Components of Human Information Processing Human information processing, propelled by the birth of computers after World War II, provided a framework for how the human mind processed information, generated cognitive structures to be stored in memory, or translated into behaviors such as understanding, speaking language, and solving problems. The information received by the mind experiences a series of transformations until data can be permanently stored in memory. According to the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, information enters memory first through the five senses or sensory memory and holds the information temporarily where aspects of selective attention, automaticity, and pattern recognition occur. Then it enters short-term or working memory where it can be rehearsed, expanded through chunking, or encoded. At this stage the information is being controlled for a response or transferred into long-term memory where it becomes permanent and is incapable of being lost.
Information now takes the form of episodic or semantic memory.
Episodic memory focuses on specific events, while semantic memory is associated with the use of language and has the most interest from educators. The propositional or semantic network models describe the representation of larger organizations known as schema. Bartlett discovered and defined schema as an active organization of past reactions that must be considered when an organized and dedicated response is made. Long-term memory also takes form in visual imagery although not all psychologists consider this as a distinct form of information storage. In conclusion, once information is stored in long-term memory it may be retrieved for use, take longer to retrieve, or is forgotten altogether.