UNIT 4 INFORMATION PROCESSING AND

COGNITIVE THEORY
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Information Processing
4.2.1 Information Processing Theory
4.2.2 Information Processing Model
4.3 Cognitive Psychology
4.3.1 Cognitive Theory
4.3.2 Cognitive Information Processing
4.4 Let Us Sum Up
4.5 Unit End Questions
4.6 Suggested Readings

4.0 INTRODUCTION
I am sure very often you must be wondering how you learn, how children learn, how
do they acquire knowledge, how does our brain work to acquire knowledge, and
once acquired what all it does to retain that knowledge and how does it retrieve the
information that the individual had learnt some months ago or even some years ago.
All these are concerned with what we call as information processing.
A person is seen by you in a conference or in a meeting. Immediately the senses
(vision) see it and transmit it to the brain through the spinal cord. The brain registers
the characteristics of this individual and sends to the brain for storing this information.
First the item goes from the register to the short term memory where it remains for
a very short period and then is sent to the long term memory where it is stored
permanently. When the person again appears before you about 6 months later,
certain cues stimulate the brain and the brain is able to get to the long term memory
and retrieve the information stored about the individual in it. This retrieval is called
recall of the stored information. Thus you are able to recognise the person as having
met him some months ago in a meeting. At times the cue itself may be that the
person tells you that you met him at a certain meeting, and this cue is sufficient to
get the materials stored to be retrieved. This is called information processing and it
is part of cognitive psychology which is the study of the mental processes that are
concerned with acquisition of information, registering it, storing it and then retrieving
it. It also deals with many more processes, such as reasoning, decision making,
problem solving, creativity, etc. In this unit we will be studying about the information
processing of humans as to how they register information, retain and recall them.

4.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
 explain the concept of information processing;
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 elucidate the information processing theory and model; Information Processing
and Cognitive Theory
 describe cognitive psychology and cognitive theory; and
 explain cognitive information processing.

4.2 INFORMATION PROCESSING

(From wlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/memory.html)
The entire process of information processing involves acquiring, retaining, and using
information (refer to diagram below). Information is received by the brain from the
outside of the body through what is called ‘sensory registers’. This information may
be in the form as perceived by any of the 5 senses, visual, auditory, touch, taste and
smell . Many times we are not consciously aware of these and respond automatically.
However when we give special attention we are able to perceive and become aware
of these senses and as we focus our attention on them, they are in the working
memory until we finish with the entire process. Working memory is such that the
items received are retained in it for a very short period of time and thus it is also
called as short term memory.

A model of human information processing.

(Adapted from the internet site nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/memory.html)
This working memory is very short with at a time only 7 items being retained and
that too for a very short period of time. In case we want to keep the items for a
longer period of time or have larger number of items retained we may have to use
strategies such as rehearsing to keep the item for a longer period and chunking the
various items into 7 groups and remembering the chunks and the materials within.
In contrast to the short term memory, the long term memory stores information for
longer periods of time. There is no need to rehearse the items to keep it in memory
for longer periods. Also any number of items can be stored and there is no restriction
about how much information is to be stored. To give an example, whenever we
are working in the office, we receive letters, emails, notings, phone calls etc. We
respond to some, postpone responding to others and do not give importance or any
attention to some items. We also file some of the notings and papers received as
if we are sending the items to long term memory. Sometimes when a certain note
is received, we try to see and relate the contents of the items with some stored files
such as minutes of a board meeting in which we had taken some decisions regarding
that concerned matter. That is, we are retrieving items from long term memory in
some fashion or integrate them in some way to attack a complex problem.
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Development During In information processing also we do the same kind of complex action. Though the
Adolescence
diagram clearly explains how information is received, processed and stored etc.,
human brain is not that simple, we are still not aware how many things happen about
which we do not even know anything and further research at a high level will be
required to know what goes on in the process mentioned above in the brain.
Cognitive processes are also concerned with how people learn, understand, think,
store and recall the information that has been acquired over a period of time. You
go to school or college and you learn many things. A large number of things are
immediately available to you as you are able to remember them , but considerable
information may be available to you only when you put in some efforts and there are
many more information that are just not available to you even when you put in
efforts. Sometimes you feel that it is there and you can recall but it slips off and you
do not remember. With certain cues you may be able to recall that information.
The entire process of registering, storing and retrieving information is called information
processing which all come under the rubric of cognitive psychology.
One can imagine one’s brain and the information processing system akin to that of
a computer, where in there are first of all input. This is the information that you send
to the computer. Now you want the computer to store this information so that when
ever you need you can recall it and use it. The computer takes the information input
and stores it as per your command and then retrieves it from the stored place for
you when you need it. Today we have information processing models of memory
about which we have discussed below.
Self Assessment Questions
1) From what sources does information enter the working memory?
a) external stimuli, b) sensory register, c) short-term memory d) long-term
memory
2) From what source does information enter long-term memory?
a) external stimuli, b) sensory register, c) short-term memory, d) procedural
memory
3) What process causes information to move into the sensory register?
a) perception, b) attention, c) retrieval d) rehearsal e) encoding
4) What process causes information to move from the sensory register to working
memory?
a) perception, b) attention, c) retrieval d) rehearsal e) encoding
5) What process causes information to stay in the working memory?
a) perception, b) attention, c) retrieval, d) rehearsal,e) encoding
6) What process causes information to move from working memory to long-term
memory?
a) perception, b) attention, c) retrieval, d) rehearsal, e) encoding
7) What process causes information to move from long-term memory to short-
term memory?
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 Information Processing
a) perception, b) attention, c) retrieval, d) rehearsal, e) encoding and Cognitive Theory

8) What happens to information in the working memory that is not encoded?

a) it is never learned, b) it is rehearsed,c) it returns to the sensory register,
d) it moves to long-term memory, e) it moves to short-term memory
9) What happens to information that does not move from the sensory register to
short-term memory?
a) it is never learned), b) it is learned, but quickly forgotten), c) it can be
learned, but only if it is rehearsed constantly) d) it can be learned, but only if
it is encoded)
Answers
1) b and d, 2) c and d 3) b, 4) b, 5) d, 6) e 7) c, 8) a 9) a

4.2.1 Information Processing Theory

During the 1950’s research on artificial intelligence was being very popular with
experts and psychology scientists trying to create a computer model of intelligence
which can perform many tasks that human’s brain performs. However, with the
many new tools and techniques such the FMRI and PET etc., the study of brain
functions has become much more sophisticated, more scientific and more informative.
As pointed out by experts and researchers the information processing studies of
cognition flourished during 60’s and 70’s.
To be more specific, information processing theory is actually a framework that has
within it a certain number of related theories having some common assumptions. As
for instance one such assumption is that all cognitive activities involve mental processes
that operate over real time on internal, symbolic representations of information. That
is, information of all sorts is coded as mental representations with structural properties.
Any stimulus that is seen for the first time, new designer furniture, for instance, the
processes involved in perception makes a mental representation of that furniture.
These representations are then stored by the memory in the long term memory from
where when necessary could be retrieved. In fact these representations are stored
after linking them to any related type of representation already in existence in the
memory. This helps in interpreting the various details of the furniture , its colour, its
texture and many more information to decide whether it is good to purchase it or not.
From the point of view of information-processing theory, one does not simply
experience the furniture but one is engaged in a series of events in which mental
representations of the furniture are created and manipulated by processes operating
over time. These processes are identified which help to understand the various
aspects and unique features of the furniture and help in taking a decision regarding
the purchase of the furniture. Researchers therefore focus on how the decisions are
made, how the problems are solved and what kinds of skills are required for it.
The next assumption is that these processes and representations exist within an
organised system with definable properties and constraints. An important goal of
research is to define the cognitive architecture, that is, the general structural
characteristics of the information-processing system. For example, the amount of
information that can be activated at any one time is limited, as is often evident when
people try to remember new telephone numbers or solve difficult problems. This
phenomenon is often interpreted in terms of working memory, an important, limited 49
Development During capacity system for manipulating information. Research on working memory has
Adolescence
revealed the operation of three interacting components: a phonological loop for
storing speech-based information; a visual-spatial sketchpad for storing visual
information; and an executive system for combining information from various sources
to solve problems and create plans. New research, such as that reported in 2000
by Susan E. Gathercole and Susan J. Pickering, is beginning to link developmental
change and individual differences in cognitive performance to changes in these
components of working memory. Another constraint on cognitive processing is the
speed at which processes operate. In general, faster processing speed should enable
more competent performance on particular tasks. Not only does general processing
speed increase from early childhood through adolescence, but as researcher Robert
Kail reported in 1991, it does so at a consistent and well-defined rate of change.
The reasons for this phenomenon still are not understood.
A third assumption is that cognitive development occurs via self-modification of the
information-processing system. Although environmental events critically influence
development, the mechanisms by which the information-processing system changes
over time are assumed to be internal to the system itself. A number of such mechanisms
have been proposed. For example, as children develop some processes become
automatized in the sense that they are executed more rapidly and with less demand
on limited attentional capacity than earlier in development. According to some theories,
increasing automatisation allows children to operate at higher levels of complexity
and flexibility. Knowledge modification processes, such as generalisation and
discrimination, operate to create more powerful and accurate processes and
representations. A critical task for developmental theorists is defining a cognitive
architecture and self-modification mechanisms that, together, can account for the
striking changes in thinking that emerge as children develop.
Information-processing theories of development differ significantly from other
approaches in fundamental ways. They are not phenomenological because they are
not limited to conscious experience, and they are not neurological in that they do
not rely on neural or biochemical mechanisms as explanations. They differ from
traditional stimulus-response theories because of their emphasis on detailed descriptions
of mental processes and representations that interact over time. Unlike structural
theories, such as that of Jean Piaget, the focus is on very specific processes and
representations that underlie performance. Information-processing theories can be
combined with these other approaches, and in contemporary neuroscience research,
for example, information-processing concepts, such as working memory and processing
speed, are often used to explore relations between brain and behaviour.
Methods
The assumptions of information processing have led researchers to adapt or create
methods appropriate for identifying processes, representations, and characteristics of
cognitive architecture. Given the emphasis on temporal properties of processes,
researchers have developed highly specialised, chronometric methods for measuring
the speed of particular mental processes. With rule assessment, tasks are structured
so that patterns of responses can be used to identify particular processes and decision
rules. Protocol analysis is used to examine verbal self-reports, provided by participants
as they solve problems, for evidence about solution procedures, internal
representations, and processing constraints. When applied to the study of development,
these methods need to be used carefully so that they are equally sensitive to important
aspects of performance at different developmental levels.
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Information-processing researchers also have adopted a number of distinctive methods Information Processing
and Cognitive Theory
for illustrating or representing their theories. Because of the emphasis on specific
processes and their organisation, flow charts and diagrams often are used to indicate
how processing is structured. Some researchers take a more formal approach: They
implement their theories of cognitive development as computer programs. To the
extent that the programs mimic children’s behaviour and development, researchers
receive some support for the veridicality of their theory. If, however, the program
crashes, then clearly the theory is lacking.
Educational Implications
Ideally, educational assessment would provide specific insights about how to adapt
instruction to individual children so as to optimise learning. In principle, information
processing should provide a basis for assessing specific strengths and weaknesses
and for identifying specific processes and representations that can be targeted for
instruction. Teachers want their students to answer problems correctly, but measuring
achievement only in terms of correct answers can be misleading: Often children can
answer a problem correctly but for the wrong reasons, or incorrectly but for reasons
that make sense. More important than answering correctly, in terms of educational
goals, are whether students use appropriate solution strategies and whether they
understand what they are doing. The value of information-processing research for
education lies in its inherent distinction between the products of children’s thinking
(i.e., whether children solve problems correctly) and the processes (i.e., how problems
are solved). Research on the development of school-related knowledge and skills is
beginning to yield impressive advances.
In studies of young children’s arithmetic, for example, researchers have identified a
wide range of solution procedures, correct and incorrect, that children use to solve
problems. To account for how children select among these procedures, how
procedures change as children gain experience, and how some new procedures
arise, Robert S. Siegler and Christopher Shipley (1995) developed an information-
processing model that includes assumptions about an associative memory for number
facts, a memory system for recording the results of past solutions, and a system for
deciding whether and how to apply particular procedures. This model accounts
extremely well for some aspects of children’s development in arithmetic, and it has
some specific instructional implications. For example, according to this model,
associating problems and correct solutions is critical for later development of efficient
solution procedures. Discouraging children from counting accurately with their fingers
may increase the chance of incorrect associations developing and thus delay the use
of more advanced procedures. The model is far from complete, but it provides a
coherent basis for analysing how children solve arithmetic problems, how and why
change occurs, and how instruction might be adapted to the needs of individual
children.
Similar progress has been made in other areas. Reading, for example, is a complex
skill consisting of numerous components, and information-processing methods have
been useful for identifying and measuring these components. One such component is
phonological awareness, which includes the ability to identify and manipulate phonemes.
Lynette Bradley and Peter E. Bryant (1983) found that instruction designed to enhance
phonological awareness in young children strongly and positively influences the rate
at which they become effective readers. Problem solving is critical to success in many
academic domains. Amarjit S. Dhillon (1998) studied the behaviour of experts and
novices as they solved physics problems and found that their strategies could be
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Development During analysed in terms of fourteen processes or activities. Experts and novices differed
Adolescence
systematically in the use and sequence of these activities, a finding that provides
insights into understanding students’ knowledge in terms of specific concepts and
procedures. The results of this research were used to develop problem-solving
instruction for high school and university students.
Aside from its use in specific academic domains, information processing also has
provided a basis for assessing broad intellectual skills. A new generation of tests is
emerging that are constructed so that children’s performance can be interpreted in
terms of relatively specific processing skills that, in principle, may be amenable to
targeted instruction. One example is the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS),
developed by Jagannath P. Das and Jack A. Naglieri, in which tasks from information-
processing research have been adapted to measure four aspects of processing
(planning, attention, simultaneous processing, and successive processing) that are
emphasised in a comprehensive theory developed by the neuropsychologist Aleksandr
Luria. Because of the links between theory and measures, the CAS has proved
useful in interpreting performance for children with or without learning disabilities and
for developing specific instructional interventions.
Prospects
Information processing is by no means the only approach for studying cognitive
development, but its assumptions and methods have proved helpful in exploring the
many ways in which children’s thinking changes with development. Its greatest utility
to date has been in studying task-specific or domain-specific processes and
representations. It has been applied with somewhat less success to domain-general
characteristics of development, as well as to topics such as motivation and affect that
are critical to understanding development and optimising education. At this point, it
is not clear whether these apparent deficiencies are inherent to information processing
or whether they are simply a result of how information-processing concepts and
methods have been applied to date. The information-processing approach is challenged
by connectionist and dynamic systems theories that do not share the assumptions
about symbolic representations and discrete processes; by ecological theories that
focus on environmental factors and their structure; by neuroscientific theories that
provide explanations in terms of neural functioning and neuroanatomy, and by traditional
theories, such as those of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, in which a more general
level of analysis and explanation is emphasised. The extent to which information
processing succeeds will depend, in part, on the extent to which its practitioners can
adapt to accommodate these challenges and contribute to research that enriches
educational assessment and instruction.
Computer Oriented Information Processing Models
The information-processing theory is associated with the development of high-speed
computers in the 1950s. Researchers—most notably Herbert Simon and his
colleagues—demonstrated that computers could be used to simulate human intelligence.
This development led to the realisation that computer-oriented information-processing
models could provide new insight into how the human mind receives, stores, retrieves,
and uses information. Information processing model focused on innate mental
capacities, rather than on conditioned, externally observable behaviour. By enabling
experimental psychologists to test theories about complex mental processes through
computer simulation, information-processing models helped reestablish internal thought
processes as a legitimate area of scientific inquiry.
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The information processing theory is an approach to the cognitive development of a Information Processing
and Cognitive Theory
human being, which deals with the study and the analysis of the sequence of events
that occur in a persons mind while receiving some new piece of information. In short,
it is the analysis of the way a human being learns something new. There is a fixed
pattern of events that take place in such a situation, and by knowing this pattern we
can enable children and people with special abilities to learn new things faster.
The information processing theory laid down by experts in psychology claims that the
human mind is very similar to that of computers, as far as information processing and
analysis is concerned. They also say that any new piece of information that enters
the brain is first analysed and then put through the test of several benchmarks before
being stored in some vestibules of the memory. Since these actions occur at a very
fast speed, we are unable to notice them in action.
The sensory perceptors of a human being function in the same way as the hardware
of a computer does, and the mindset and the rules and strategies adopted by the
person while learning is equivalent to the software used by computers. The information
processing system of a person can thus be enhanced if these perceptors and rules
are altered.

4.2.2 Information Processing Model

There is a fixed structure that the information processing theory follows, and it is
divided into the following four parts:
 The store model – This is a breakdown of the model which states that the
information that has been received can be stored in any of the processing units,
or the channels through which it passes. These channels are the sensory register,
short-term memory and long-term memory.
 The sensory register – This is that part of the mental processing unit that
receives all information and then stores it temporarily or permanently.
 Short-term memory – That part of the sensory register where the information
is stored temporarily. Once the decision has been made regarding the information,
the information will either be discarded or transferred to the long-term memory.
 Long-term memory – The part where all the information is permanently stored.
It can be retrieved later as and when the need arises.
The four main beliefs of the information-processing approach
1) When the individual perceives, encodes, represents, and stores information from
the environment in his mind or retrieves that information, he is thinking. Thinking
also includes responding to any constraints or limitations on memory processes.
2) The proper focus of study is the role of change mechanism in development.
Four critical mechanisms work together to bring about change in children’s
cognitive skills: encoding, strategy construction, automatisation and generalisation.
To solve problems effectively, children must encode critical information about a
problem and then use this encoded information and relevant prior knowledge to
construct a strategy to deal with the problem
3) Development is driven by self-modification. Like Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development, the information-processing approach holds that children play an
active role in their own development. Through self-modification, the child uses
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Development During knowledge and strategies she has acquired from earlier problem solution to
Adolescence
modify her responses to a new situation or problem. In this way, she builds
newer and more sophisticated responses from prior knowledge
4) Investigators must perform careful task analysis of the problem situations they
present to children. According to this view, not only the child’s own level of
development but the nature of the task itself constraints child’s performance.
Thus a child may possess the basic ability necessary to perform a particular task
when it is presented in a simple form, without unnecessary complexities. However,
if extra or misleading information is added to the same task, the child may
become confused and be unable to perform it.

4.3 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Cognitive psychology is a discipline within psychology that investigates the internal
mental processes of thought such as visual processing, memory, thinking, learning,
feeling, problem solving, and language. The term “cognition” refers to all processes
by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered,
and used. It is concerned with these processes even when they operate in the
absence of relevant stimulation, as in images and hallucinations.
Cognitive psychology is radically different from previous psychological approaches
in two key ways. It accepts the use of the scientific method, and generally rejects
introspection as a valid method of investigation, unlike symbol-driven approaches
such as Freudian psychology. It explicitly acknowledges the existence of internal
mental states (such as belief, desire and motivation) unlike behaviourist psychology.
Critics hold that the empiricism of cognitive psychology combined with the acceptance
of internal mental states by cognitive psychology is contradictory.

4.3.1 Cognitive Theory

Cognitive theory is a learning theory of psychology that attempts to explain human
behaviour by understanding the thought processes. The assumption is that humans
are logical beings that make the choices that make the most sense to them. “Information
processing” is a commonly used description of the mental process, comparing the
human mind to a computer.
Cognitive theory is concerned with the development of a person’s thought processes.
It also looks at how these thought processes influence how we understand and
interact with the world. Cognitive theories studies about how people understand
material, aptitude, capacity to learn and learning styles. It is also the basis of the
educational approach known as constructivism, which emphasises the role of the
learner in constructing his own view or model of the material and what helps with
that.
Pure cognitive theory largely rejects behaviourism on the basis that behaviourism
reduces complex human behaviour to simple cause and effect. However, the trend
in past decades has been towards merging the two into a comprehensive cognitive-
behavioural theory. This allows therapists to use techniques from both schools of
thought to help clients achieve their goals.
Social cognitive theory is a subset of cognitive theory. Primarily focused on the ways
in which we learn to model the behaviour of others, social cognitive theory can be
seen in advertising campaigns and peer pressure situations. It is also useful in the
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treatment of psychological disorders including phobias. Information Processing
and Cognitive Theory

4.3.2 Cognitive Information Processing

The cognitive information processing theory looks at the role of the three stages of
memory (sensory, short-term, and long-term) in retrieving information and then
transferring it to store and then recall in memory. Sensory memory allows the learners
to organise groups of information or patterns in their environment; learners recognise
and then process these patters. Short-term memory allows the learner to hold and
to understand small amounts of information. If the information is effectively connected
to previous knowledge, it is stored in long-term memory. Long-term memory allows
the learner to remember and then apply knowledge across learning environments;
and, remember the information for large amounts of time after it is learned. Encoding
and retrieval also play key roles in the cognitive information processing theory.
The cognitive information processing focuses on different aspects of instruction and
how those aspects can either facilitate or hinder learning and memory. Cognitive
information processing theory emphasises using strategies that focus the learner’s
attention, promote encoding and retrieval, and provide for meaningful, effective practice
across learning environments and curriculum. Cognitive information processing theory
also emphasizes the use of graphic organisers and emphasising words that are important
in texts.

4.4 LET US SUM UP

Cognitive processes are also concerned with how people learn, understand, think,
store and recall the information that has been acquired over a period of time. A large
number of things are immediately available to you as you are able to remember them,
but considerable information may be available to you only when you put in some
efforts and there are many more information that are just not available to you even
when you put in efforts. The entire process of information processing involves acquiring,
retaining, and using information. Information is received by the brain from the outside
of the body through what is called ‘sensory registers’. This information may be in the
form as perceived by any of the 5 senses, visual, auditory, touch, taste and smell.
Information processing theory is actually a framework that has within it a certain
number of related theories having certain common assumptions. As for instance one
such assumption is that all cognitive activities involve mental processes that operate
over real time on internal, symbolic representations of information. That is, information
of all sorts is coded as mental representations with structural properties.
Information-processing theories of development differ significantly from other
approaches in fundamental ways. They are not phenomenological because they are
not limited to conscious experience, and they are not neurological in that they do not
rely on neural or biochemical mechanisms as explanations.
Cognitive psychology is a discipline within psychology that investigates the internal
mental processes of thought such as visual processing, memory, thinking, learning,
feeling, problem solving, and language. The term “cognition” refers to all processes
by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered,
and used.
Cognitive theory is a learning theory of psychology that attempts to explain human
behaviour by understanding the thought processes. The assumption is that humans
are logical beings that make the choices that make the most sense to them. “Information
55
Development During processing” is a commonly used description of the mental process, comparing the
Adolescence
human mind to a computer.
The cognitive information processing theory looks at the role of the three stages of
memory (sensory, short-term, and long-term) in retrieving information and then
transferring it to store and then recall in memory.

4.5 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) What do you understand by information processing? Explain with a diagram
2) Define short term memory, long term memory and working memory. Give
suitable examples.
3) Elucidate then information processing theory bringing out its salient features.
4) What are the methods used in information processing model? Discuss its
applications in real life situations.
5) Discuss the computer oriented information processing models.
6) Define cognitive psychology. What are its scope, goals and application. Discuss
giving suitable examples.

4.6 SUGGESTED READINGS

Woodworth, R.S. (1972). (3rd edition) Woodworth and Schlosberg’s Experimental
Psychology. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, NY
Pashler, Hall (2002). Steven’s Handbook of Experimental Psychology.(2002).
Third Edition. (3rd Edition) , Wiley International . NY

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