Piaget tended to view the mind as a single entity that grows as
a whole. In contrast, developmentalists who adopt the
information-processing perspective treat the mind as a set of
interacting components, any one of which might change as the child
grows older. They attempt to explain specific changes in childrens
mental abilities in terms of specific changes in one or another of
the minds components or in terms of specific knowledge the child
has acquired. The information-processing approach to cognition,
begins with the assumption that the mind is a system, analogous to
a computer, for analyzing information from the environment.
According to the standard information-processing model , the minds
basic machinery includes attention mechanisms for bringing
information in, working memory for actively manipulating (or
thinking about) information, and long-term memory for passively
holding information so that it can be used in the future. Together,
these components are analogous to the all-purpose operating system
that is built into a computer. In addition, the mind contains
specific strategies and rules for analyzing particular types of
information or solving particular types of problems. These
strategies and rules are analogous to the specific programs, such
as a wordprocessing program, that are loaded into a computer. From
the informationprocessing perspective, cognitive development can
stem from changes in the minds general operating system, in its
specific programs, or in both.Information Processing: A Computer
Model of Cognition
An alternative to Piagets theory of cognitive development is the
information-processing model, which compares the workings of the
mind to a computer and studies how information is received,
encoded, stored, organized, retrieved, and used by people of
different ages. This model offers important insights into two major
areas of cognition: attention and memory.Attention
Attention refers to focusing awareness on a narrowed range of
stimuli. Infants pay attention to their environment for only short
periods of time. Even toddlers, who can pay attention for longer
periods, are easily distracted. When watching television, for
example, 2-year-olds talk more to other people, play more with
toys, and look around the room more than 4-year-olds. As they get
older, childrens attention spans improve, and they learn to
discriminate between what is and what is not important to
concentrate on at any given time.Memory
After children attend to information and take it into their
information-processing system, they must remember it. Attention
determines what information enters the computer, whereas memory
determines what information is saved.
Like attention, memory skills also improve gradually throughout
childhood and adolescence (Guisande et al., 2007; Hayne, Boniface,
& Barr, 2000; Wang, 2008). Two-year-olds can repeat back about
two digits immediately after hearing them, but 10-year-olds can
repeat about six. Improvement comes as children acquire strategies
during the school years for storing and retrieving information. For
example, they learn to rehearse or repeat information over and
over, to use mnemonics (like i before e except after c), and to
organize their information in ways that facilitate retrieval
(Chapter 7).
As people grow older, their use of information-processing
strategies and overall memory continues to change. Recall from
Chapter 8 that fl uid intelligence (requiring speed or rapid
learning) tends to decrease with age, whereas crystallized
intelligence (knowledge and information gained over the life span)
continues to increase until advanced old age.
Despite their concerns about keeping up with 18-year-olds, older
returning students often do as well or better than their younger
counterparts in college classes. This superior performance by older
adult students is due in part to their generally greater academic
motivation, but it also refl ects the importance of prior
knowledge.
Cognitive psychologists have demonstrated that the more people
know, the easier it is for them to lay down new memories
(Goldstein, 2008; Matlin, 2008). Older students, for instance,
generally fi nd this chapter on development easier to master than
younger students. Their interactions with children and greater
knowledge about life changes create a framework on which to hang
new information. In summary, the more you know, the more you learn.
Thus, having a college degree and stimulating occupation may help
you stay mentally sharp in your later years (Schaie, 2008;
Whitbourne, 2009).
Havent studies also shown decreases in older adults memory
capabilities? As mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, this
may refl ect problems with crosssectional versus longitudinal
research. One ongoing, and very encouraging, longitudinal study
involves almost 700 nuns in a convent in Minnesota (Mortimer,
Snowdon, & Markesbery, 2007; Snowdon, 2003). This research,
along with others, documents the brains amazing ability to grow and
change throughout the life span .Contrary to popular stereotypes of
the frail and forgetful elderly, growing old, for most of us, will
probably be better than expectedand, of course, far better than the
alternative!
