The Cognitive System

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Information Processing Approach
Define cognition and differentiate among the
stage, levels-of-processing, parallel distributed
processing, and connectionist models of
information processing...
Developed by W. Huitt (1999)
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The Cognitive System
Cognition can be defined as
"the act or process of knowing in the broadest
sense specifically, an intellectual process by
which knowledge is gained from perception or
ideas" (Webster's Dictionary).
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Information Processing Approach
While cognitive psychology is the dominant school
of thought today, the information processing
approach is the dominant view within this area.
The information processing approach focuses on
the study of the structure and function of mental
processing within specific contexts,
environments, or ecologies.
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Information Processing Approach
There are four major theories of how we humans
process information

• Stage approach

• Levels-of-processing theory

• Parallel distributed processing theory

• Connectionistic models

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The Stage Theory
The focus of this model is on how information is
stored in memory.

• Sensory memory

• Short-term memory

• Long-term memory

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The Levels-of-Processing Theory
The major proposition is all stimuli that
activate a sensory receptor cell are permanently
stored in memory.
According to these researchers, the issue is not
storage, but retrieval.
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The Levels-of-Processing Theory
Rather than hypothesize that information is
processed in stages, Craik and Lockhart believe
that retrieval of information is based on the
amount of elaboration used as information is
processed.
This is done on a continuum from perception,
through attention, to labeling, and finally
meaning.
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Parallel Distributed Processing Theory
The parallel-distributed processing model states
that information is processed simultaneously by
several different parts of the memory system,
rather than sequentially as hypothesized by
Atkinson-Shiffrin.
The stage-theory model discussed in this course
differs slightly from that first proposed by
Atkinson and Shriffin in order to incorporate
this principle.
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Connectionistic Theory
This model emphasizes the fact that information
is stored in multiple locations throughout the
brain in the form of networks of connections.
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Connectionistic Theory
It is one of the dominant forms of current
research in cognitive psychology and is
consistent with the most recent brain research.
It is also consistent with the levels-of-processin
g approach in that the more connections to a
single idea or concept (i.e., the more
extensively elaboration is used), the more likely
it is to be remembered.
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The Information Processing Approach
While there is much disagreement among the
various schools of thought related to how human
beings process information, there are a few
general principles about which almost all
researchers agree
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The Information Processing Approach
The amount of information that can be actively
processed by the system at a given point in time
is constrained in some very important ways.
Limited capacity assumption
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The Information Processing Approach
Bottlenecks, or restrictions in the flow and
processing of information, occur at very specific
points.
Limited capacity assumption
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The Information Processing Approach
Required to oversee the encoding, transformation,
processing, storage, retrieval and utilization of
information.
Control mechanism
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The Information Processing Approach
Not all of the processing capacity of the system
is available an executive function that oversees
this process will use up some of this capability.
Control mechanism
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The Information Processing Approach
When one is learning a new task or is confronted
with a new environment, the executive function
requires more processing power than when one is
doing a routine task or is in a familiar
environment.
Control mechanism
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The Information Processing Approach
As we try to make sense of the world around us,
we constantly use information that we
Two-way flow of information

• gather through the senses (often referred to as
  bottom-up processing)

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The Information Processing Approach
As we try to make sense of the world around us,
we constantly use information that we
Two-way flow of information

• information we have stored in memory (often
  called top-down processing)

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The Information Processing Approach
This is a dynamic process that we use to
construct meaning about our environment and our
relations to it.
Two-way flow of information
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The Information Processing Approach
This principle is somewhat analogous to the
difference between
Two-way flow of information

• inductive reasoning

• deductive reasoning

OR
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The Information Processing Approach
This principle is somewhat analogous to the
difference between
Two-way flow of information

• information we derive from the senses

• information generated by our imaginations

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The Information Processing Approach
A human infant is more likely to look at a human
face than any other stimulus.
Genetic preparation
Language development is similar in all human
infants.
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The Information Processing Approach
The human organism has been genetically prepared
to process and organize information in specific
ways.
Genetic preparation
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The Stage Theory
We will focus on the stage theory in this course
as work has been done to identify how to apply it
to classroom and academic learning.