Which theory treats the mind as an information-processing system?

Which theory treats the mind as an information-processing system?

• A. Cognitivism
• B. Behaviorism
• C. Psychoanalysis
• D. Humanism

Answer: (A)

The mind as an information-processing system is the hallmark of cognitivism. This view treats thinking as the active manipulation of information: we encode what we sense, hold and transform it in working memory, store it in long-term memory, and retrieve it to guide actions. It uses the computer as a useful metaphor—input from the environment is encoded, processed through stages, stored, and later retrieved to produce behavior. This framework helps explain how attention shapes what gets into memory, why some material is remembered better when it’s organized or rehearsed, and how we form and use mental representations or schemas to solve problems and understand new situations. It also accounts for why cognitive capacity is limited and how strategies like rehearsal, chunking, and encoding depth improve learning. This perspective stands apart from behaviorism, which focuses only on observable actions and stimuli; psychoanalysis, which emphasizes unconscious drives; and humanism, which centers on subjective experience and self-actualization. By focusing on internal information processing, cognitivism provides a coherent account of how mental operations enable learning, memory, and thinking.

The mind as an information-processing system is the hallmark of cognitivism. This view treats thinking as the active manipulation of information: we encode what we sense, hold and transform it in working memory, store it in long-term memory, and retrieve it to guide actions. It uses the computer as a useful metaphor—input from the environment is encoded, processed through stages, stored, and later retrieved to produce behavior. This framework helps explain how attention shapes what gets into memory, why some material is remembered better when it’s organized or rehearsed, and how we form and use mental representations or schemas to solve problems and understand new situations. It also accounts for why cognitive capacity is limited and how strategies like rehearsal, chunking, and encoding depth improve learning. This perspective stands apart from behaviorism, which focuses only on observable actions and stimuli; psychoanalysis, which emphasizes unconscious drives; and humanism, which centers on subjective experience and self-actualization. By focusing on internal information processing, cognitivism provides a coherent account of how mental operations enable learning, memory, and thinking.