Let’s take a look at information process theory. Compared to other learning theories, information processing theories give more emphasis to the internal processes that occur when training content is learned and retained.

Information processing begins when a message or stimulus (which could be a sound, smell, touch, or picture) from the environment is received by receptors (i.e., ears, nose, skin, and eyes). The message is registered in the senses and stored in short-term memory, and then it is transformed or coded for storage in long-term memory.

A search process occurs in memory, during which time a response to the message or stimulus is organized. The response generator organizes the learner’s response and tells the effectors (muscles) what to do.

The final link in the model is feedback from the environment. This feedback provides the learner with an evaluation of the response given. This information can come from another person or the learner’s observation of the results of his or her own action.

A positive evaluation of the response provides reinforcement that the behavior is desirable and should be stored in long-term memory for use in similar situations.