Information processing (psychology)

Information processing refers to how our brain takes in information from our senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, touch) and turns it into something we can understand and remember. Imagine your brain is like a big computer that helps you think and make sense of everything you experience.

First, your senses pick up information from your environment. For example, you might see a red ball or hear a dog barking. This information then travels to your brain as electrical signals.

Next, your brain works to make sense of that information. It takes the different parts of the information and puts them together to form a bigger picture. So if you see a ball rolling towards you, you might recognize that it’s a red ball and that it’s moving.

Your brain then uses its memory to compare this new information with things you already know. For example, you might remember that the last time you saw a ball, it bounced. So now you might expect this red ball to bounce too.

Finally, your brain decides how to respond to this information. If the ball is headed your way, you might decide to catch it. If the dog barking is getting too loud and scary, you might choose to walk away.

Overall, information processing is like a complex computer program that our brain runs every time we encounter something new. It helps us understand and remember the world around us, and to make decisions based on that information.