Lecture 6 Information Processing Models

Question 1

Why is information processing better in older children?

Answer 1

• Strategy development
• Working memory capacity
• Role of existing knowledge

Question 2

What is the information processing model?

Answer 2

Based on a computer metaphor, view cognitive change in terms of:

• better strategies
• increased capacity of WM
• more efficientinhibition and execution of processing, ——more auto processing
• faster processing

Question 3

How do children understand a word?

Answer 3

Sensory input of an auditory trace. If recognized will be sent for further processing and put in WM. If important it will be rehearsed and understood and enter LTM. Later it can be retrieved from LTM to help understand other words.

Question 4

When information is in sensory memory it is lost in ___ seconds. When it is in STM / WM it is lost in____ sec. If you get ________ while trying to get info into a rehearsal pattern it disappears faster.

Answer 4

5-3

10 - 15

Question 5

Is memory present at birth?

Answer 5

Maybe but weak.

1) habituation/ dishabituation evidence.
2) classical conditioning evidence

Question 6

_________ show there are memory traces for at least a few seconds.

Answer 6

Habituation/dishabituation evidence

Question 7

Describe the classical conditioning evidence for memory:

Answer 7

If you take 1 and 2 day old babies and stroke forehead prior to giving them sugar water after a while they will make a suck response when their forehead is stroked. This is evidence of tiny memory early on.

Question 8

What is the evidence that memory improves with age?

Answer 8

1) Mobile studies

2) Reactivation experiences

Question 9

The results from mobile studies show:
2 month olds remember for ____
3 month olds remember for ____
6 month olds remember for ____

Answer 9

2 days
1 week
25 days

Question 10

Describe reactivation experiences:

Answer 10

If a baby is brought back right when they are likely to forget and the mobile is jiggled (to remind them it can) but they are not retrained, they are not the one jiggling it, this will remind the baby for another week. It is important that the baby isn’t lying in the same position as this could extinguish training.

Question 11

Short term memory in older children improves in 3 ways:

Answer 11

1) efficiency
2) capacity
3) speed

Question 12

What mechanism cause older children to have better short term memory?

Answer 12

Neural development and experience

Question 13

Describe the mechanism of neural development:

Answer 13

Pruning of synapses increases efficiency. Myelination insulates and eases the passing of signals increasing speed and efficiency.

Question 14

Describe the mechanism of experience:

Answer 14

Learning how to think and what has meaning. It is easier to recognize something that you recognize rather than something completely foreign. Allows for automaticity.

Question 15

Elementary kids with automaticity ________ faster. Automaticity in naming _________ results in more fluent reading by __________. Once something is you just have to ________ info not process it.

Answer 15

progress
letters and objects
Grade 2
retrieve

Question 16

By age 12 children perform adult like in _____, _____, and ______ working memory. At age 2 children are only able to repeat ____ pieces of information.

Answer 16

digit span, letter span and word span

1 or 2

Question 17

Define Metacognition:

Answer 17

The ability to assess your own knowledge. Know whether or not you understand something. Develops slowly through life.

Question 18

What is executive function used for?

Answer 18

• self monitoring (making sure to pay attention)
• planning/ strategizing (asking good questions)
• self regulation (what will help you most)

Question 19

People who engage better in _________ processes you will do better in school and life.

Answer 19

metacognition

Question 20

What is the developmental course of metacognition ability?

Answer 20

Huge leap b/w ages 4 and 7. Prior to age 4 kids think they know everything and don’t know what they don’t know.

Question 21

Describe how the A not B task has to do with self regulation:

Answer 21

The A not B could be an example of failure to self regulate. If it is self-regulation children do it before age two.

Question 22

Describe Luria’s Task

Answer 22

Hand tapping task. Originally kids respond by imitation. The task changes and kids must respond by making the opposite hand movement.

Question 23

At what age are kids good at the Luria task?

Answer 23

By age 7 they are good and they continue to get better into adolescence.

Question 24

The developmental course of self-monitoring and planning and strategizing are similar:

Answer 24

because you can’t plan without self regularization.

Question 25

Describe Cuvo’s experiment measuring ability to develop and use a strategy.

Answer 25

5th, 8th and undergrads are given a word list to memorize. Some words are worth 1 cent and some words are worth 10 cents. 5th graders equally memorize both values but undergrads mostly remember 10 cent words.

Question 26

What two types of memory strategies:

Answer 26

Internal support and external supports

Question 27

What are types of internal support?

Answer 27

• rehearsal
• organization
• elaboration

Question 28

What is a type of external support?

Answer 28

Making a list

Question 29

What are types of rehearsal?

Answer 29

Mental/ subvocal or vocal rehearsal

Question 30

Describe DeLoach’s hidden toy task:

Answer 30

An attractive toy is hidden while the child watches and a buzzer is set. If the child remembers where the toy is hidden they can have it.

Question 31

Kids as young as ____ try to rehears in the DeLoach’s hidden toy task but they are________ at it.

Answer 31

2

bad

Question 32

Describe Flavell’s card-memory task:

Answer 32

7 cards with pictures of animal for kids to study. The cards are covered an the child is filmed to look for evidence of rehearsal.

Question 33

In the Flavell’s card-memory task kids can be ______ to implement a strategy but they have __________. And it will not occur to the child to ___________.

Answer 33

trained
production deficiencies
implement the strategy

Question 34

Describe the memory strategy of Organization:

Answer 34

Chunking and clustering info divide words into categories. Very useful strategy.

Question 35

When and how does the strategy or organization develop:

Answer 35

Organization doesn’t emerge until grade 4. This is the same as the end of Piaget’s Preoperational stage. Older kids use fewer chunks.

Question 36

Describe the elaboration:

Answer 36

Makes info you must remember meaning for you. Shared meaning b/w old and new info. Takes lots of cognitive energy to produce but once you know it you will never forget it

Question 37

Types of elaboration:

Answer 37

• spelling mnemonics
• list order acronyms ex. taxonomic categories
• number mnemonics ex. “how I wish I could calculate pie”

Question 38

3 explanation for why young kids don’t use strategies:

Answer 38

1) Mediation deficiency
2) Production deficiency
3) Utilization deficiency

Question 39

Describe the mediation deficiency theory:

Answer 39

false Kids can’t benefit from a strategy even if you teach it to them it fails to facilitate performance because it adds too much WM to the task

Question 40

Describe the production deficiency theory:

Answer 40

Strategy will help but kids won’t think to use it. Possibly too much for kids to process info and to think to use the strategy.

Question 41

Describe the utilization deficiency theory:

Answer 41

Mediation deficiency (proven wrong) + Strategy inefficiency

Question 42

Describe the strategy inefficiency part of utilization deficiency theory:

Answer 42

Lots of evidence Young children have a strategy but it doesn’t work well so they don’t use it. As time passes they get better and therefore benefit and use it more .

Question 43

Why does strategy use improve with age?

Answer 43

Neural development
experience
- metacognition practice
- knowing which way of using the strategy is most useful

Question 44

Having a knowledge base increases _______ within the ________ .

Answer 44

performance

specific domain of expertise

Question 45

Describe the expert child and novice adult chess players:

Answer 45

Had both expert child and novice adult chess players memorize positions of moves on a chessboard and numbers. Children did better than adults on chess positions b/c they were experts but their skills didn’t generalize and adults did better than kids on the memory task.

Question 46

Performace depends on ______ that match the knowledge base and performance is ________

Answer 46

configuration

domain specific

Question 47

Information processing abilities appear to be present at ______ but are _____

Answer 47

birth

weak

Question 48

Information processing improves quickly with age due to:

Answer 48

• strategy use

- improved executive function