MCAT topics → Cognition, Learning, Memory, and Language → Information Processing Model of Cognition

Information Processing Model of Cognition

MCAT trap: Conflates the information processing model's continuous view of development with Piaget's stage-based model. The information processing model views cognitive development as continuous, with gradual increases in processing speed, capacity, and strategy use rather than stage-like jumps.

The information processing model is one of the dominant frameworks the MCAT tests in cognitive psychology: it treats the mind like a computer, with sensory input encoded into a mental representation, stored in memory, and later retrieved when needed. The exam uses it both as a standalone concept and as a lens for interpreting experimental passages — you'll need to know the stages, what happens at each one, and how they differ from each other.

The trickiest part is keeping the model's assumptions straight relative to other frameworks, especially Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Students routinely mix these up. The information processing model sees cognitive development as a continuous, gradual process — processing speed gets faster, working memory capacity expands, and strategies become more efficient across childhood. There's no stage-based restructuring, no concrete-to-formal-operational jump. If a passage describes developmental changes in terms of smooth capacity gains rather than qualitative leaps, that's the information processing framework.

The other common trap is conflating encoding with storage. These are distinct stages with distinct failure modes — a student who never forms a strong memory trace has an encoding problem; one who forgets quickly over time has a storage or consolidation problem. The MCAT also tests whether you know that human cognition isn't purely serial. Pattern recognition, automatic skills, and perceptual processing happen in parallel, not one step at a time. Knowing where serial vs. parallel processing applies helps you correctly interpret passage scenarios about multitasking, automaticity, or attentional limits.

Common misconceptions

Common mistake
Wrong: The information processing model, like Piaget's theory, describes cognitive development as occurring in discrete qualitative stages.
Right: The information processing model views cognitive development as continuous, with gradual increases in processing speed, capacity, and strategy use rather than stage-like jumps.
The information processing model and Piaget's theory both describe how cognition develops, but they make fundamentally different claims. Piaget argues for qualitative stage shifts — children think in categorically different ways at different ages. The information processing model instead treats development as a continuous quantitative process: kids gradually get faster, hold more in working memory, and use more efficient strategies. If you see a question about cognitive development and the answer involves smooth capacity gains rather than stage transitions, that's the information processing model, not Piaget.
Common mistake
Wrong: Encoding and storage are the same process — getting information into memory.
Right: Encoding is the transformation of sensory input into a memory representation, while storage is the retention of that representation over time; they are distinct stages.
Encoding and storage sound similar but represent different events in the memory process. Encoding is the active transformation of incoming sensory information into a format the brain can work with — it's where attention, elaboration, and depth of processing matter. Storage is what happens afterward: the representation is retained over time, which involves consolidation at the neural level. A failure to encode means the information never becomes a memory trace at all; a failure to store means the trace degrades or isn't consolidated properly. Distinguishing these explains why, for example, sleep deprivation impairs consolidation (storage) rather than the initial encoding.
Common mistake
Wrong: Human cognition is purely serial, processing one piece of information at a time like an early computer.
Right: Human cognition involves both serial and parallel processing; many cognitive operations (e.g., pattern recognition, automatic tasks) occur simultaneously.
Early computers processed information strictly serially — one operation, then the next. The information processing model borrows the computer analogy but doesn't claim human cognition works the same way. Many cognitive operations run in parallel: you recognize a face while simultaneously processing background sounds, or an expert driver steers, monitors mirrors, and holds a conversation at once because these tasks have become automatic. Serial processing is more characteristic of effortful, novel, or attention-demanding tasks. Assuming all human cognition is serial would incorrectly predict that humans can only do one thing at a time, which contradicts evidence on automaticity and pattern recognition.
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What the exam tests

  1. Know the three core stages of the information processing model — encoding, storage, and retrieval — and understand what goes wrong at each stage when memory fails.
  2. Understand how the information processing model describes cognitive development as continuous and gradual (increases in speed, capacity, and strategy use), and how this contrasts with Piaget's discrete, qualitative stage model.
  3. Be able to read a passage describing a cognitive experiment and identify which stage of information processing is being manipulated or measured — for example, recognizing that a study varying rehearsal time targets encoding, while a study varying delay before testing targets storage.

Can you avoid these mistakes?

A researcher gives participants a list of words and then tests recall either 5 minutes later or 24 hours later to measure how much is forgotten over time. Which stage of the information processing model is this experiment primarily targeting — encoding, storage, or retrieval? Explain your reasoning.
A developmental psychologist finds that 10-year-olds can hold more items in working memory and solve problems faster than 6-year-olds, but there's no point at which children suddenly shift to a completely new mode of thinking. Which theoretical framework does this support — Piaget's stage theory or the information processing model? What's the key difference?
A skilled radiologist can scan an X-ray and immediately notice an anomaly while simultaneously dictating notes. A medical student looking at the same image must laboriously examine each region one at a time. How does the concept of serial vs. parallel processing explain this difference?
You're told that a patient with anterograde amnesia can learn new motor skills (like mirror drawing) but cannot consciously recall practicing them. Which stage of the information processing model is intact and which is impaired? What does this suggest about memory as a system?

Related topics

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development Problem Solving and Decision Making Heuristics and Cognitive Biases Intelligence and Theories (g, Multiple, Triarchic)

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