Key Concepts of Information Processing Models

Why This Matters

Information processing models are the backbone of cognitive psychology—they explain how your mind takes in raw sensory data and transforms it into memories, decisions, and actions. On exams, you're being tested on your ability to distinguish between competing models, explain their mechanisms, and apply them to real-world scenarios like learning, problem-solving, and cognitive errors. These models connect to broader themes of memory systems, attention, cognitive development, and individual differences in intelligence.

Don't just memorize the names and components of each model. Know what problem each model was designed to solve, how it differs from alternatives, and when you'd use it to explain a cognitive phenomenon. The strongest exam responses compare models directly—showing you understand not just what each model claims, but why psychologists developed different frameworks in the first place.

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Sequential Stage Models

These classic models propose that information moves through distinct stages in a fixed order. The key mechanism is serial processing—each stage must complete before the next begins.

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model (Multi-Store Model)

• Three sequential stores—sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM)—with information flowing in one direction through the system
• Attention gates transfer from sensory to STM; without focused attention, sensory information decays within milliseconds to seconds
• Rehearsal is essential for LTM encoding; this model predicts that more repetition equals stronger memories (a claim later models challenged)

Sensory Memory Model

• Ultra-brief storage of raw sensory input—iconic memory (visual) lasts ~250ms, echoic memory (auditory) lasts ~3-4 seconds
• High capacity, rapid decay—you capture almost everything but lose it immediately without attention
• Sperling's partial report procedure demonstrated that sensory memory holds more than we can report, supporting the existence of this fleeting buffer stage

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Active Processing Models

These models reject passive storage in favor of dynamic manipulation of information. The key insight: memory isn't a filing cabinet—it's a workspace.

Baddeley's Working Memory Model

• Four components replace STM—the central executive (attentional control), phonological loop (verbal/acoustic), visuospatial sketchpad (images/spatial), and episodic buffer (integrates information)
• Parallel processing of different information types; you can hold a phone number (phonological) while navigating a room (visuospatial) simultaneously
• Central executive limitations explain why multitasking fails when two tasks compete for the same subsystem

Levels of Processing Model (Craik and Lockhart)

• Depth determines durability—semantic processing (meaning) creates stronger memories than structural processing (appearance) or phonemic processing (sound)
• Elaboration and distinctiveness enhance encoding; connecting new information to existing knowledge builds retrieval pathways
• Challenges the rehearsal assumption—maintenance rehearsal (rote repetition) is less effective than elaborative rehearsal (meaningful connection)

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Network and Connectionist Models

These models draw inspiration from neural architecture, emphasizing distributed representation and simultaneous activation rather than discrete storage locations.

Parallel Distributed Processing Model (PDP)

• Simultaneous activation across interconnected nodes—no single location "holds" a memory; instead, patterns of activation across the network represent knowledge
• Learning through weight adjustment—connections strengthen or weaken based on experience, mimicking synaptic plasticity
• Graceful degradation—partial damage doesn't destroy memories completely because information is distributed, explaining why brain injuries often cause partial rather than total memory loss

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Long-Term Memory Organization

Understanding how information is organized in LTM is essential for explaining amnesia cases, skill learning, and the distinction between knowing that and knowing how.

Long-Term Memory Systems (Declarative and Procedural)

• Declarative (explicit) memory divides into episodic (personal events with spatiotemporal context) and semantic (general facts without personal context)
• Procedural (implicit) memory includes motor skills, habits, and conditioned responses—preserved in amnesia patients like H.M.
• Different neural substrates—declarative memory depends on hippocampus and medial temporal lobe; procedural memory involves basal ganglia and cerebellum

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Dual-System Models

These frameworks propose that cognition operates through two qualitatively different processing modes, explaining both efficient intuition and systematic reasoning.

Dual-Process Theory

• System 1 is fast, automatic, and effortless—pattern recognition, emotional reactions, and heuristics operate here
• System 2 is slow, deliberate, and effortful—logical analysis, complex calculations, and conscious reasoning require this system
• Cognitive biases emerge when System 1 dominates inappropriately; the availability heuristic and confirmation bias reflect System 1 shortcuts overriding System 2 analysis

PASS Theory of Intelligence

• Four processes define intelligence—Planning (goal-setting, strategy selection), Attention (selective focus), Simultaneous processing (integrating information holistically), and Successive processing (handling sequential information)
• Executive functions coordinate these processes; deficits in any component produce distinct cognitive profiles
• Challenges $g$-factor models—intelligence isn't unitary but a combination of separable cognitive abilities with different neural bases

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Cognitive Efficiency Models

These models address resource limitations and how the mind manages competing demands—critical for understanding learning, expertise development, and cognitive overload.

Cognitive Load Theory

• Three types of load—intrinsic (inherent complexity), extraneous (poor presentation), and germane (productive effort toward schema construction)
• Working memory bottleneck—when total load exceeds capacity, learning fails; instructional design should minimize extraneous load
• Expertise reversal effect—instructional supports that help novices can actually harm experts by adding unnecessary load

Executive Function Model

• Three core components—working memory (holding and manipulating information), cognitive flexibility (shifting between tasks or perspectives), and inhibitory control (suppressing prepotent responses)
• Prefrontal cortex dependent—executive functions develop throughout childhood and adolescence, explaining age-related differences in self-regulation
• Predicts academic and life outcomes—executive function in early childhood correlates with later academic achievement, health behaviors, and financial stability

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two models most directly challenge the Atkinson-Shiffrin assumption that rehearsal is the primary mechanism for long-term encoding? Explain what alternative mechanism each proposes.

2. A patient with hippocampal damage can still learn to ride a bicycle but cannot remember meeting their therapist yesterday. Which memory systems are preserved versus impaired, and which model best explains this dissociation?

3. Compare and contrast Baddeley's Working Memory Model with the original short-term memory component of Atkinson-Shiffrin. What phenomena can Baddeley's model explain that the earlier model cannot?

4. An FRQ asks you to explain why a student who highlights entire textbook pages performs worse on exams than a student who writes summary notes. Which model provides the strongest explanation, and what specific mechanism would you cite?

5. How would you use Dual-Process Theory to explain why experienced doctors sometimes make diagnostic errors that medical students catch? Which system is operating in each case?