Information processing (psychology)
[4] Sternberg's theory of intelligence is made up of three different components: creative, analytical, and practical abilities.
It is also able to take information from the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad, combining them with long-term memory to make "a unitary episodic representation.
[2] In order for these to work, the sensory register takes in via the five senses: visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and taste.
[2] Short term memory holds information for slightly longer periods of time, but still has a limited capacity.
According to Linden,[8] "The capacity of STM had initially been estimated at "seven plus or minus two" items,[9] which fits the observation from neuropsychological testing that the average digit span of healthy adults is about seven.
[10] However, it emerged that these numbers of items can only be retained if they are grouped into so-called chunks, using perceptual or conceptual associations between individual stimuli."
On the other hand, long-term memory has a potentially unlimited capacity[2] and its duration is as good as indefinite.
During the sensorimotor stage, newborns and toddlers rely on their senses for information processing to which they respond with reflexes.
In the preoperational stage, children learn through imitation and remain unable to take other people's point of view.
The concrete operational stage is characterized by the developing ability to use logic and to consider multiple factors to solve a problem.
[citation needed] Furthermore, adolescence is characterized by a series of changes in the biological, cognitive, and social realms.
In the cognitive area, the brain's prefrontal cortex as well as the limbic system undergoes important changes.
The limbic system is the part of the brain that modulates reward sensitivity based on changes in the levels of neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine) and emotions.
It is at the adult stage that we are better able to be better planners, process and comprehend abstract concepts, and evaluate risks and benefits more aptly than an adolescent or child would be able to.
