Questions and Answers
What is the Info Processing Approach?
It analyzes how children manipulate information, monitor it, and create strategies for handling it.
What affects cognitive resources such as capacity and speed of processing?
Biological developments in brain structures and neurons.
What influences how quickly children can process information?
What they can do with that information.
Name one way to assess processing speed.
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According to Siegler, what are the three mechanisms that create changes in children's cognitive skills?
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What is encoding according to Siegler?
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Define automaticity according to Siegler.
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What is strategy construction according to Siegler?
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What characterizes the information processing in children according to Siegler?
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How do Piaget's and Siegler's theories differ?
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What is attention in the context of cognitive processing?
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Children allocate their attention in different ways, including _____ attention.
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What is selective attention?
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Define divided attention.
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What is sustained attention?
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What does executive attention involve?
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What characterizes attention in the first year of life?
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What is an orienting investigative process?
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Why is sustained attention important for infants?
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Study Notes
Information Processing Approach
- Analyzes how children manage, monitor, and strategize information handling.
- Cognitive development enhances through overcoming limitations, executing operations, and acquiring new knowledge.
Cognitive Resources
- Capacity and speed of processing significantly impact memory and problem-solving abilities.
- Biological developments in brain structures and neurons (blooming, pruning, myelination) are crucial.
- Increased processing capacity allows handling multiple aspects of topics or problems simultaneously.
Processing Speed Influences
- Processing speed is linked to the ability to utilize information effectively.
- Faster processing correlates with better cognitive task performance and higher reading fluency.
Assessing Processing Speed
- Common assessments include reaction-time tasks where individuals respond to stimuli or match letters/numbers to symbols.
- Processing speed improves throughout childhood, often preceding increases in working memory capacity.
Siegler's Mechanisms for Cognitive Skill Changes
- Encoding: Involves the process of transferring information into memory, reliant on skill in focusing on relevant details.
- Automaticity: Ability to process information with minimal effort is enhanced through practice.
- Strategy Construction: Development of new methods for processing information.
Self Modification in Cognitive Processing
- Children adapt responses to new situations based on previous learning experiences.
- This process relies on metacognition, or awareness of one's own cognition.
Piaget vs. Siegler
- Information processing approach shares constructivist elements with Piaget.
- Unlike Piaget, it views cognitive development as a gradual process rather than distinct stages, focusing more on continuous change.
Attention
- Attention, the focusing of mental resources, is key to enhancing cognitive processing.
Attention Allocation Types
- Selective Attention: Concentrating on relevant details while ignoring distractions.
- Divided Attention: Managing multiple activities simultaneously.
- Sustained Attention: Maintaining focus on a specific stimulus over a prolonged period.
- Executive Attention: Involves planning, allocating goals, monitoring progress, and managing challenges.
Early Attention Development
- In the first year, attention is characterized by an orienting investigative process.
- This process involves focusing on significant environmental locations (where) and recognizing object features (what).
Importance of Sustained Attention for Infants
- Sustained attention enables infants to learn and remember stimulus characteristics as they become familiarized.
- By three months, infants can maintain attention for 5-10 seconds on familiar stimuli.
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Description
Dive into the key concepts of Chapter 7 on the Information Processing approach in psychology. This quiz will help you understand how children manipulate and monitor information, as well as the cognitive resources involved in processing speed and capacity. Test your understanding of these fundamental ideas in cognitive development.