What is the Information Processing Approach in Psychology and How Does it Work?
Psychology is a vast field that encompasses different approaches to understand human behavior. The information processing approach is one such approach that investigates how humans process information and the factors that influence this process. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what the information processing approach means, how it works, and its relevance to psychology.
What is the Information Processing Approach?
The information processing approach refers to a cognitive perspective that views the human mind as a computer-like system that processes information in a series of stages. This approach assumes that people actively engage with information, manipulate it, store it, retrieve it and use it to solve problems or make decisions. In essence, the information processing approach suggests that sensory input is transformed into knowledge through a sequence of mental operations.
For example, if you are reading this article, your eyes would sense the visual information, and your brain would process it by extracting the meaning from the text. This approach underlies several cognitive theories, such as attention, memory, and problem-solving.
How does the Information Processing Approach Work?
The information processing approach entails four stages of processing: input, processing, output, and feedback.
Input
The input stage involves the sensory system that receives information from the environment. The sensory system transmits the information to the working memory, which has limited capacity and duration.
Processing
The working memory then processes the information by mentally manipulating it, such as comparing it with previously learned information. The processing stage entails several cognitive processes, such as attention, perception, and pattern recognition.
Output
The output stage involves the communication of the processed information to the motor system for a response. For example, if you need to type a response to an email, you would use your fingers to type on the keyboard.
Feedback
The feedback stage is necessary to evaluate the output and adjust the process for future situations. For example, if you notice a typo in your email response, you would correct it to improve future communications.
Relevance to Psychology
The information processing approach is relevant in several areas of psychology, such as education, clinical psychology, and cognitive psychology.
In education, the information processing approach helps instructors understand how students learn, process, store, and retrieve information. For example, educators can design learning activities that align with the cognitive processes and strategies of students.
In clinical psychology, the information processing approach provides insight into cognitive disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia. For example, individuals with ADHD have difficulty with sustaining attention, which hinders their working memory, processing, and output capabilities.
In cognitive psychology, the information processing approach is a central part of investigating how humans process and use information. Researchers use this approach to study cognitive processes, such as perception, memory, and problem-solving.
Conclusion
The information processing approach is a cognitive perspective that views the human mind as a computer-like system. This approach assumes that people actively engage with information, manipulate it, store it, retrieve it and use it to solve problems or make decisions. The information processing approach has four stages of processing: input, processing, output, and feedback. This approach is relevant in several areas of psychology, such as education, clinical psychology, and cognitive psychology.
