7 items, plus or minus 2. detailed recall of a text.
• However, although acoustic code can
improve recall of detailed information, it is
not necessary to preserve the gist of the
paragraph people read.

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Limited Capacity in STM Serial Position Effect in STM

• Storage capacity can be increased by • Serial position effect is found in recall
process called chunking. experiments. The words at the beginning
and end of a list are recalled better than
• Chunk is a cluster of items that has been words in the middle of the list.
stored as a unit in long-term memory.
• The better recall of words at the end of the
• Research studies showed that the list is called a recency effect. Research
individual differences in memory is how findings suggest that the recency effect is
effectively people can group material into caused by retrieval from STM.
familiar chunks. • (The better recall of words at the
beginning of the list is called a primacy
effect. Research findings suggest that the
primacy effect is caused by retrieval from
LTM.)
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Use of Memory Codes in STM Working Memory and STM

• Research studies showed that people • Working memory refers to the memory
tend to rely on verbal rehearsal as a that is required to maintain and
means of preserving information in STM. manipulate information.
• Studies indicated that students who had • STM is often referred to as a working
fast pronunciation rates tended to recall memory because it is needed when
more than students who had slow people perform most cognitive tasks.
pronunciation rates.
• Some researchers argue that acoustic
(speech-based) codes are the
predominant memory codes in STM.

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 Working Memory and STM Characteristics of Long-term of Memory
• Some researchers constructed a working • Serial Position Effect
memory model to explain how working
• Multiple Memories
memory functions.
• The model consists of 3 main components: • Use of Memory Codes
• A phonological loop: It is used to maintain • Retrieval Issues
and manipulate speech-based information.
• A visuospatial sketchpad: It is used to
maintain and manipulate visual or spatial
information.
• An episodic buffer: It is to serve as a limited
capacity store that can integrate
information from the phonological loop and
the visuospatial sketchpad.

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The Role of Rehearsal in STM Serial Position Effect in LTM

• In the process of rehearsal, the information • The better recall of words at the beginning
is kept in the centre of attention by of the list is called a primacy effect.
repeating items silently or aloud. • Research findings suggest that the
• Rehearsal is the refreshing of the acoustic primacy effect is caused by retrieval from
LTM.
codes
• Rehearsal can increase the probability of
storing the information into long term
memory.
• The impacts of rehearsal depend on the
amount of rehearsal and also the ways of
rehearsal.

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The Role of Rehearsal in STM Multiple Memories in LTM

• There are two types of rehearsal • Some researchers suggest that LTM is not
• Maintenance rehearsal a single unitary system but consists of
• It keeps information active in STM. several different subsystem.
• It is the passive process of repetition. • They suggest a taxonomy of LTM
• Elaborative rehearsal
• It is the process that gives meaning and
organisation to the information to be
remembered so that it can be fitted better
into existing organised long term memories.

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 Multiple Memories in LTM Multiple Memories in LTM
• Explicit Memory / Declarative Memory • In many amnesia cases, only episodic
• It refers to the memory of factual memory is lost. In some other cases, only
information, general knowledge, data, and semantic memory is lost.
events. • Information stored as explicit or
• It takes place with consciousness and declarative memory (including semantic
intentions. and episodic memory) seems to be
forgotten more easily than that stored as
• Implicit Memory / Non-declarative Memory
procedural memory.
• It refers to the memory that helps people to
perform tasks without conscious
awareness of previous experiences.

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Multiple Memories in LTM Use of Memory Codes in LTM

• Semantic Memory • Some researchers suggest that there are
• It refers to the memory of general different types of coding
knowledge that is not associated with a • Structural Coding
particular time and context.
• It is the memory code that emphasises the
• E.g. Information Processing Theory is a physical structure of the stimulus
psychological theory that explains human
• Phonemic Coding
cognition.
• It is the memory code that emphasises the
• Episodic Memory pronunciation of the stimulus
• It refers to the memory of specific events,
• Semantic Coding
including when and where they occurred.
• It is the memory code that emphasises the
• E.g. We had a class yesterday from 11am meaning of the stimulus
to 1pm at B0614.

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Multiple Memories in LTM Use of Memory Codes in LTM

• Priming • Research studies showed that retention
• It is the facilitation in the detection or increases when processing changes from
recognition of a stimulus by using prior the structural to the phonemic to the
information. semantic level.
• Procedural Memory • Researchers suggest that the level of
• It refers to the memory for actions, skills, processing affects retention. The more
operations, and habits. deeply the information is processed the
• E.g. the memory of the skills to ride a more it is recalled.
bicycle. • It is suggested that maintenance rehearsal
• Associative Learning is not enough for good memory.
• It refers to simple classical conditioning Elaborative rehearsal can help improving
and reflex learning. long-term memory.

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 Use of Memory Codes in LTM Retrieval Issues in LTM
• Research studies further found that • Factors affecting retrieval of information
participants recalled better when they • Use of Retrieval Strategies
• listed the differences between the • Use of strategies such as searching cues
similar pairs, or can help retrieval.
• listed the similarities between the • This can be done by establishing
associations between information stored in
dissimilar pairs LTM when new information is coded.
• Researchers suggest that it is because • When a person wants to retrieve the new
• similarities provide connections of information, he/she can use appropriate
cues to activate the association.
memory codes
• The better the connections among stored
• dissimilarities give distinctiveness of information, the higher probability of
memory codes successful retrieval of information.

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Retrieval Issues in LTM Retrieval Issues in LTM

• Researchers believe that information that • Factors affecting retrieval of information
has been stored in LTM will not be lost. • Emotions
However, people may have difficulty in • Very high level of anxiety may cause
retrieving the information from LTM. extraneous thoughts and impede retrieval
• Factors affecting retrieval of information • Very unpleasant experiences may induce
blocking in the retrieval of those events
• Organization (relates with Freud’s Psychosexual Theory)
• Retrieval would be easier if information is
stored in an organized way.

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Retrieval Issues in LTM

• Factors affecting retrieval of information
• Elaboration What are the implications to
• Retrieval would be better if the information
is processed with a higher level of
education?
elaboration (higher level of processing /
processed deeper).
• Context
• If the information is a state dependent
learning, then providing the same state
when the information is being recalled can
help increasing the recall rate.

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