9 Information Processing Theories of Cognitive Development
Information-Processing Approaches to Development
Information-processing approaches have become an important alternative to Piagetian approaches. The theory is based on the idea that humans process the information they receive, rather than merely responding to stimuli. As a model, it assumes that even complex behavior such as learning, remembering, categorizing, and thinking can be broken down into a series of individual, specific steps, and as a person develops strategies for processing information, they can learn more complex information. This perspective equates the mind to a computer, which is responsible for analyzing information from the environment.
The most common information-processing model is applied to an understanding of memory and the way that information is encoded, stored, and then retrieved from the brain (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968), but information processing approaches also apply to cognitive processing in general. In one study, Stephanie Thornton assessed how children solved the problem of building a small bridge out of playing blocks to cross a small “river.” A single block was not wide enough to reach across the river, so the bridge could only be built by having two of the blocks meet in the middle, then by using extra blocks on the top of the sides of the bridge to serve as counterweights to hold the bridge upright. This task was relatively easy for older children (7 and 9 years old), but significantly harder for 5-year-olds (in the study, only one 5-year-old eventually completed the task by using trial and error).[1] This supports the idea that cognitive development is specific to the individual.
Psychologists who use information processing approaches examine how children tackle tasks such as the ones described above, whether it be through trial and error, building upon previous life experiences, or generalizing insights from external sources.[2]
Neo-Piagetian Theories
Cognitive Neuroscience Approaches
The scientific interface between cognitive neuroscience and human development has evoked considerable interest in recent years, as technological advances make it possible to map in detail the changes in brain structure that take place during development. These approaches look at cognitive development at the level of brain processes. Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes.
Like other cognitive perspectives, cognitive neuroscience approaches consider internal, mental processes, but they focus specifically on the neurological activity that underlies thinking, problem-solving, and other cognitive behavior. Cognitive neuroscientists seek to identify actual locations and functions within the brain that are related to different types of cognitive activities. For example, using sophisticated brain scanning techniques, cognitive neuroscientists have demonstrated that thinking about the meaning of a word activates different areas of the brain than thinking about how the word sounds when spoken.
Also, cognitive abilities based on brain development are studied and examined under the subfield of developmental cognitive neuroscience. It examines how the mind changes as children grow up, interrelations between that and how the brain is changing, and environmental and biological influences on the developing mind and brain. This shows brain development over time, analyzing differences and concocting possible reasons for those differences.[5]
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Glossary
cognitive neuroscience:
the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes
cognitive perspective:
an approach that focuses on the process that allows people to know, understand, and think about the world
information-processing approach:
an alternative to Piagetian approaches, a model that seeks to identify the ways individual take in, use, and store information
Piaget's theory of cognitive development:
a description of cognitive development as four distinct stages in children: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, and formal
social-cognitive learning theory:
learning by observing the behavior of another person, called a model
- Thorton, S. (1999). Creating conditions for cognitive change: The interaction between task structures and specific strategies. Child Development, 70, 588-603. ↵
- Chen, Zhe and Robert Siegler (2013). Young children’s analogical problem solving: Gaining insights from video displays. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Retrieved from http://siegler.tc.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Chen-Sieg13.pdf. ↵
- Yan, Z., & Fischer, K. W. (2002). Always under construction: Dynamic variations in adult cognitive development. Human Development, 45, 141–160. LeFevre, J.-A. (2016). Numerical cognition: Adding it up. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale, 70(1), 3-11. Loewen, Susan. (2006). Exceptional intellectual performance: A neo-Piagetian perspective. High Ability Studies - HIGH ABIL STUD. 17. ↵
- Feldman, Robert (2018) Discovering the Life Span, 4th Edition. Pearson ↵
- Feldman, Robert (2018) Discovering the Life Span, 4th Edition. Pearson ↵
the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes
an approach that focuses on the process that allows people to know, understand, and think about the world
an alternative to Piagetian approaches, a model that seeks to identify the ways individual take in, use, and store information
a description of cognitive development as four distinct stages in children: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, and formal
learning by observing the behavior of another person, called a model
