Information processing approaches to cognitive development

This chapter reviews the history and current status of information-processing approaches to cognitive development. Because the approach is so pervasive, it is useful to characterize research in terms of distinctive features, and to organize the features according to whether they are "soft-core" or "hard-core" aspects of the information processing approacn, as follows: Features of soft-core information processing approaches: THEORETICAL FEATURES • S1: The assumption that the child's mental activity can be described in terms of processes that manipulate symbols and symbol structures. • S2: The assumption that these symbolic processes operate within an information processing system with identifiable properties, constraints, and consequences • S3. The characterization of cognitive development as self-modification of the information processing system. METHODOLOGICAL FEATURES • S4: Use of formal notational schemes for expressing complex, dynamic systems. • $5: Modelling the time-course of cognitive processing over relatively short durations: chronometric analysis. • S6: Use of high-density data from error-patterns and protocols to induce and test complex models. • S7: Use of highly detailed analyses of the environment facing the child on specific tasks. Features of hard-core information processing approaches: • H1: Use of computer simulation. • H2: Commitment to elements of the simulation as theoretical assertions, rather than just metaphor or computational convenience. • H3: Goal of creating a complete self-modifying simulation that accounts for both task performance and development. Each of these features is illustrated by example, and the hard-core approach is expanded into a detailed analysis of self-modifying production systems and their potential for formulating theories of cognitive development. Information Processing