INFORMATION PROCESSING 1
Information Processing and Memory: Theory and Applications
Stacey T. Lutz
William G. Huitt
Citation: Lutz, S., & Huitt, W. (2003). Information processing and memory: Theory and
applications. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University.
Retrieved [date], from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/papers/infoproc.pdf
This paper discusses theories associated with information processing and memory. It includes
descriptions and definitions of important terms and models that have been used to depict memory
types and processors. The frameworks associated with the stage theory model and schools of
thought on pattern recognition and representation models are discussed as well as those on
schema, parallel distributed processing, and connectionist models. The paper ends with
discussion on the assessment of cognitive processing in education today and activities for
developing instruction that is built on the theories discussed.
Educators are very interested in the study of how humans learn. This is because how one
learns, acquires new information, and retains previous information guides selection of long-term
learning objectives and methods of effective instruction. To this end, cognition as a
psychological area of study goes far beyond simply the taking in and retrieving information. It is
a broad field dedicated to the study of the mind holistically. Neisser (1967), one of the most
influential researchers in cognition, defined it as the study of how people encode, structure, store,
retrieve, use or otherwise learn knowledge. Cognitive psychologists hypothesize an intervening
variable or set of variables between environment and behavior—which contrasts it with
behavioral theories.
Information Processing and Memory
One of the primary areas of cognition studied by researches is memory. There are many
hypotheses and suggestions as to how this integration occurs, and many new theories have built
upon established beliefs in this area. Cur