Informational Processing Theory

Introduction to the Information Processing Theory

The Information Processing Theory models how the brain takes in and stores information. With rapidly advancing technologies of the 1950s, American Psychologist, George A. Miller, postulated that the brain has a two-memory system in which there is a short-term memory, which holds a certain amount of information in “chunks,” and long-term memory.  Building upon this theory, Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin added additional processing components such as sensory memory, encoding, rehearsal, and retrieval. While other learning theories focus on the developmental stages of individuals, information processing theory includes a continuous pattern of development.

Origins of Information Processing Theory

Prior to cognitivism, education and learning were seen as a response to external stimulus. Within the cognitivist movement, many educational psychologists such as George A. Miller, Richard Atkinson, Richard Shiffrin, Alan Baddeley, Graham Hitch, and Endol Tulving, sought to fill in the gaps missed by other prominent behaviorist theories at the time.

George A. Miller, a cognitive psychologist, developed Information Processing Theory in response to the limitations of behaviorism. He was particularly interested in how humans could store and manipulate information internally, rather than just responding to external stimuli. His famous paper, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two” (1956), explored the limits of short-term memory, suggesting that people can only hold about 7 pieces of information at once.

Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin later expanded on Miller’s ideas with their multi-store model of memory (1968), which introduced the three-stage process of memory: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Their model also emphasized the role of encoding, rehearsal, and retrieval in strengthening memory storage. Around the same time, Endel Tulving contributed by distinguishing different types of long-term memory, including episodic and semantic memory, further refining the theory’s understanding of how information is stored and retrieved.

Fundamental Tenets of the Theory

Information Processing Theory views memory and knowledge formation as working together, and not as separate and mutually exclusive concepts. As one acquires more memories, they acquire knowledge. In this section, we will discuss the Atkinson and Shiffrin Model (1968) of how knowledge is acquired as well as additional components added by Baddeley, Hitch, Tulving, and Miller.

The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model

The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model [image description]

Sensory Memory

Pause for a second and think about your five senses individually for a moment. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you taste? And last but not least, what do you feel? At any given moment, your brain takes all of this information in and processes it through your sensory memory.

For example, right this moment, I see the sunshine highlighting a bright yellow microfiber towel, the clutter of papers on my desk, some forgotten Christmas decorations. I hear the furnace as it blows air, the ticking clock on the other side of the room. I smell – not good things to be honest. I really need to take out the trash. I feel the soft lining of my jacket against my arms, the weight of my feet against the floor, the pressure of my arms against the desk, and the smooth keys of the keyboard. There is a lot of information for our minds to take in, which is where our sensory memory comes into play. Lasting .5 – 3 seconds, it filters and processes the information around you, determining what is useful and what is forgotten.

If attention is given to a stimulus it moves into your short-term memory. If a stimulus is not attended to, it is forgotten.

Short-Term / Working Memory

Short Term Memory

The short-term memory is the meeting point between new information and long-term information. Lasting approximately 20 – 30 seconds, new information can be rehearsed, encoded, and assimilated into long-term storage or lost due to decay or interference.

So, how much information can actually be stored in short term memory?

A fantastic question, so glad you asked! Miller proposed that only a certain number of “bits” could be stored in short term memory at a given time. Give this a try –

What was the longest string of numbers you could recall? Let me make a guess… Was it the lucky number 7? Miller discovered most people could hold approximately seven items (also called “chunks”) plus or minus two items. The two items could be affected by type of information, the delivery of information, and the storage capacity of the individual. Recall is somewhat better for random numbers than for random letters (Jacobs, 1887), and also often slightly better for information we hear (acoustic encoding) rather than see (visual encoding) (Anderson, 1969).

But… Why do we care? Short term memory is limited, so if we are able to simplify information down into smaller more manageable chunks, people are more likely to remember it. While we will not go into depth on the subject here, there is another related theory, Cognitive Load Theory, which we will study more later on in another chapter.

In addition to Miller’s comments on short term memory capacity, Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed that actively repeating, or rehearsing, information could prolong its duration within the short-term memory. While this does not guarantee that the information will be encoded into long-term storage, it does increase the likelihood that it will preserved.

Working Memory – An alternative to Short Term Memory

In 1974, Baddeley and Hitch proposed an alternative to short term memory – working memory. Information in short-term memory is not stored permanently but rather becomes available for us to process, and the processes that we use to make sense of, modify, interpret, and store information in STM are known as working memory. This theory delved into the different ways that information from your senses is processed. Your central executive brings information together from the visuospatial sketchpad (visual information), the phonological loop (auditory / language), and episodic buffer (recall and stores information within long-term memory).

In other words, different types of information are processed and stored in different areas of the brain for long-term memory. It is then brought to the central executive, which takes in all the information to make a coherent thought.

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is the final destination of the Atkinson Shiffrin Information Processing Model (1968). Limitless in capacity, long term storage includes all memory whether the information was stored two minutes ago or seventy-five years ago. Information stored in here can be classified as procedural, emotional, semantic, and, most recently added by Tulving, episodic memory.

Diagram of Long-Term Memory Types [image description]

Putting It All Together

Alright, we’ve gone through the process from start to finish… Now what? This process actually never ends. Information is brought back and forth from long-term storage to short-term memory through the processes of retrieval and encoding. The more frequently information is recalled and connected to other pieces of information, the easier it will be to recall later on.

Retrieval Time! Let’s test your knowledge of this theory. How much information can you recall without looking back at the chapter?

1.3 The Adkinson and Shiffrin Model for Information Processing Theory

Strengths

Information Processing Theory gives both students and educators a glimpse into how the mind works and how knowledge is acquired. It encourages thinking beyond just procedural or semantic knowledge and instead emphasizes metacognition—helping learners become more aware of how they process and retain information.

Another key strength of IPT is its recognition that cognitive resources, like sensory memory and short-term memory, are limited. This makes attention and cognitive load crucial considerations for instructional designers, who can use this understanding to create more effective learning experiences by managing distractions, organizing information efficiently, and ensuring learners aren’t overwhelmed.

Limitations

One common criticism of Information Processing Theory is its overly simplistic and linear model of learning. While IPT suggests that information moves sequentially through stages—sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory—real-world cognition is often far more dynamic. In reality, multiple processes occur simultaneously, which models like Parallel Distributed Processing explain more effectively.

Another major limitation is that IPT doesn’t fully account for individual differences, particularly when it comes to learning disabilities. Conditions like ADD and ADHD can significantly impact a student’s ability to focus, which directly affects how information is encoded and stored. Additionally, neurological conditions such as traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, can disrupt memory processes, making learning far more complex than IPT typically acknowledges.

Instructional Design Implications

There are many ways to incorporate the information processing theory within instructional design. Four of the most important pieces of information to take into consideration are: attention, encoding, cognitive load, and schema activation. Let’s examine the following case study, created with the help of OpenAI.

Conclusion

In summary, the Information Processing Theory examines how information is stored in the brain through a sequence of processes that take in sensory data, transform it into usable knowledge and experiences, and encode it into long-term memory for future retrieval. This theory serves as a foundational framework for both educators and students to understand individual learning processes. By integrating this theory with other learning models, instructional designers can develop content that engages learners, breaks it into digestible chunks, and ensures effective encoding into long-term memory.

Photo Descriptions:

At the top, an arrow labeled “External Input” points downwards to a large rectangle labeled “Sensory Register,” which includes a column marked “Visual.” An arrow leads from the Sensory Register to a section labeled “Lost from SR.” Below, another arrow directs inputs to the “Short-Term Store,” which contains the labels “Auditory,” “Verbal,” and “Linguistic (A.V.L.).” To the left, an arrow indicates information that is “Lost from STS.” From the Short-Term Store, arrows direct inputs to and from the “Long-Term Store.” This store lists “A.V.L.,” “Visual,” and “etc.” with arrows indicating feedback loops. A smaller section states “Decay, Interference, and Loss of Strength in LTS” with a dashed arrow directed towards it. The full diagram conveys the process and retention of memory through different stages. [Return to 1.1]

The image is a flowchart depicting the structure of long-term memory. At the top is a blue rectangle labeled “Long-term memory.” Below, two categories branch out: “Explicit (declarative)” on the left and “Implicit (non-declarative)” on the right, both in light blue rectangles. Under “Explicit,” two further divisions labeled “Episodic (experienced events)” and “Semantic (knowledge and concepts)” are shown in cream rectangles. Under “Implicit,” there are two divisions labeled “Procedural (skills and actions)” and “Emotional conditioning,” also in cream rectangles. The flowchart uses lines to connect each category and subcategory hierarchically. [Return to 1.2]

References

Anderson, N. S. (1969). The influence of acoustic similarity on serial recall of letter sequences. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 21(3), 248–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/14640746908400219

Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In Psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 2, pp. 89–195). Elsevier.

Jacobs, Joseph. (1887). Experiments on “Prehension”, Mind, Volume os-12, Issue 45, 1 January 1887, Pages 75–79, https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/os-12.45.75

Miller, George A. (1956). The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information. Psychological Review, 63, 81-97. https://labs.la.utexas.edu/gilden/files/2016/04/MagicNumberSeven-Miller1956.pdf

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT, 4.0. Retrieved from https://chat.openai.com/chat.