Cognitive Development: Information Processing Theory

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

In the late 50’s and early 60’s, the information processing theory was crafted and its proponents continued to develop it throughout the years.

In the early 1990s, many scholars of developmental psychology fell into the disenchantment of the antimentalistic and biased of behavioral psychology and shortcoming of Piaget’s theory, and thus they shifted to cognitive psychology and computer science to seek new thoughts and insights about children’s thinking.

Computer systems that rely on mathematically programmed operations to offer solutions enabled these researchers to formulate a framework for information processing perspective that could explain cognitive development (Shaffer and Kipp 58). Early theorists attempted to make connections between how people think and how computers operate.

According to the information processing theory, the human mind is like computer storage on which information is stored, operated on, and converted to answer and solutions to problems.

Using the computer analogy, the proponents of this theory assert that the human mind is a hardware comprising of the brain and nerves as peripherals and that the mental processes are software. The software exhibits itself in the form of attention, memory, perception, problem-solving, and critical thinking strategies (Shaffer and Kipp 58).

The information processing theory justifies psychological advancement with regard to maturation alterations in fundamental essentials of the brain of a student. The theory is founded on the concept that individuals act on the knowledge they acquire, instead of only reacting to stimuli.

This standpoint likens the brain of a person to a computer that is liable of assessing knowledge. This paper discusses cognitive development with respect to the information processing theory.

Nature or Nurture: Biological and socio-cultural influences on cognitive development

The information processing theory suggests a connection between biological and cognitive development. Unlike Piaget’s theory, which was vague about this link, the information processing theory contends that brain maturation and the nervous systems allow children and adolescents to process information quickly (Shaffer and Kipp 58).

Therefore, developing children are capable of sustaining attention, recognizing and storing relevant information, and executing mental programs that enable them to process what has been stored to provide solutions to problems.

Information theorists are alive to the fact that strategies that children develop for processing information are significantly influenced by the experiences presented to them; that is, they are influenced by the nature of problems presented to them coupled with instructions and cultures-specific information that they get (Shaffer and Kipp 58).

To what extent is the development of children’s thinking regulated (a) internally according to biologically specified systems, and/or (b) externally according to culturally established systems such as language?

The theory of information processing, like Piaget’s theory, construes that children’s thinking is controlled by internal (biological) systems, as well as culturally-specific information. However, the proponents of this theory suggest that external elements are more influential as compared to internal systems (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 265).

They contend that biological systems are essential information processing systems that depend on external forces, which are instructions and information obtained or gathered from culturally oriented learning environments (Taylor 89).

For these reasons, these theorists believe that natural or biological components, which consist of the brain and the nervous systems, should be secure and functional to gather, store, and operate on information and produce the desired outcomes.

As learners progress from childhood, they portray the development of thinking that is controlled internally in accordance with biologically specified systems. Several of the augmented pace and effectiveness is certainly due to the genetically (biologically) propelled neurons shaping intelligence. Nevertheless, experience and learning also play a significant role.

Through practicing some psychological and physical activities regularly, learners in any grade build up automatization for these activities (McDevitt and Ormrod146-148). This insight suggests that learners eventually are in a position to carry out these activities quickly and even without conscious attempt.

Learning disabilities affect the academic grades to the extent that some learners have to go through a special education system. The majority of the learning disabilities seem to bear a biological explanation. Several learners having learning disabilities could effortlessly acquire expertise in mathematics and encounter incomparable problems with reading.

On the other hand, learners could portray the development of thinking controlled externally in accordance with culturally instituted systems like language. For instance, according to the western civilization, the attainment of knowledge is mostly for individual advantage; that is, individuals go through school in a bid to comprehend the universe and gain new expertise and capabilities.

Nevertheless, for the majority of the Chinese, education bears moral as well as social inclinations. Learning is believed to allow a person to gain reputation and participate to the betterment of the community in a considerable manner (McDevitt and Ormrod 149-150). According to a custom in East Asia, real education does not denote a fast and simple progression.

Instead, learning materializes with great attentiveness, focus, and determination. Cultural variations have as well been evident in the readiness of learners to assess critically the information and convictions that the grown-ups convey to them.

Different cultures set high regard on esteeming the elders or some spiritual teachings. In this regard, they could promote the epistemic conviction that reality in particular fields is an issue of belief and excellently obtained from esteemed figures of supremacy. Additionally, cultural prominence on sustaining group accord could discourage kids from talking about and analyzing different viewpoints on a contentious subject.

In agreement with a conviction that education necessitates attentiveness as well as determination, the majority of parents and educators in East Asia support regular application of rehearsal and committal to memory as studying techniques. Rehearsal and committal to memory are as well widely used in cultures that treasure dedicating oral accounts or passages of spiritual texts to remembrance (Taylor 82).

On the contrary, different schools in the typical western cultures require learners to concentrate on obtaining sense from the stuff presented in the classroom instead of trying to recall it through memorization. Irrespective of this aspect, schools in the western societies characteristically maintain that children must learn some things (like spelling) by memorization.

Stages or continuous development: Continuity and discontinuity of cognitive development

The theory of information process asserts that cognitive development is a continuous process and it is not stage-like. Ideally, the theory postulates that the strategies adopted to collect, store, and operate on information are evolutionary.

They change over the course of childhood and adolescence (Taylor 89). As a result, information-processing theorizers hold that cognitive ontogeny is gradual quantitative changes rather than large qualitative changes.

The theory construes cognitive development as constructive waves that overlap, as opposed to a sequence of distinct stages of development. Children’s thinking is a process that incorporates progressive changes in learning strategies.

For example, children learning mathematics use strategies such as finger counting, Min counting strategy, and oral counting. They move from these stages easier; that is, from less efficient approaches to complex, but efficient approaches (Taylor 89).

The theory suggests that children’s thinking is marked by a slow quantitative change in cognitive development, which means that children’s cognitive development grows from one stage to the other in a uniform manner.

As a result, information-processing theorists assert that this process is continuous rather than dramatic shifts. The process does not happen or occur in a bang, but children’s comprehension of the environment follows a sequence of events, including growth of biological components and experiences presented.

To what extent is the development of children’s thinking marked by (a) abrupt changes between distinct stages of development, and/or (b) gradual and continuous growth without stage shifts?

With respect to information processing view, many developmental changes take place in psychological activities. Notion increasingly utilizes symbols. According to cognitive development in Piaget’s theory, the substance of the ideas of infants is primarily sensorimotor, which means that it is founded on opinions and conducts.

Close to the end of the sensorimotor phase (around one and a half years), children start thinking in the form of symbols and psychological units (like words) that do not firmly reveal the perceptual characteristics of the items or occasions they stand for (for instance, a ball could be referred by unlike names in various languages).

The symbolic notions permit children to deduce qualities that they have not directly studied (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 263). In case of a child aged 3 years, and has a good knowledge of domestic pets, takes notice of his dad mentioning the name “cat”, he would simply envisage a small mammal that possesses sharp ears, walks on fours, and meows.

Piaget was perhaps right in considering that sensorimonitor depictions of items and occasions lead symbolic depictions. Nevertheless, the move is steady than perceived. Prior to kids attaining school attending age, they start utilizing representations like expressions, numbers, images, and tiny simulations to symbolize and consider actual-existence items and occasions.

Nevertheless, while children start obtaining elementary education, they could originally have just restricted success in tackling the extensive diversity of representations they stumble upon in life. Educators frequently employ concrete items to symbolize numerals or mathematical functions. Nonetheless, not every child makes out the link between these items in addition to their associated impressions.

Maps are as well largely representational in character and kids in the early levels frequently construe them factually, possibly having a view that a ground that appears red on a map is in reality red in color (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 264).

With the kids turning out to be of age, their application of representations to deliberate, recall, and resolve difficulties develops in rate and complexity. Finally, their representational capacities permit them to rise above daily actualities, reflect concerning what may take place in the future, and establish theoretical comprehensions concerning their physical and cognitive globes.

Logical thinking capacities advance with age. The original sign of irrational thinking show in infancy and is associated with views of physical episodes. Way before the first birthday, kids can identify a cause and effect affiliation in a series of occasions.

If a 6-months old views an item as it strikes a different item and the second one instantly gains motion after being struck, the kid comprehends that the initial item has fundamentally “started” the second one. Even before attaining school-going age, kids can illustrate logical conclusions from language-anchored knowledge.

For example, they illustrate logical inferences concerning occasions portrayed in the stories of kids (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 266). Nevertheless, kids that have not attained school-going age, as well as those in the first grade at times, fail to illustrate the right conclusions, and they encounter hardships differentiating between what has to be right against what may be right given the proof ahead of them.

The capacity to reason irrationally is boosted in infancy and in teenage years. However, even at this age, reasoning capacities differ extensively from one child to a different one and it is normally controlled by individual motivations and prejudices.

At times, gesticulations predict the materialization of deliberations that are more complicated and interpretations, possibly concerning ancient Piagetian functions or mathematical difficulties. They frequently demonstrate such interpretation in their gesticulations prior to their exhibiting it in their speech.

A 5-years child was trying to justify his conviction that the volume of juice changed after being transferred from a tall thin glass to a broad and short glass (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 267). With his hand shaped like a “C” the child explained that the difference in volume occurred for the level of juice in one glass was higher than in the other.

Gesticulations, such as the C-shaped hand, seem to illustrate a manner in which kids carry out their experimentation (cognitively). Gesticulations could as well ease the stress on functioning memory as kids initially start to fight with more intricate manner of judgment.

Children are capable of recalling several occurrences, but not the entire information they come across every day. As they advance in the schooling levels, it turns out vital for kids to distinguish major points and maintain critical notions in manners that enhance later remembrance. Kids less than 2 years seldom exhibit conscious endeavors to recall things.

If requested to recall the position that a doll was hidden, children could gaze or point towards the position that they witnessed it being placed until they succeed in getting it. Nonetheless, very young kids seldom make efforts in an attempt to learn and recall things (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 268).

In reality, children aged four to five years can recall a number of items more effectively by playing with the items as compared to deliberately attempting to recall them.

During their course through primary and secondary school levels, children and adolescents build up an augmenting quantity of learning policies and methods that they deliberately employ to learn things, which assist them to recall information more efficiently (without stage shifts). Three aspects that emerge in the course of schooling years encompass preparation, formation, and explanation.

One mind or many: Specificity and/or generality of cognitive abilities

According to this theory, cognitive abilities of children are task-specific rather than general. Like computers, children’s mind is in a position to process information based on specific instructions, which provide outputs (memory, attention, problem-solving skills) that are specific.

Unlike Piaget’s theory, information-processing theory contends that where vague instructions are provided, no accurate solutions can be arrived at (Shaffer and Kipp 59). Developmental psychologists that approve the information processing theory justify psychological advancement with respect to maturation adjustments in fundamental constituents of the brain of a learner.

The theory is anchored in the notion that individuals process the knowledge that they acquire, instead of only reacting to stimuli. This viewpoint likens the brain of an individual to a computer that is accountable for assessing knowledge.

In accordance to the normal knowledge-processing pattern for psychological advancement, the machinery of the brain encompasses concentration mechanisms for conveying information and functioning of memory for dynamically manipulating knowledge.

This theory tackles the way kids grow and the way their brains mature, thus bringing about developments in their capacity to work and react to the knowledge they obtain via their intelligences. This assertion stresses on a constant model of advancement, unlike the Piaget’s theory (Shaffer and Kipp 60).

When an individual is carrying out an activity, the functioning memory is ratified. Like the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer, data is coded, accorded significance, and integrated with information already kept to ratify the task.

Knowledge is stored in the brain of a human being from where it could be obtained if required, which is comparable to storing data in the hard disk of a computer where one could later retrieve the data for a particular need.

To what extent is children’s thinking (a) specially-organized for each domain such as math or language, and/or (b) organized with a single all-purpose cognitive system that works in all domains?

Children’s thinking is governed by several domains that are in a position to gather, store, operate on, and process information. However, the theory acknowledges that no single domain works in isolation, but as an organized system of dependent variables.

Instructions should be such that they address specific cognitive skills (McDevitt and Ormrod 145). For example, instructions given for mathematical additions cannot be similar to those provided for language skills. Individualized domains are capable of processing incoming information to yield solutions to problems presented to children (Taylor 89).

What should teachers do? Educational Implications of the information processing theory on education

The theory has a huge bearing on how educationists should proceed to formulate school or learning and teaching curricula to match the needs of different children. Since the theory suggests that information processing is a domain-specific process, educators should design curriculum instructions that are specific, rather than general (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 265).

In addition, instructions should be given continuously to enable learners to make sense of the problems that are presented in their daily lives. The curriculum should also begin with simple, yet inefficient methods and proceed to complex and efficient strategies that build upon each other.

This observation means that learning strategies should not be discrete, but rather continuous to help learners to relate complex problems with simple problems (Shaffer and Kipp 58). The information process theory has had a significant impact on how educators and psychologists view the thinking process in children.

This theory supports rigorous research methods, which have helped teachers to understand how children approach various challenges and reasons why they may make errors as they search for solutions (Taylor 26). Since teachers are aware of how and why children are unable to solve mathematical problems, they are capable of developing alternative strategies that can improve the performance of children.

Significance is among the most vital constituents of the information processing theory. Studies have revealed that when substance is made significant, it is learnt more swiftly and preserved for a long time instead of using classroom notes.

Significance comes about when learners are capable of taking hold of generalizations, directives, associations connecting facts, and values for which they observe some application, while they can link the latest information with their past information and encounters (Shaffer and Kipp 61), which is done with the consideration of the extent of understanding of the student.

Some of the activities that teachers can do to boost significance include demonstrating to the learners the way new information is associated with different stuff they have previously learnt. Secondly, teachers can offer learners multiple instances for every fresh concept that illustrates both comprehensive and limited qualities.

Thirdly, teachers can provide sketches, images, analogies, instances, and illustrations to help in ensuring the associations involving fresh and old knowledge remains vivid. Fourthly, teachers can help learners in creating a relationship between new stuff and their level of capability.

Fifthly, teacher can give learners assessments that necessitate them to incorporate fresh information with old knowledge (Shaffer and Kipp 63). Additionally, for learners in higher levels (such as secondary school level), teachers can ask them to create examples that necessitate the creation of fresh relations.

Moreover, significance could be enhanced by demonstrating suitable uses of stuff, particularly uses that are applicable to the lives of the learners. In this regard, teachers could evaluate the significance by presenting questions that demand learners to generalize stuff to fresh circumstances. Lastly, teachers can sensitize students to rephrase information in different words, but with the same meaning.

The common aspect of these implications is that fresh material will be studied and maintained in an excellent way when students are necessitated to actively build up information and come up with significant relations as compared to when they only attempt to remember it word for word (Shaffer and Kipp 56).

The studying of fresh material is enhanced when students already have a network of connected notions with which they can connect the fresh stuff.

How should curriculum, instruction, and assessment in today’s classrooms proceed? What should teachers do more and what should they do less?

Curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the contemporary classrooms could employ Piaget’s theory in determining things to purchase in a bid to enhance the learning of the children. Teachers could employ Piaget’s theory more in their operations; for example, in explaining if the curriculum subjects are appropriate for the level of learners or not (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 260).

For instance, recent researches have indicated that kids in a similar level and in a given age bracket act in different ways on assignments gauging basic inclusion and removal glibness. Kids in the pre-functional and actual functional phases of cognitive improvement carry out joint arithmetic functions (subtraction and addition) with the same level of accuracy.

Nevertheless, kids in the actual functional phases of cognitive improvement have been capable of carrying out both subtraction and addition difficulties with entire higher glibness. The capacity to carry out mathematical functions confidently shows a degree of expertise mastery and inclination to study complex mathematical operations.

Educators who function with kids in both the pre-functional and the actual functional levels of cognitive improvement ought to take up appropriate intellectual anticipations with respect to the cognitive improvement capacities of their students. The necessity for teachers to personalize and take up suitable academic anticipations seems to be most applicable for kids at grade 1.

Studies have revealed that learners study best if they are actively engaged in the studying progression. Comical rephrasing of an old saying: “You can lead a horse to the water, but the only water that gets into his stomach is what he drinks”, epitomizes the worth that the information processing theory bestows on a student, as an active instead of passive partaker in the education progression.

In a bid to boost active contribution by learners, educators must talk less and allocate more time for discourse, group work, and personal activities as well as assessments in the classroom. The increased activity alone is not sufficient to boost learning. Cognitive endeavor has to be applied for the classroom learning to be valuable and thus, learners can be kept active at the course of the teaching session (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 262).

Teachers could as well pose questions that necessitate learners to go past remembrance classroom notes in a bid to create active discourse and this aspect translates to enhanced cognitive endeavor.

A different manner of boosting the application of cognitive effort is the rating of assignments. It is evident that most of the learners cannot devote psychological effort in an undertaking unless they are aware that it will be considered in the grading.

Information that is not concentrated on fails to satisfy the information processing system. Devoid of the concentration of learners to the present activity, there cannot be effective learning. Therefore, concentration is a vital sign of effective learning.

In a bid to draw the concentration of learners on the study undertakings, both efficient inspirational and classroom administration expertise are vital, which implies that teachers must produce some methods to draw and sustain the concentration of learners (Seigler, DeLoache, and Eisenberg 263-264). Some of the proposed ways of boosting the concentration of learners include the following.

Application of uniqueness while presenting substance: An innovative method turns out to be routine when applied persistently.
As much as achievable, eradicate all unwarranted distractions emanating from such things as noise and comfortless school desks.
Assist the learners in concentrating mostly on vital knowledge via voice variations, evaluating, pauses, and writing on the blackboard with the involvement of learners.
Ensure to capture the concentration of learners before presenting the materials.
Move about the classroom, apply gesticulations, and shun from the utilization of monotone.
Present questions to learners in a random way. This move boosts the possibility that every one of the learners will concentrate.
Prompt learners to some questions they will be asked to repeat later by requesting them to sum up the significant points in a lesson.

Conclusion

Early theorists endeavored to make links between the way people think and the way computers work. The information processing theory validates psychological progression with regard to maturation alterations in basic essentials of understanding of a student. While children start acquiring elementary learning, they could initially have just limited success in handling the extensive assortment of representations they bump into.

Educators normally employ concrete items to represent numerals or mathematical tasks. Although theorists of information processing differ with other theories such as Piagetian thinking, they contend that intellectual development of the human mind is influenced by nurture (experiences that children interact with in the environment) and nature (biological factors such as maturation).

This theory has been criticized with critics contending that the framework undermines the diversity and richness of human cognition. Notwithstanding its criticisms, the information-processing theory can be used to shape the perception of educators and aid in developing relevant curriculum instructions.

Works Cited

McDevitt, Teresa, and Jeanne Ormrod. Child Development and Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.

Seigler, Robert, Judy DeLoache, and Nancy Eisenberg. How Children Develop, New York: Worth Publishers, 2010. Print.

Shaffer, David, and Katherine Kipp. Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence, Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.

Taylor, Laura. Introducing Cognitive Development, Hove, U.K: Psychology Press, 2005. Print.

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