Processing of Information Information received through the senses needs to be inter-
preted and processed: letters of the alphabet or symbols must be converted into some
meaning; what the sound of an alarm means must be recalled. The processing of
information in the brain involves understanding the meaning of the stimuli, long-term and
short-term memory, problem solving, making judgments, and deciding. Not only would
the sound of 500 alarms in a nuclear power plant control room create sensory overload,
it would produce processing overload. When there are multiple elements of information
coming in, one must prioritize them and select which is the most important.