How Important Are Mental Representations in Cognitive Theories
HOW IMPORTANT ARE MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS IN COGNITIVE THEORIES?
How the world around us is represented mentally is the corner stone of cognitive architectures. It facilitates understanding of information received and perceived from our environment. The storage and retrieval of knowledge would be impossible without mental representations.
Mental representations are the way in which we create copies' of the real things around us, which we perceive. A description of a representation is a symbol, sign, image or a depiction that takes the place of a real object in the real world.
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Representations were broadly categorised into three. The analogue representation' the propositional representation' and procedural rules'. Analogue representations are those which have an image-like copy quality to them, whereas the propositional representation are based on language-like constructs. Since the arrival of connectionism another representation has been proposed that of sub-symbolic representation. Here mental representations, according to Eysenk and Keane (2002) are "distributed" patterns of activation in a connectivist network.
Historically, mental representations have been interpreted by analogy with physical representations, i.e. descriptions and classifications devised for physical representations have been applied to mental representations (Paivio, 1986). Physical representations can be picture-like or language-like (see Table).
Physical and mental representations physical representations picture-like language-like examples photographs drawings maps diagrams human-language formal systems: maths, symbolic logic computer programs properties analogue iconic continuous non-analogue non-iconic digital/discrete
Table: Types of physical representations (after Paivio, 1986)
The representations need then to be categorised for storage in long -term memory. These packages' of knowledge are classed as being either procedural knowledge or
How the world around us is represented mentally is the corner stone of cognitive architectures. It facilitates understanding of information received and perceived from our environment. The storage and retrieval of knowledge would be impossible without mental representations.
Mental representations are the way in which we create copies' of the real things around us, which we perceive. A description of a representation is a symbol, sign, image or a depiction that takes the place of a real object in the real world.
.
Representations were broadly categorised into three. The analogue representation' the propositional representation' and procedural rules'. Analogue representations are those which have an image-like copy quality to them, whereas the propositional representation are based on language-like constructs. Since the arrival of connectionism another representation has been proposed that of sub-symbolic representation. Here mental representations, according to Eysenk and Keane (2002) are "distributed" patterns of activation in a connectivist network.
Historically, mental representations have been interpreted by analogy with physical representations, i.e. descriptions and classifications devised for physical representations have been applied to mental representations (Paivio, 1986). Physical representations can be picture-like or language-like (see Table).
Physical and mental representations physical representations picture-like language-like examples photographs drawings maps diagrams human-language formal systems: maths, symbolic logic computer programs properties analogue iconic continuous non-analogue non-iconic digital/discrete
Table: Types of physical representations (after Paivio, 1986)
The representations need then to be categorised for storage in long -term memory. These packages' of knowledge are classed as being either procedural knowledge or
References: Anderson, J. (1983). The Architecture of Cognition Harvard University Press Anzai, Y., and Simon, H.A. (1979). The Theory of Learning by Doing. Psychological Review 86 124 – 180 Collins,A & Quillian,M.R. (1969) ‘Retrival time from semantic memory ' Journal of Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Behaviour, 8, 240-7 Eysenck, M.W., (2000). Everyday memory. In Eysenck, M.W., & Keane, M.T., Cognitive Psychology : A Student 's Handbook 4thedn. Hove, UK: Psychology Press Rumelhart,D.E. and Norman,D.A (1983) ‘Representation in memory in R.C. Atkinson ed Handbook of Experimental Psychology, Wiley and Sons. Rumelhart,Smolensky,McClelland & Hinton 1986