Topic 3 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT – Piaget and Vygotsky &

Topic 4: Information Processing Model

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ECG222 Child Growth & Development

Course Overview

Chapter 3: Piaget & Vygotsky | Chapter 4: Information Processing

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

Overview

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

• 3.1 Piaget's Theory of Learning
• a) Schema
• b) Assimilation
• c) Accommodation
• d) Equilibrium
• 3.2 Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
• a) Sensorimotor Stage (0–2 years)
• b) Preoperational Stage (2–6 years)
• c) Concrete Operations (6–11 years)
• d) Formal Operations (12+ years)
• 3.3 Piaget's Theory in the Classroom
• 3.4 Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

• 4.1 Emergence of the Cognitive Approach
• 4.2 The Information Processing Model
• a) Sensory Memory
• b) Working Memory
• c) Long-Term Memory
• d) Storage & Types of Memory
• 4.3 What Enhances Retrieval or Recall?
• 4.4 Are Forgotten Memories Truly Lost?
• 4.5 Recall from LTM is Constructive
• 4.6 Schema Theory
• 4.7 Applications in the Classroom

3.1 Piaget's Theory of Learning

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.1

Jean Piaget, a Swiss, began as a biologist and got his PhD at the age of 21. His theories of learning were based on observation and description of his three young children. Piaget was most interested in the way mollusks adapted themselves with the surrounding environment. Using ideas from biology, Piaget introduced two main processes namely, Organisation and Adaptation.

• Organisation is the internal characteristic of an organism that enables it to take action to arrange the environment which is an external process.
• Adaptation is the ability to fit with the environment which is an external process.

From the biological point of view organisation is inseparable from adaptation as they are two complementary processes of a single mechanism. Piaget (1985) suggested that learning is iterative, in which new information is shaped to fit with the learner's existing knowledge, and existing knowledge itself is modified to accommodate new information. His learning theory is based on four basic concepts: schema, assimilation, accommodation and equilibrium.

3.1 Piaget's Theory of Learning

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.1

1. SCHEMA

Piaget believed that the mind is made up of schema just like the body has a stomach that is responsible for digestions or the kidney that is responsible for removing waste from the blood. Schemas are mental or cognitive structures which enables a person to adapt and to organise the environment. They are like a cabinet with many files and each file representing a schema. When a child is born, it has few general schemas and as the child grows, he or she gains more schemas and the schemas become more refined.

For example, at birth the schema of a baby is reflexive in nature such as sucking and grasping. The sucking reflex is a schema and the infant will suck on whatever is put in its mouth such as a nipple or a finger. The infant is unable to differentiate because it has only a single sucking schema. Slowly, the infant learns to differentiate where milk-producing objects are accepted while non-milk objects are rejected. At this point, the infant has two sucking schemas, one for milk-producing objects and one for non-milk producing objects.

Figure 3.1 illustrates a child's encounter with an experience for which the child does not have a schema. The child looks at the cow and says 'Hello Doggy'. Why do you think this happened? The child seeing the object (cow), sifted through his collection of schemas, until he found one that seemed appropriate. To the child, the object (cow) has all the characteristics of a dog — it fits in his dog schema — so the child concludes that the object is a dog. The child has integrated the object (cow) into his dog schema.

It would be misleading to think that schemas do not change, or that the child is destined to call cows as dogs for the rest of his life. Obviously, this does not happen. As the child becomes better able to differentiate between objects, schemas become more numerous (differentiated). As he becomes better able to generalise across objects, schemas become more refined.

3.1 Piaget's Theory — Schema & Assimilation

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.1

2. ASSIMILATION

• Assimilation is the cognitive process by which a person integrates new information or experience into existing or readily available schema.
• This is the process of fitting new information into existing cognitive structures.
• Assimilation occurs all the time because humans are always processing various kinds of information and experiences.
• The existing or readily available schema is like a balloon that gets bigger and bigger with the addition or assimilation of new information and experiences.
• There is a quantitative change but no qualitative change. No new schemas are produced because old schemas are used.

3.1 Piaget's Theory — Schema & Assimilation

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.1

3. ACCOMMODATION

• When confronted with new information or experience, the individual tries to assimilate it into an existing schema as mentioned earlier.
• Sometimes it is not possible because there is no ready-made schema.
• In such a situation, the person has two options:
• (1) create a new schema into which new information or experience can be placed,
• or (2) modify an existing schema so that the new information or experience can fit into it. Both of these are forms of accommodation.
• Thus, accommodation is the creation of new schema or the modification of old schema. Both of these actions result in a change in or development or creation of schema.
• Because the child does not have an existing schema of 'round shapes', three new schemas are created. There is a qualitative change as more schemas are created.

3.1 Equilibrium & 3.2 Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.1–3.2

4. EQUILIBRIUM

Imagine what happens when a person who only assimilates and never accommodates, or a person who only accommodates and does not assimilate? The result would be disastrous. Hence, there needs to be a balance between the two processes. Equilibrium is a balance between assimilation and accommodation. Disequilibrium is an imbalance between assimilation and accommodation. When disequilibrium occurs, the learner seeks equilibrium; that is, to further assimilate or accommodate.

For example, a learner when encountering new information tries to assimilate the information into an existing schema. If he or she is successful, equilibrium is achieved. If the learner cannot assimilate the new information, he or she attempts to accommodate by modifying a schema or creating a new one. If the new information can be accommodated, equilibrium is reached. According to Piaget, learning proceeds in this way from birth through adulthood.

Stage 1

Birth – 2 years

Stage 2

2 – 6 years

Stage 3

6 – 11 years

Stage 4

12 years onwards

3.1 Equilibrium & 3.2 Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.1–3.2

3.2 Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

The term cognition is derived from the Latin word cognoscere which means 'to know' or 'to recognise' or 'to conceptualise'. It refers to the mental processes an organism learns, remembers, perceives, solves problems and thinks about a body of information. Experts argue that cognition progresses in stages with increasing levels of complexity and hence the phrase 'cognitive development' which is the stages a child goes through conceptualising the world at different age levels.

According to Piaget, the child acquires facts, concepts, principles and theories through the continuous process of assimilation and accommodation that lead to increasing abstraction and expansion of schemes. He argued the cognitive development of individuals progresses through FOUR stages:

Stage 1

Sensorimotor

Birth – 2 years

Stage 2

Preoperational

2 – 6 years

Stage 3

Concrete Operations

6 – 11 years

Stage 4

Formal Operations

12 years onwards

3.2 Stage 1: Sensorimotor Stage (0 – 2 years)

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.2

The first stage of Piaget's theory lasts from birth to approximately age two and is centred on the infant trying to make sense of the world. During the sensorimotor stage, the infant's knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities.

• Between 0 to 6 months, the child uses his or her inborn skills and abilities such as sucking, grasping, looking and so forth. For example, a child will purposefully pick up a toy in order to put it in his or her mouth.
• Between 7 to 12 months, the child may combine schemas to achieve a desired action. He or she explore the surrounding and is able to associate that certain objects have certain qualities. For example, a child might realise that a rattle will make a sound when shaken.
• Between 13 to 18 months, the child begins a period of trial-and-error and experimentation. For example, a child may try out different sounds or actions as a way of getting attention from an adult.
• Between 19 to 24 months, the child begins to develop symbols to represent specific events or objects and understands the world through mental operations rather than purely through actions.

Object Permanence

According to Piaget, Object permanence is a child's awareness or understanding that objects continue to exist even though they cannot be seen or heard. In young infants, when a toy is covered by a piece of cloth, the infant immediately stops and appears to lose interest in the toy. This child has not yet mastered the concept of object permanence. In older infants, when a toy is covered the child will actively search for the object, realizing that the object continues to exist. Object permanence is one of an infant's most important accomplishments, as without this concept, objects would have no separate, permanent existence.

3.2 Stage 2: Preoperational Stage (2 – 6 years)

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.2

The preoperational stage occurs between ages two and six. Language development is one of the hallmarks of this period. Piaget noted that children in this stage do not yet understand concrete logic. What does this mean? They cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people and are therefore egocentric. They have a 'self-centred' view of the world meaning that they have difficulty understanding that other people may see things differently, and hence hold a differing point of view.

Egocentrism — The 3 Mountains Test

Piaget used a number of creative and clever techniques to study the mental abilities of children. One of the famous techniques in studying egocentrism involved using a three-dimensional display of a mountain scene. Children are asked to choose a picture that showed the scene they had observed. Most children are able to do this with little difficulty. Next, children are asked to select a picture showing what someone else would have observed when looking at the mountain from a different viewpoint. Invariably, children almost always choose the scene showing their own view of the mountain scene. According to Piaget, children experience this difficulty because they are unable to take on another person's perspective.

3.2 Stage 2: Preoperational Stage (2 – 6 years)

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.2

Conservation

Conservation is the ability to keep in mind what stays the same and what changes in an object after some changes have been made to the object. A conservation task tests a child's ability to see that some properties are conserved (or preserved) or does not change after the object undergoes a physical transformation. For example, a lump of clay is rolled into a snake and the child is asked which has more clay in it; the lump or the snake.

Another well-known experiment involves demonstrating a child's understanding of conservation. In one conservation experiment, equal amounts of liquid are poured into two identical containers. The liquid in one container is then poured into a different shaped cup, such as a tall and thin cup, or a short and wide cup. Children are then asked which cup holds the most liquid. Despite seeing that the liquid amounts were equal, children almost always choose the cup that appears fuller. Piaget conducted a number of similar experiments on conservation of number, length, mass, weight, volume, and quantity. Piaget found that few children showed any understanding of conservation prior to the age of five.

3.2 Stage 3: Concrete Operations (6 – 11 years)

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.2

During this stage, accommodation increases. The child develops an ability to think abstractly and to make rational judgements about concrete or observable phenomena, which in the past he needed to manipulate physically to understand. In teaching this child, giving him the opportunity to ask questions and to explain things back to you allows him to mentally manipulate information. During this stage, children begin to reason logically, and organise thoughts coherently. However, they can only think about actual physical objects, and cannot handle abstract reasoning. They have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.

This stage is also characterised by a loss of egocentric thinking. The child has the ability to master most types of conservation experiments, and begins to understand reversibility. Conservation is the realisation that quantity or amount does not change when nothing has been added or taken away from an object or a collection of objects, despite changes in form or spatial arrangement.

Logic:

Piaget determined that children in the concrete operational stage were fairly good at the use of inductive logic — going from a specific experience to a general principle. On the other hand, children at this age have difficulty using deductive logic, which involves using a general principle to determine the outcome of a specific event.

Classification:

Concrete operational children gain the ability to structure objects hierarchically, known as classification. This includes the notion of class inclusion, e.g. understanding an object being part of a subset included within a parent set — shown on Piaget's inclusion task (asking children to identify whether there were more brown beads or wooden beads).

Seriation:

Seriation refers to the child's ability to order objects with respect to a common property (e.g. placing sticks in order of height). An important new ability developing from seriation and classification is numeration — enabling more complex multiplication, division and so on.

Reversibility:

Reversibility refers to the ability to mentally trace backwards — of enormous help in both problem solving and knowledge of their own problem solving. For example, in a conservation task, the change made could be reversed to regain the original properties.

3.2 Stage 4: Formal Operations (12 years onwards)

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.2

The formal operational stage begins at approximately age twelve and lasts into adulthood. During this time, people develop the ability to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning also emerge during this stage.

Logic

Piaget believed that deductive logic becomes important during the formal operational stage. Deductive logic requires the ability to use a general principle to determine a specific outcome. This type of thinking involves hypothetical situations and is often required in science and mathematics. For example: 'If you hit a glass with a hammer, the glass will break. Zak hit a glass with a hammer.' The correct conclusion is that 'the glass broke' — a conclusion based on logic and not based on experience.

Abstract Thought

While children tend to think very concretely and specifically in earlier stages, the ability to think about abstract concepts emerges during the formal operational stage. Instead of relying solely on previous experiences, children begin to consider possible outcomes and consequences of actions. This type of thinking is important in long-term planning. An abstract thinker is able to observe multiple meanings for a word or concept, see patterns beyond the obvious, and solve complex problems.

Problem-Solving

In earlier stages, children used trial-and-error to solve problems. During the formal operational stage, the ability to systematically solve a problem in a logical and methodical way emerges. Children at the formal operational stage of cognitive development are often able to quickly plan an organized approach to solving a problem (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958).

3.2 Summary of Piaget's Four Stages of Cognitive Development

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.2

Summary Table — Piaget's Four Stages

3.3 Piaget's Theory in the Classroom

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.3

Intelligence is viewed by Piaget as having three components: Content refers to observable behaviours that reflect intellectual activity (e.g. solving physics problems, writing an essay). Function refers to those characteristics of intellectual activity; namely, assimilation and accommodation. Structure refers to the organisational properties of the brain or schema. In other words, intelligence can be defined in terms of assimilation and accommodation.

Piaget did not direct his research towards education and teaching, but his theory of how children acquire knowledge and develop intellectually clearly provides much that is relevant to teaching and learning. The learning environment (especially in kindergarten and primary school) should support the child acquire knowledge through acting on the environment by their actions. In other words, the learning environment should be action-based. For example, children should have physical contact with concepts such as trees, grass, cats, chickens and so forth. Just showing children pictures of trees and reading about trees is inadequate.

• The learning environment should be discovery-oriented where children are encouraged to initiate and complete their own activities.
• Use teaching strategies that make children aware of conflicts and inconsistencies in their thinking — children must experience disequilibrium, or an imbalance between their current schemas and new information, in order for them to move towards equilibrium and new levels of intellectual growth.
• Use problems to confront or challenge student's prior knowledge or schemas. Sometimes children do not realise that they have the relevant schema and are quick to reply that they do not know.
• Use appropriate questioning techniques to help learners to bring out their misconceptions and faulty reasoning.
• Diagnose what children already know and how they think. Content is not introduced until the child is cognitively ready to understand it or has the relevant schema to assimilate or accommodate the new information.
• Children's interactions with their peers are an important source of intellectual development — peer interactions are essential in helping children develop intellectually.
• The learning environment should encourage active self-discovery: play effectively represents all of the requisite characteristics of Piagetian-inspired instruction.

3.3 Contribution of Piaget to Child Development

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.3

The contribution of Piaget to education and in particular child development is most significant:

• Piaget showed why cognitive processes — i.e. the way a child thinks — are central to development. Most importantly, he offered several methods that could be used by anyone to study these processes.
• Piaget presents a new view of children. He emphasised constructivism, the view that children are active participants in their own development. Children construct more sophisticated understandings of their worlds as they get older.
• However, some scientists have criticised his theory because he did not place importance of the sociocultural environment (which was stressed by Vygotsky as significant). For example, as the child begins to understand his or her world, interaction with family members, peers and teachers play an important role.

3.4 Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.3

3.4 Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory — Background

The work of Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) has become the foundation of much research and theory in cognitive development over the past several decades, particularly of what has become known as Sociocultural Theory. Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition (Vygotsky, 1978), as he believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process of 'making meaning.'

Vygotsky argued, 'learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organised, specifically human psychological function' (1978, p. 90). Children are products of their culture. Children's cognitive development is brought about by social interaction and the cultural contexts in which children live. No single principle (such as Piaget's equilibration) can account for development. Individual development cannot be understood without reference to the social and cultural context within which it is embedded. Higher mental processes in the individual have their origin in social processes. Vygotsky's theory places more emphasis on culture affecting/shaping cognitive development, focusing on the role of language in cognitive development.

3.4 Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.4

Vygotsky believes that young children are curious and are actively involved in their own learning and the discovery and development of new understandings or schema. However, Vygotsky placed more emphasis on social contributions to the process of development. According to Vygotsky (1978), much important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a skilful tutor. The tutor may model behaviours and/or provide verbal instructions for the child. Vygotsky refers to this as co-operative or collaborative dialogue. The child seeks to understand the actions or instructions provided by the tutor (often the parent or teacher) then internalises the information, using it to guide or regulate their own performance.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

"the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86).

• Scaffolding: In the zone of proximal development, the provision of appropriate assistance (scaffolding) gives the child enough of a boost to achieve the task. Once the student masters the task, the scaffolding can then be removed and the student will be able to complete the task again on her own.
• Example (Shaffer, 1996): A young girl given her first jigsaw performs poorly alone. The father sits with her, describes some basic strategies (finding corner/edge pieces), provides a couple of pieces for the child to put together herself, and offers encouragement. As the child becomes more competent, the father allows her to work more independently. According to Vygotsky, this social interaction promoting co-operative or collaborative dialogue promotes cognitive development.
• Vygotsky also views interaction with peers as an effective way of developing skills and strategies. He suggests that teachers use cooperative learning exercises where less competent children develop with help from more skilful peers — within the zone of proximal development.

3.4 Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.4

• It relates to what a child can do independently (What I can do), what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from an adult or peer (What I can do with help), and what the child cannot do (What I can't do).

3.4 Evidence for ZPD & Vygotsky and Language

Chapter 3: Cognitive Development — Piaget & Vygotsky

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

3.4

Evidence for Vygotsky and the ZPD

Freund (1990) conducted a study in which children had to decide which items of furniture should be placed in particular houses of a dolls house. Some children were allowed to play with their mother in a similar situation before they attempted it alone (zone of proximal development) whilst others were allowed to work on this by themselves (Piaget's discovery learning). Freund found that those who had previously worked with their mother (ZPD) showed greatest improvement compared with their first attempt at the task. The conclusion being that guided learning within the ZPD led to greater understanding/performance than working alone (discovery learning).

Vygotsky and Language

Vygotsky placed a great deal of importance on the role of language in cognitive development. He argued that language is the means by which adults transmit knowledge and information to children. Through language thinking and understanding the cognitive development of children is enhanced and this is developed from social interactions. It is only through interaction with others that communication takes place leading to enhanced thought.

Key Differences: Piaget vs Vygotsky

Chapter 3 Summary — Key Points

• Using ideas from biology, Piaget introduced two main processes: Organisation and Adaptation.
• Schemas are mental or cognitive structures which enable a person to adapt and organise the environment.
• Assimilation is the cognitive process by which a person integrates new information or experience into existing or readily available schema (quantitative change).
• Accommodation is the creation of new schema or the modification of old schema (qualitative change).
• Equilibrium is a balance between assimilation and accommodation. Disequilibrium is an imbalance between the two.
• Object permanence is a child's awareness that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen or heard — a key Sensorimotor stage achievement.
• Conservation is the ability to keep in mind what stays the same and what changes in an object — mastered during the Concrete stage.
• During the Preoperational stage children are egocentric — unable to take another person's perspective.
• During the Formal Operations stage people develop the ability to think abstractly, reason deductively, and plan systematically.
• Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory stresses the fundamental role of social interaction in cognitive development.
• The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is the distance between what a child can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance from a skilled partner.
• Vygotsky viewed language as the primary means by which adults transmit knowledge — language leads and shapes cognitive development.

Chapter 4

Information Processing Model

How children learn, remember and retrieve information

• 4.1 Emergence of the Cognitive Approach
• 4.2 The Information Processing Model (Sensory → Working → Long-Term Memory)
• 4.3 What Enhances Retrieval or Recall?
• 4.4 Are Forgotten Memories Truly Lost?
• 4.5 Recall from LTM is Constructive
• 4.6 Schema Theory
• 4.7 Applications in the Classroom

4.1 Emergence of the Cognitive Approach

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.1

Besides Piaget and Vygotsky's theories on how children learning, more recent theories have evolved with the emergence of the cognitive approach when the revolution began in the 1950's. Psychologists turned their attention to the investigation of the mind and what is now called the cognitive approach which can be summarised by considering 3 major characteristics:

1

Emphasis is on knowing

It involves studying the mental processes involved in the acquisition and application of knowledge. The cognitive approach stresses the mental events leading to humans knowing something. According to the cognitive approach, the argument that because mental events cannot be observed it should not be studied is a weak argument. No one has ever observed directly gravity, yet physicists are not deemed unscientific for including these concepts in their theories.

2

Emphasis is on mental structure or organisation

It is argued that we are born with the natural tendency to organise the knowledge we possess and new information is interpreted in the light of this organised knowledge.

3

The individual is viewed as active, constructive and planful

Rather than passive recipients of information. Humans are not blank slates upon which information is written on as assumed by the behaviourists. We actively participate in acquiring and using knowledge. We actively construct a view of reality, select information that we want to attend to and commit to memory. Hence to understand human cognition the psychologist has to study how we think, remember, understand and produce language.

4.1 Emergence of the Cognitive Approach

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.1

1

• Cognition is defined as the act or process of knowing in the broadest sense and more specifically as an intellectual process by which knowledge is gained through the five senses (Webster's Dictionary).

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• Cognitive psychologists strongly believe that behaviourism is too limited in explaining human learning — it reduces learning to merely providing a stimulus and focusing on an observable behavior, which is too simplistic.

4.2 The Information Processing Model

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

"All learning has to do something with memory... If we cannot remember from what we have experienced we will never be able to learn anything."

For example, one morning you are introduced to Shalin. That afternoon you see her again and say 'You're Shalin. We met this morning'. You have remembered her name. In this simple incident you have used 3 important processes: encoding, storage and retrieval.

ENCODING

When you were introduced to Shalin, you deposited her name in memory — this is called encoding. You have transformed sound waves (you heard the pronunciation of her name) into a form that memory accepts and you placed that form in memory.

STORAGE

You retained or stored the name during the time between the two meetings with Shalin. This is the storage stage — the name is retained in memory.

RETRIEVAL

You recovered the name from storage at the time of your second meeting. This is the retrieval stage — recovering information from memory when it is needed.

Early cognitive psychologists used the computer as an analogy. People, like computers, acquire information from the environment, store information, and retrieve it when required. Both are limited in the amount of information they can process at a given time; both transform information to produce new information; both return information to the environment. In 1968, Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed the 'Multistore Theory', arguing that information is received, processed and stored in three different stages. This theory later came to be known as the Information Processing Model.

4.2a Sensory Memory

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

a) Sensory Memory

The Sensory Memory receives information from various sources (visual, auditory, smell, touch and taste) and the brain will only focus on information that has been attended to. We are bombarded with different kinds of information during each waking hour. While you are reading this sentence, you may be exposed to certain smells or certain sounds. Normally we are not aware of the sensory properties of stimuli, or what we are exposed to unless we are asked to specifically identify such information.

• People are more likely to pay attention to information that is interesting or important to them.
• Information in sensory memory lasts for only about 1/4 second (250 milliseconds) for visual memory and 1-2 seconds for auditory information.
• Information that you decide to pay attention to is encoded into working memory. This means that much of what we are exposed to never even enters working memory.

Why Do We Pay Attention?

Whether we decide to pay attention to something depends on:

Mental Set:

A deliberate plan to focus on something — reading this page, listening to the radio or sending an SMS. It is a conscious decision to attend. It is almost impossible to attend satisfactorily to more than one mental activity at the same time. For example, while reading this chapter you may be listening to your radio — if you are fully attending to the meaning of the words, you are actually not attending to the music.

Physical Properties:

Physical properties can be the voice of the presenter or the images presented. If the teacher or speaker has a flat monotonous voice, it will be hard for students to pay attention. Cartoons, diagrams and colourful pictures encourage students to pay attention.

Emotional State:

When a person is anxious or distressed, any outside information may be ignored because the person is too engrossed with his or her feelings and discomfort.

4.2a Sensory Memory — How Teachers Grab Attention

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

These three conditions have important implications for teaching and learning. They illustrate the decision made by learner as to what is important. Sometimes it may be necessary for teachers to make known to students what is important and what they should attend. Only when learners attend to the information, will it be processed in short-term or working memory.

Biggs and Moore (1993) suggest the following ways in which teachers might grab the attention of their students:

• Vary your style of teaching: Change the pitch, volume and pace of your voice to emphasise; Move about in the class (routine can be boring!).
• Vary media and materials: Use diagrams, pictures and charts; Use objects and artefacts; Use fieldtrips and excursions.
• Vary interaction with students: Involve students in groupwork and presentations; Use questions at various points in the lesson.

The properties of the sensory memory may lead teachers to believe that students in class are attending to what they are saying. Example:

Teacher: ...and Dato Maharajalela saw J. W. Birch bathing in the river and killed him... Peng Soon! What did I just say?�Peng Soon: Ahh... Maharajalela-saw-J.W. Birch-bathing-in-the-river-and-killed-him.�Teacher: Hmmm... At least look like you're paying attention.

The teacher was sure that Peng Soon was daydreaming; and she was right. However, she had only probed his sensory memory (where attention is located) and not his working memory. Peng Soon, on hearing his own name, simply recalled the jumble of words that was still resonating in his sensory memory and read them off. He can play it back, but that does not mean he was paying attention.

4.2b Working Memory (Short-Term Memory)

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

b) Working Memory

• Information that is attended to is encoded into Working Memory or Short-Term Memory (STM). Encoding means information is deposited in memory in a certain form. A striking feature of short-term memory is its limited capacity. On the average it is limited to seven chunks, give or take two — i.e. 7 plus or minus 2 (Miller, 1956).

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• A chunk is a unit that could be a number of words, digits, sentences or even paragraphs. Experts differ from novices in the richness of the chunks they create — an experienced computer programmer will chunk computer information into more meaningful units compared to a beginning programmer.

• If our 'mental' wallet can hold only seven notes, make sure that is RM50 notes and not RM1 notes. Learners should 'chunk' their material as richly as they can. When learning a particular topic, basic and more familiar information should be automatic, thereby freeing space for higher level thinking (Case, 1985).

• What is meant by automatic? For the beginning driver he or she has to remember to change gears, remember road signs, remember to push the right pedal, apply the brake in an emergency. But, for the experienced driver all these activities are automatic and do not have to be decided in working memory. Similarly, when you read this page, you do not have to decode the letters because it is automatic for you.

4.2b Working Memory (Short-Term Memory)

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

Rehearsal — Keeping Information Alive in Working Memory

Besides having limited capacity, information in working memory if not attended to will be forgotten within 18 seconds. To keep information 'active' in STM you must do something to it. We keep information active by rehearsing. We usually perform TWO types of rehearsing:

Maintenance Rehearsal:

When we keep repeating information to keep it 'alive' in working memory. For instance, when you look up a phone number you repeat it over and over in your mind to keep it 'alive' until you have dialled the number or written it down. This is also referred to as rote learning where the individual wants to make sure that learning is verbatim or 100% accurate. For example, some actors rote-learn their lines, not because they do not understand them simply to ensure accurate performance.

Elaborative Rehearsal:

When meaning is given to the information by relating it to something we already know, to prevent it fading from working memory. This is also referred to as meaningful learning when an individual relates new information with relevant background knowledge from long-term memory. Rote learning is a useful tool but meaningful learning is obviously the major goal for school learning.

4.2c Long-Term Memory & Storage

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

c) Long-Term Memory

Information that is encoded and rehearsed is stored in long-term memory which consists of information that has just happened a few minutes ago or as long as a lifetime. Long-term memory has an unlimited capacity and it has been said that all you have learned and experienced in your lifetime is stored in long-term memory. Nothing is lost! Do you remember your first day in school or the first time you drove a car or rode a motorbike? The fact that you can recall these events shows that nothing is really lost from memory.

When you are unable to recall from long-term memory, it is the result from a loss of access to the information rather than from a loss of the information itself. It is there but cannot be found. Poor memory may reflect a retrieval failure rather than a storage failure. For example, when you are unable to find your car keys, it does not necessarily mean it is not there — you may be looking in the wrong place or it may simply be misfiled in your brain and therefore inaccessible.

4.2c Long-Term Memory & Storage

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

d) Storage — Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve (1879)

The German scholar Herman Ebbinghaus was the first to investigate the characteristics of long-term memory in 1879. Using himself as a subject, he memorised a list of 800 nonsense words and then tried to recall them. The results showed that forgetting was rapid in the first hour when recall fell to only 40%. However, forgetting then flattened out to about 25% and by about thirty days only 10-15% of the nonsense words are recalled.

In other words, people forget 90% of what they learn in a class within thirty days — which has been confirmed by those who followed Ebbinghaus. This has important implications for teaching: information must be reviewed and rehearsed regularly to prevent forgetting.

4.2c Long-Term Memory & Storage

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

Types of Memory in Long-Term Memory — Tulving (1972)

In 1972, Endel Tulving proposed that information stored in long-term memory consists of three types:

Episodic Memory

Memory for information that is associated with particular time and/or place. These are memories for personal experiences — such as where were you last weekend; you met your classmate at the supermarket.

Semantic Memory

Knowledge of general concepts that are not specific to a particular time or place. It is the meaning of words referring to rules, formulas, concepts, principles, generalisations and so forth. For example, 'respiration', 'treaty', 'delta', 'triangle' are all examples of information stored in semantic memory.

Procedural Memory

Memory of procedural knowledge — remembering how to do things. For example, the knowledge needed to change a car tyre, to fry an egg, to cross the road and so forth.

4.2 Types of Long-Term Memory & Semantic Memory Organisation

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.2

Organisation of Semantic Memory — Network Theories

Network theories assume the structure of long-term memory to consist of a large set of nodes interconnected by relations. Each node represents a concept which is connected by a network of relations. For example, A CAT IS AN ANIMAL AND A CAT HAS FUR is represented as a network in long-term memory. The concepts CAT and ANIMAL are connected by an ISA relation. The concepts CAT and FUR are connected by a HAS relation. The directions of the arrows are important — a CAT is an animal, but an ANIMAL is not necessarily a CAT.

Collins and Quillian (1969) proposed the Teachable Language Comprehender (TLC) — semantic memory is organised in a logical and hierarchical fashion. When a person searches long-term memory, it involves moving from one node to another. Reaction time increases as the number of nodes required to reach an intersection increases. There is evidence that information is stored in LTM as a network — the more we elaborate on it, the more we will remember, because more connections are established between new information and what is already stored.

4.3 What Enhances Retrieval or Recall?

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.3

Research has identified that successful retrieval from long-term memory is enhanced by: (1) ORGANISATION — when the information is properly organised, and (2) CONTEXT — the context in which you retrieve the information is similar to the context in which you encoded it.

ORGANISATION

For example, at a meeting you met several professionals — doctors, teachers, journalists and accountants. When you later tried to recall their names, you would do better if you organised your recall by profession: Who were the doctors I met? Who were the teachers? And so forth. A list of names or words is far easier to recall when you sort the words into categories and then recall the words on a category-by-category basis. Organisation improves retrieval, presumably by making memory search more efficient.

Bower (1969) conducted an experiment in which subjects were asked to memorise a list of 18 words of various kinds of minerals. One group was given the 18 words in random order while for the other group, the words were arranged in the form of a hierarchical tree. When tested later, subjects who were presented the words in random order recalled 19% of the words. Subjects who were presented the hierarchical organisation recalled 65% of the words. This study leaves little doubt that retrieval is best when the material or information is organised.

Why does hierarchical organisation improve recall? Because retrieval from long-term memory requires some kind of search process, and hierarchical organisation makes this search more efficient. By operating with hierarchical categories, at no point would subjects have to search a large set of words but have to search through only two levels of categories — dividing a 'big' search into a sequence of 'little' ones.

CONTEXT

It is easier to retrieve a particular event if you are in the same context in which that event occurred. For example, it is likely that your ability to retrieve the names of your classmates in secondary school would improve if you were to walk through the corridors of your school. Similarly, your ability to retrieve an emotional moment improves if you were back in the place where the incident occurred. The context in which an event was encoded is itself one of the most powerful retrieval cues possible.

4.4 Are Forgotten Memories Truly Lost?

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.4

This is an issue that has fascinated psychologists for decades. In the 1900s, Edward Thorndike proposed the Law of Disuse (1914) which led to the concept of 'decay'. It maintained that if one practices particular habits (i.e. using them), it tends to be strengthened. Alternatively, if one does not practice those habits (i.e. disused), it tends to be weakened. Thus, the decay (disuse) theory assumes that memories decay with the passage of time, much as does radioactive material (Reynolds and Flagg, 1977). Evidence of decay was observed for sensory memory and working memory. Evidence for decay of memories stored in long-term memory is more difficult to prove.

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This led to the suggestion that we never really lose our memories — forgotten memories are still there but are too weak to be revived. Penfield (1959) conducted a neurological procedure in which he electrically stimulated portions of patients' brains while undergoing surgery for the treatment of epilepsy. He asked them to report what they experienced. Penfield found that when certain parts of brain were stimulated, patients reported vivid memories of events from their early childhood, events they said they had not thought of for decades.

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Penfield's findings are provocative, but must be interpreted with caution — it is difficult to verify whether the patients' reports are of events they actually experienced or whether they are events that the patients unconsciously constructed at the time of electrical stimulation.

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4.4 Are Forgotten Memories Truly Lost?

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.4

Interference Theory — McGeoch (1932)

Regardless, whether memory decays because of disuse or it is never lost, we still forget. McGeoch (1932) proposed that we forget due to two kinds of interference:

Retrieval Failure:

Besides decay and interference, retrieval failure is another process contributing to forgetting. Like a library where the books are still there but cannot be found, information is in memory but cannot be accessed. The Tip-of-the-Tongue (TOT) phenomenon: experiencing when you are sure you know some fact but cannot think of it at the moment — you know the beginning letter, the number of syllables. This reveals that many people suffer from retrieval difficulties and not from a lack of knowledge.

4.5 Recall from Long-Term Memory is Constructive

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.5

What is meant by 'constructive'? When we read a passage and asked to recall its content, we tend to omit, add or modify the material. In other words, recall from long-term memory is constructive.

a) Additions (Inferences) and Omissions — Bartlett (1932)

In 1932, Sir Frederic Bartlett gave a group of subjects an American Indian folk tale entitled 'The War of the Ghosts' to read. The story was about a group of Indians involved in a battle with a rival tribe along the banks of a river. Subjects read the story twice and after a fifteen minute break were told to reproduce it in writing. The material recalled by the subjects had the following characteristics:

• There were many omissions of details (such as the names of the towns) resulting in increasingly condensed versions of the story.
• There was a tendency to change the original words into more modern words (e.g. 'my relatives' to 'my folks'; 'the warriors' to 'the party').
• There were additions to the original story when subjects tried to recall the story. These additions were an attempt to make the story more coherent than the original story — what Bartlett termed 'an effort after meaning'.

Bartlett explained that our long-term memory consists of a set of schemas which are called into play in attempting to learn new material. A schema is an active organisation of past experiences. If the new material conflicts with previously developed schemas, then the new material is often modified to fit the already existing schema.

Loftus & Loftus (1975) — Eyewitness Memory Experiment

Subjects were shown a film of a traffic accident and asked: Group 1: 'How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?' Group 2: 'How fast were the cars going when they hit into each other?' Group 1 subjects inferred that the accident was more destructive. A week later subjects were asked 'Did you see any broken glass?' (There was no broken glass in the film.) More subjects in Group 1 (who heard 'smashed') mistakenly said there was glass. Subjects inferred that the severity of the accident would most likely lead to broken glass. Such results have important implications for eye-witness testimony.

4.5 Stereotypes & 4.6 Schema Theory

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.5–4.6

b) Stereotypes

Another means by which we fill in, or construct memories is through the use of social stereotypes. A stereotype is a packet of knowledge about the personality or physical attributes that we assume to be true of a whole class of people. We may, for example, have a stereotype of the typical Japanese as hardworking, meticulous and serious or the typical Italian as artistic, carefree and food connoisseurs. These descriptions rarely apply to many people in the class and can often be misleading guides for social interaction.

When presented with 'Rosie is 40 years old and unmarried. She is a successful corporate lawyer. She is living alone in an exclusive neighbourhood.' — undergraduates stereotyped her: 'Rosie is choosy in terms of the men she dates'; 'Rosie may have had bitter experiences'; 'Rosie hates men'; 'Rosie is a lesbian'; 'Rosie is too busy with her career'; 'Rosie is unattractive'; 'Rosie's personality drives men away.' They combined the information presented with that in their stereotype resulting in a distorted opinion of the person.

4.6 Schema Theory

Bartlett first introduced the notion of schema as early as 1932 in order to explain why people reconstructed a story when recalling it so as to make more sense of it in terms of their own knowledge and experience. According to Bartlett, the story is assimilated to pre-stored schemas based on previous experience. Rumelhart (1980) defined a schema as 'a data structure for representing the generic concepts stored in memory.' In other words, schema is an 'organising and orienting attitude that involves active organization of past experience' (Driscoll, 2000).

Schema theory provides an account to the knowledge structure and emphasises the fact that what we remember is influenced by what we already know. Schemas facilitate both encoding and retrieval. Moreover, the mental structures are active — memory can be reconstructed through the integration of current experience with prior knowledge. Schemas represent an active process and can change over time as a result of new experiences and learning.

• Bottom-up processing (data-driven): Analysis of the sensory information coming in from the outside world.
• Top-down processing (conceptual-driven): The influence of prior knowledge already stored in memory — schemas operate in a top-down direction to help us interpret the bottom-up flow of information from the world.

4.6 Schema Theory — Characteristics (Rumelhart & Norman, 1983)

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.6

One of the central issues that cognitive psychologists are interested in is mental structure. According to schema theory, the knowledge we have stored in memory is organised as a set of schemata or mental representations, each of which incorporates all the knowledge of a given type of object or event that we have acquired from past experience.

There are two information resources: the incoming from the outside world and information already stored in memory. Alba and Hasher (1983) examined all schema theories and identified four major processes: selection, abstraction, interpretation, and integration — explicitly illustrating how memory and comprehension operate. Rumelhart and Norman (1983) list five characteristics of schema:

1

Schemas represent knowledge of all kinds from simple to complex.

2

Schemas can be linked together into related systems.

3

A schema has slots which may be filled with fixed, compulsory values or with variable, optional values.

4

Schemas incorporate all the different kinds of knowledge we have accumulated, including both generalisations derived from our personal experience and facts we have been taught.

5

Various schemas at different levels may be actively engaged in reorganizing and interpreting new inputs.

4.7 Applications in the Classroom

Chapter 4: Information Processing Model

Cognitive Development — Topics 3 & 4

4.7

The cognitive approach explains how humans learn by focusing on memory, reasoning, thinking and problem solving. Emphasis is on how learners construct meaning as they encounter new information and try to fit it in with what they already know. Learning is described as a process of accommodating new information into existing framework that the learner has established. Svinicki (1991) outlines the following principles and their implications for teachers and instructors:

Principle: If information is to be learned, it must first be recognized as important and attended to.

Implication: Use cues to signal when ready to begin. Provide handouts, write on board. Move around the room and use voice inflections. Direct attention toward critical concepts.

PRINCIPLE

CLASSROOM IMPLICATION

Principle: During learning, learners act on information in ways that make it more meaningful.

Implication: Both teacher and students should use examples, images, elaborations and connections to prior knowledge. Connect new information to something already known. Use metaphors and analogies.

Principle: Learners store information in long-term memory in an organised fashion related to their existing understanding of the world.

Implication: Provide an organisational structure familiar to students. Show a logical sequence — go from simple to complex. Show students how to categorize (chunk) related information. Use information mapping or advance organisers.

Principle: Learners continually check understanding which results in refinement and revision of what is retained.

Implication: Ample opportunities for checking and diagnosis should be given to aid learning.

Principle: Transfer of learning to new contexts is not automatic but results from exposure to multiple applications.

Implication: Provision must be made during initial learning for later transfer. Provide opportunities for learners to apply their knowledge in varying situations.

Principle: Learning is facilitated when learners are aware of their learning strategies and monitor their use.

Implication: Help students translate strategies into action. Document the steps students took to solve a problem. Discuss with learners their learning approaches; get peers to observe the thinking processes of other students.

Chapter 4 Summary — Key Points

• The cognitive approach emphasises knowing, mental structure (representation) and the constructive, planful and active mind — emerged in the 1950s.
• Early cognitive psychologists used the computer as an analogy for how humans encode, store and retrieve information.
• The Information Processing Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968): information flows from Sensory Memory → Working Memory → Long-Term Memory.
• Sensory Memory: receives info from all senses; lasts 1/4 second (visual) to 1-2 seconds (auditory); only attended info passes to working memory.
• Working Memory: limited capacity — 7 ± 2 chunks (Miller, 1956); information is forgotten within 18 seconds if not rehearsed.
• Maintenance Rehearsal = rote repetition to keep info alive. Elaborative Rehearsal = relating new info to existing knowledge (meaningful learning).
• Long-Term Memory: unlimited capacity; consists of Episodic (personal events), Semantic (concepts/facts), and Procedural (how to do things) memory.
• Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve: people forget 90% of what they learn in a class within thirty days.
• Retrieval is enhanced by Organisation (hierarchical categories) and Context (same context as encoding).
• Forgetting occurs through: Decay (disuse) theory, Interference (retroactive & proactive), and Retrieval Failure (tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon).
• Recall from long-term memory is constructive — we omit, add, and modify (Bartlett 1932). Stereotypes and prior schemas distort recall.
• Schema Theory: what we remember is influenced by what we already know. Schemas facilitate encoding and retrieval and change over time with new experience.