development of cognitive processes Flashcards
what are information processing frameworks
They are models which describe the flow of information through the cognitive system.
emerged out of the cognitve revolution in the 50s and 60s
emerged from computers so work like how a computer works
Assumptions of processing networks
- there is a limit to how much we can process at once
- We have machinery of bringing in physical & conceptual information (i.e. input).
- We have cognitive machinery for processing information.
- This processed information is then used for something (i.e. Output).
basic flow of cognitive processes
input –> mental operations/information processing –> output
IPF and development
Brain maturation (due to biological factors, genes, experience etc) leads to increasing abilities to process and respond to perceptual information.
what kind of theory is IPF?
constructivist it focuses on continuous changes in knowledge, leading to incremental changes in knowledge rather than discrete changes within stages
Do IPF have a nativist or empiricist view?
- they believe knowledge is built through experience.
- do not exclude nativist accounts though
How do we study memory in preverbal infants?
Visual paired comparison tasl
habituation task
operant conditioning task
Visual paired comparison task
Repeatedly shown multiple stimuli until they get bored then shown a new stimulus. Increased looking at a new stimulus (e.g. face) is taken as evidence for stored representations of the old stimulus.
habituation task
Again infants are familiarised to a stimulus, shown it again and again until they get bored. Looking time is measured throughout this phase. Then show a different stimulus and if they look at this for longer suggests they know it is a new item.
phases of operant conditioning task
Phase one —> baseline
Phase two —> learning
Phase three —> Memory test
Delay
Phase 4 —> Memory test - if they do what they learned less than in phase three they must have forgotten what they learned in phase two.
operant conditioning example
- how much does babies kick
- connect foot to mobile they can kick and move it
- kicking does not move mobile - if they kick more than one they must have learned something in phase two
delay - test them do they kick the same or less than phase three if less they forgotten what they learned in phase twp
memory processing operation
encoding
retention
retrieval
what effects encoding development?
time
stimulus complexity
speed time interaction
how long did it tale 6 and 12 month olds to encode shapes?
12 months: encoding in as little as 10 seconds.
6 months: encoding takes at least 20 seconds.
6 months can encode they just need more time.
When given the same amount of time to code but different stimuli what were the differences between 2 and 6 month old children.
- 2–3-month-olds: encode ‘simple’ visual forms.
- 4-month-olds: encode more complex images.
- 5–6-month-olds: encode the most complex images.
Did 5-6 month olds complete the different stimuli at the same amount of times?
no,
5-6-month-olds need different amounts of time to encode different levels of complexity:
Simple: 4 seconds.
More Complex: 17 seconds.
Most complex : 20-25 seconds.
This suggests there is an interaction. If they gave the 2-3 month olds they may have been able to do the more complex.
How did they test retention?
using operation conditioning - Ps used this diorama box that had an electric train that would run if the infant pushed a button - they change the rentation time increasingly they found that retention time increased with age - peaked at 9 months
Retrieval development
Exploring through cueing - different grades of cues - going through different levels of novelty. As infants get older they can use more novel cues.
Memory stratergies
Rehearsal
organisation
elaboration
Rehearsal
Repeating information to support the transfer from short to long term memory
Organisation
Explicitly try to categorise the event/entity to something that is already known to you. So, you liken it to something you have already encoded to support its transfer to long term memory.
Elaboration
Create a narrative out of a number of things you want to remember, helping to encode it as one thing rather than many to aid memory.
how do younger and older children’s learning strategies compare?
Younger children mostly use just one or two strategies while older children use more.
Meta memory
As you learn more about your own memory and how it works, meta memory allows you to select strategies that help you to optimise your performance in different contexts and with different events.
