1. Slide 1 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT 7 A Topical Approach to John W. Santrock Information Processing

2. Slide 2 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Information Processing The Information Processing Approach Attention Memory Thinking Metacognition

3. Slide 3 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. What Is the Information-Processing Approach? Focuses on ways people process information about their world – Manipulate information – Monitor it – Create strategies to deal with it – Effectiveness involves attention, memory, thinking The Information-Processing Approach

4. Slide 4 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Computers and Human Information Processing The Information-Processing Approach Fig. 7.1

5. Slide 5 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Simplified Model of Information Processing The Information-Processing Approach Fig. 7.2

6. Slide 6 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Mechanisms of Change The Information-Processing Approach Encoding Automaticity Strategy Construction Mechanism by which information gets into memory Ability to process information with little or no effort Discovering new procedure for processing information Metacognition Cognition about cognition, or “knowing about knowing”

7. Slide 7 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Comparisons With Piaget’s Theory The Information-Processing Approach Piaget Constructivist Cognitive capabilities and limits at points in development Development occurs abruptly in distinct stages Information Processing Constructivist Cognitive capabilities and limits at points in development Individuals develop gradually increasing capacity for information- processing

8. Slide 8 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Speed of Processing Information Assessed using reaction time tasks Changes in speed processing –Improves dramatically through childhood and adolescence –Changes due to myelination or experience? –Decline begins in early adulthood; continues in middle and late adulthood The Information-Processing Approach

9. Slide 9 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Relation of Age to Reaction Time The Information-Processing Approach Fig. 7.3

10. Slide 10 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Does Processing Speed Matter? Linked with competence in thinking For many everyday tasks, speed is unimportant Efficient strategies can compensate for slower reaction times and speed Slower processing may be responsible for linking IQ and mortality

11. Slide 11 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. What Is Attention? Focusing of mental resources Three ways attention can be allocated – Sustained attention – Selective attention – Divided attention

12. Slide 12 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Types of Attention Attention Sustained Attention Selective Attention State of readiness to detect and respond to small changes occurring at random times in environment; also called vigilance Focusing on specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others Divided Attention Concentrating on more than one activity at a time

13. Slide 13 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy Newborns can detect contours and fixate 4-month-olds have selective attention Processes closely linked to attention –Habituation: decreased responsiveness to stimulus after repeated presentations –Dishabituation: recovery of a habituated response after change in stimulation Attention

14. Slide 14 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Childhood and Adolescence Most research on selective attention Cognitive control of attention shows changes –Preschooler attends to external salient stimuli –Child of 6 to 7 attentive to relevant information –Ability to shift attention increases with age; allows for more complex task involvement Attention

15. Slide 15 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Adulthood Older adults may not be able to focus on relevant information as effectively as younger adults Less adept at selective attention Older adults (50-80) performed worse in the divided attention condition than two younger groups Attention

16. Slide 16 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. What Is Memory? Retention of information over time Allows humans to span time in reflection over life’s activities Memory has imperfections Memory

17. Slide 17 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Processes of Memory Memory Fig. 7.4

18. Slide 18 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Constructing Memories Schema theory –Many reasons why memories are inaccurate –People construct and reconstruct memories; mold to fit information already existing in mind –Schemas: mental frameworks that organize concepts and information; affect encoding and retrieval Memory

19. Slide 19 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. False Memories New information such as questions or suggestions can alter memories Concerns about –Implanting false memories in eyewitnesses –Accuracy of eyewitness testimonies at trials Culture and gender linked to memory Memory

20. Slide 20 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy First Memories –Rovee-Collier infant memory experiments Implicit memory: memory without conscious recollection; skills and routine done automatically Explicit memory: conscious memory of facts and experiences; doesn’t appear until after 6 months Memory

21. Slide 21 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infancy Infantile Amnesia –Adults recall little or none of first three years –Also called childhood amnesia –Due to immaturity of prefrontal lobes in brain; play important role in memory of events Memory

22. Slide 22 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Childhood Memory Considerable improvement after infancy Short-term memory — memory span for up to 15 to 30 seconds without rehearsal Working memory — kind of mental workbench for manipulating and assembling information – Make decisions, solve problems – Comprehend written and spoken language Memory

23. Slide 23 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Childhood Memory Long-term memory — relatively permanent and unlimited type of memory Children as eyewitnesses – Age differences in susceptibility – Individual differences in susceptibility – Interviewing techniques can cause distortions; determines if child’s testimony is accurate Memory

24. Slide 24 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Working Memory Model Memory Fig. 7.8

25. Slide 25 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Long-Term Memory Strategies Activities to improve information processing Rehearsal — repetition Organizing — trying to group related information Imagery — creating mental images Elaboration — engaging in more extensive processing of information Memory

26. Slide 26 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Imagery and Memory of Verbal Information Memory Fig. 7.9

27. Slide 27 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Fuzzy Trace Theory Memory best understood by considering two types of memory –Verbatim memory trace: precise details –Gist: central idea of information Knowledge –Influences what people notice and how they organize, represent, interpret information Memory

28. Slide 28 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Working Memory and Processing Speed Working memory performance peaked at 45 years of age, and declined at 57 years of age Decline affected both new and old information Working memory linked to –Reading and math achievement –Processing speed Memory

29. Slide 29 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Explicit Memory Part of long-term memory; declarative memory –Episodic memory—retention of information about where and when of life’s happenings –Semantic memory—one’s knowledge about world Fields of expertise General academic knowledge “Everyday knowledge” Memory

30. Slide 30 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Aging and Explicit Memory Younger adults have better episodic memory than older adults Older adults remember older events better than more recent events; take longer to retrieve semantic information –Older the semantic memory, the less accurate it is Memory

31. Slide 31 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Memory for Spanish as a Function of Age Since Spanish Was Learned Memory Fig. 7.11

32. Slide 32 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Aging and Implicit Memory Memory of skills and routines, also called procedural memory Less adversely affected by aging than explicit memory Memory

33. Slide 33 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Source Memory Ability to remember where something was learned Contexts of – Physical setting – Emotional setting – Identity of speaker Failures increase with age in adult years; relevancy of information affects ability Memory

34. Slide 34 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Prospective Memory Remembering to do something in the future Age-related declines depend on task – Time-based tasks decline more – Event-based tasks show less decline Memory

35. Slide 35 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Influences on the Memory of Older Adults Physiological and psychological factors Health Beliefs, expectations, and feelings Education, memory tasks, assessment Memory training – Method of loci – Chunking – Increasing attention Memory

36. Slide 36 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Memory Fig. 7.12 Memory, Age, and Time of Day Tested (A.M. or P.M.)

37. Slide 37 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. What Is Thinking? Manipulating and transforming information in memory –Reason, reflect, evaluate to make decisions Concepts — categories that group things –Perceptual categorization: as young as 3 mos –Categorization increases in second year; infants differentiate more Thinking

38. Slide 38 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Critical Thinking Grasping deeper meaning of ideas Involves – Ask what, how, and why – Examine facts and determine evidence – Recognize one or more explanations exist – Compare various answers, select the best – Evaluate before accepting as truth – Speculate beyond what is known Thinking

39. Slide 39 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Critical Thinking Few schools teach to students –Too much time spent getting single answer Students not asked to analyze, create, rethink Encourage by –Presenting controversial topics for discussion –Motivation to delve deeper into issues –Teachers refraining from giving own views Thinking

40. Slide 40 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Strategies for Critical Thinking Children teach children — older help younger – Reciprocal teaching — small-group discussions – Jigsaw classroom — cross-talk sessions Online computer consultation Adults as role models Create culture of learning, negotiating, sharing, and producing Thinking

41. Slide 41 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Scientific Thinking Aimed at identifying causal relationships Children –emphasize causal mechanisms –more influenced by happenstance than by overall pattern –Cling to old theories regardless of evidence –Have difficulty designing experiments Thinking

42. Slide 42 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Scientific Thinking Children –Using strategies and rules to solve problems –Balance-scale problem illustrates rule use –Rule assessment approach: 90 percent of children 5 to 17 used one of the four rules –Analogical problem solving: occurs as early as age 1 Involves dissimilarity between things Thinking

43. Slide 43 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Thinking in Adolescence Critical Thinking –If fundamental skills not developed during childhood, critical-thinking skills unlikely to mature in adolescence Decision Making –Older adolescents appear to make more competent decisions than younger adolescents Thinking

44. Slide 44 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Thinking in Adulthood Practical Problem Solving Improves –Expertise — extensive, highly organized knowledge and understanding of particular domain Use It or Lose It — practice helps cognitive skills Cognitive Training — can help some if skills are being lost –Cognitive improvement tied to physical fitness Thinking

45. Slide 45 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. What Is Metacognition? Knowledge about when and where to use particular strategies Metamemory—knowledge about memory Theory of mind—thoughts about how mental processes work Metacognition

46. Slide 46 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Child’s Theory of Mind Ages 2 to 3 — begin to understand – Perceptions – Desires – Emotions Age 5 — realization of false beliefs Middle and late childhood — mind seen as active constructor of knowledge Metacognition

47. Slide 47 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Developmental Changes In False Belief Performance Fig. 7.14

48. Slide 48 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Metamemory in Children Limited in children Preschoolers have – Inflated opinion of memories – Little appreciation for importance of memory cues Understanding of memory abilities and skill in evaluating performance improves considerably by 11 to 12 years of age Metacognition

49. Slide 49 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Metacognition in Adolescence and Adulthood Adolescents more likely than children to manage and monitor thinking Middle age adults have accumulated a great deal of metacognitive knowledge Older adults tend to overestimate memory problems they experience on daily basis Metacognition

50. Slide 50 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The End 7