Student: Karen Danahí Garzón Ramos

Teacher: Adriana Salazar Gomez

Course: Study Skills
Paper research about Information Processing Model
Information Processing Model

The idea of information processing was adopted by cognitive psychologists as a

model of how human thought works.
Cognitive psychology sees the individual as a processor of information, in much the
same way that a computer takes in information and follows a program to produce an
output.
Cognitive psychology compares the human mind to a computer, suggesting that we
too are information processors and that it is possible and desirable to study the
internal mental / mediational processes that lie between the stimuli (in our
environment) and the response we make.
Just like a computer, the human mind takes in information, organizes and stores it to
be retrieved at a later time. Just as the computer has an input device, a processing
unit, a storage unit, and an output device, so does the human mind have equivalent
structures.

In a computer, information is entered by means of input devices like a keyboard or

scanner. In the human mind, the input device is called the Sensory Register,
composed of sensory organs like the eyes and the ears through which we receive
information about our surroundings.

As information is received by a computer, it is processed in the Central Processing

Unit, which is equivalent to the Working Memory or Short-Term Memory. In the
human mind, this is where information is temporarily held so that it may be used,
discarded, or transferred into long-term memory.

In a computer, information is stored in a hard disk, which is equivalent to the long-

term memory. This is where we keep information that is not currently being used.
Information stored in the Long-Term Memory may be kept for an indefinite period of
time.
When a computer processes information, it displays the results by means of an
output device like a computer screen or a printout. In humans, the result of
information processing is exhibited through behavior or actions - a facial expression,
a reply to a question, or body movement.

The Information Processing Model is often used by educators and trainers to guide
their teaching methodologies.