Cognitive information processing Cognitive information processing studies the internal mental processes involved in the capture and manipulation of information, the use of information to solve problems, and the processes and structures involved in these
actions. Development of CIP
Research on memory Development of networking concepts Development of computers Development of information theory By the 1960s, a significant number of researchers
were studying cognitive phenomena By the 1970s and early 80s the cognitive revolution had changed psychology as a discipline Issues How is information in the environment scanned?
What leads to further processing? How is information included in memory? How is information recalled from memory? How is information used in later thinking/action? Some general rules
Environmental input is massive and continual Cognitive capacity is limited
Much cognitive functioning can be automated Satisficing rules are applied to deal with the flow of information and to generate effective actions and knowledge Selectivity Some general rules
A form of control is necessary to make decisions on what to attend to, how to process important information, what decision rules to apply in Working Memory, etc. Control of both automatic and willful types Automatic control resides in lower brain Control functions the individual can decide to use
reside in the more advanced parts of the brain General principles Control mechanism Allocates processing capacity Prioritizes activities Coordinates actions
To begin Sense organs are excited by environmental stimuli The stimuli are transduced into signals (electrical) that can be carried in the neural pathways
Sensory activation Environmental cues generate changes within specialized organs
Eyes Ears Skin Tongue
Only a portion of environmental phenomena generate sensual changes Infrared light X-rays http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gapyx.com/cmt/2007/02/anatomy3.jpg&imgrefurl=http:// chambermusictoday.blogspot.com/2007/02/stapedius-spasms-mixed-boonbane.html&usg=__HXPFgrFEKd7WK9OYWJ7Ypdj_oDk=&h=317&w=540&sz=21&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbn
id=52soRblU1DGjSM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=190&ei=o15ITaqBJo_vcMKX1JwD&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daudible %2Bsound%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1268%26bih%3D598%26gbv%3D2%26tbs %3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=125&vpy=101&dur=481&hovh=160&hovw=273&tx=160&ty=94&oei=ll1ITef _M8fKgQe0-JTsBQ&esq=14&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0 Limitations There are very significant limits as to what
stimuli can be perceived via human sense organs Visible spectrum of light Audible sounds Haptic limitations http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch6/graphics/spectrum.gif&imgrefurl=http://
chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch6/index.php&usg=__RNcgHrE5jv51jmg9nst-dGsvj8=&h=319&w=599&sz=23&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=cyEKfiTapbz5OM:&tbnh=108&tbnw=202&ei=CF1ITcXQMMf1gAfJ28zoBQ&prev=/images%3Fq %3Dvisible%2Bspectrum%2Bof%2Blight%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1268%26bih%3D598%26gbv%3D2%26tbs %3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=337&vpy=285&dur=1149&hovh=108&hovw=202&tx=159&ty=75&oei=CF1ITcXQMMf1gAfJ28zoBQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=15&ved =1t:429,r:6,s:0 Transduction of sensual reaction Sensory organs create patterns of electrical
impulses as a response to environmental stimuli (Transduction) Qualitatively different patterns are produced for visual, sound, touch (haptic), and language (semantic) memory systems
Buffering and filtering Sensual buffers are thought to exist that retain the electrical impulses for a short period of time The most important content is passed along while the less important content is filtered
out Cannot handle the vast amount of information that senses generate Filtering is based on pattern recognition Attention
Recognition of content of various types leads to the allocation of processing capacitythe physical component of attention Limited resource Influenced by a number of factors, some contentbased, some feature based Much attention is allocated automatically and not under the control of the individual
http://assets.families.com/Encyclopedias/eoa_01_img0077.jpg Determinants of attention Most content is disposed of quickly recognized as routine and then ignored Habituation of repetitive tasks, experiences
leads to monitoring Attention allocated to divergence from the norm, expectations Determinants of attention Hard-wired to attend to cues that had survival value (those that didnt left the gene pool)
Orienting response due to Movement Loud noises Bright colors/contrasts Formal features All media content has certain formal features
that impact the experience the audience has when watching, reading, listening to the content Formal features are not specific to a story line, genre, etc. Brightness, pacing, color intensity, cuts,
camera angles, and so on Overuse of volume change, sudden movement, etc. can impede encoding Processing capacity tied up interpreting formal features overloading can lead to confusion, inadequate time for building memory trace or schematization
What topics did you just see? What animals? Overuse may be annoying so that the audience member may quit attending or switch channel, etc.
Learned automaticity Some kinds of content are overlearned to the point where the viewer processes them without thinking about itso well-known that they do not command precious processing capacity Driving well-known routes Listening to favorite CDs
Walking across campus Greetings for good friends Your nameCocktail party phenomenon Personal relevance/Involvement Impact on you or those you care about News
Relationship to your values/morals Note: the way something is presented may determine whether it is interpreted as relevant or not Determinants of attention
Internally-generated needs draw attention to content perceived to relate to those needs Hunger Pain Fear Sexual desire
Controlled attention Intentional focus on particular content Recognized as interesting or important Emotionally compelling (relatively automatic) Cognitively challenging (relatively intentional) Personally impactful/Involving
Based on existing schema developed over time by the audience member Individual interest Experience with place/time depicted Mystery stories set in your home town Fargo
Feelings toward actors, spokespeople, etc. Trust Parasocial interaction Experience with various types of content Background makes it possible to limit attention necessary to process
the content Genre knowledge and preference Taste development News habit Working and Short-Term Memory For further processing to occur, the
information must be held in memory long enough to compare the information with existing knowledge Relationship between STM and WM is controversial Capacity of STM
Often considered 7+/-2 chunks of information More recent research has argued that we have greater capacity Ability to monitor many environmental cues at one time, shift attentional resources as needed
Working memory The active portion of memory (including consciousness) where processes reject, evaluate, interpret information Where consciousness lies Thought to hold info for 15-30 seconds unless
rehearsal occurs Decay/displacement Repetitive v. elaborative rehearsal Rehearsal/Encoding Decisions must be made as to what
information within WM will receive the processing effort (attention) necessary to encode it for storage The chosen portion is prepared for transfer to LTM (encoding) When transferred, a memory trace must be constructed in order to find it again
Distraction If memory traces are not laid down prior to shift in cognitive focus, the content being evaluated is probably lost Working memory
Must activate stored material in LTM to assign meaning to the new patterns of electrical impulses What does economic impact (a pattern of impulses representing a set of characters on a page) mean?
Long-Term Memory A small portion of information from working memory is prepared for transfer to long-term (permanent) storage To do so, it is integrated into structures of meaning (schema) held within long-term memory The integration gives meaning to the new
information while reconfiguring the schema that are activated to interpret the new info Reconfiguration of schema is usually minor The portion of schema activated depends on attention allocation, nature of new information
Retrieval from LTM Information retrieved from LTM is limited Would quickly reach overload if we tried to access all potentially relevant info Would take far too longcant spend long periods of time on anything but the most crucial new info/decision-making
Retrieval based on perceived shared or similar meaning/concepts Memories in LTM organized hierarchically? Schematically? Etc. Influences on retrieval
Primacy Earliest concepts draw info from particular parts of schema/schemas Recency Recently activated concepts more likely to be retrieved
Commonly used concepts Concepts/schemas heavily used tend to be activated to deal with new concepts Influences on retrieval Concepts are retrieved according to the set of
relationships they have with other concepts Spreading activation The structure of relationships varies by individual Culture influences structure of relations/ topics/concepts held
http:// www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-december -14-2006/confusing-sects http:// www.funnyordie.com/videos/ed0ad6a632/daz ed-and-confused
Into LTM A memory trace to the new information is laid down along with the concepts More powerful impact of info leads to stronger trace Trace will fade with time or else be eclipsed by
newer traces Forms of LTM Episodic LTM Sounds Sights
Semantic LTM Concepts (generalization) Construction of memory Belief that more specific concepts are filed under more general ones Efficient
Schema Structure of Semantic LTM Concepts and the network of associations among them [Nodes and links]
Out of LTM Information in WM cues a search for similar into held in LTM Search is partly under conscious control and part automatic That info may be excited and the new info is
given meaning through its connection to existing knowledge When a decision is needed, information search and retrieval generates inputs into decision rules Action or decision leads to new environmental
input that will likely be stored with the original information Behavior Behavior is mostly controlled by the outcome of info processing in working memory Actions taken to meet needs/drives/motivations
Responses to environmental demands Behavior adjustment The environmental change observed after behavioral action acts as new information that goes through the info processing system and is encoded into our schema relating to the topic
Perceived success, failure becomes a guide to new action brought on by perceived needs, etc. Self-regulating model
