parallel processing

information processing in which two or more sequences of operations are carried out simultaneously by independent processors. A capacity for parallel processing in the human brain would account for people’s apparent ability to carry on different cognitive functions at the same time, such as driving a car while also listening to music and having a conversation. The term is usually reserved for processing at a higher, symbolic level, as opposed to the level of individual neural units described in models of parallel distributed processing. Also called simultaneous processing. Compare serial processing.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

Estes–Skinner procedure

another name for conditioned suppression. [after William K. Estes and B. F. Skinner, who developed the technique in 1941]