Mental Representation COGPSY: UNIT V PDF

# Mental Representation ## COGPSY: UNIT V ## Knowledge Representation - The form of what you know in your mind about things, ideas, events, and so on, in the outside world. - **Mental representation** - the way in which information, knowledge, and experiences are stored and organized in the mind. -...

# Mental Representation ## COGPSY: UNIT V ## Knowledge Representation - The form of what you know in your mind about things, ideas, events, and so on, in the outside world. - **Mental representation** - the way in which information, knowledge, and experiences are stored and organized in the mind. - **Knowledge representation** - the way knowledge is structured, organized, and stored in the mind. - Involves how information about the world, such as facts, concepts, rules, and procedures. ## Mental Representation of Knowledge ### 2 Kinds of Knowledge Structures #### Declarative Knowledge - Knowledge that - Facts that can be stated - Example: birthday, name of your friend, the way rabbit looks. #### Procedural Knowledge - Knowing how - Knowledge of procedures that can be implemented. - Example: steps involved in tying your shoelaces, adding a column of numbers, driving a car. ## Communicating Knowledge - Knowledge can be presented in different ways in your mind. - It can be stores as a mental picture or in words. ## Cognitive psychologists chiefly are interested in our internal, mental representations of what we know. ## Internal Representation - These are mental representations that exist in the mind. - They are internal constructs that allow individuals to think about and manipulate information without relying on the external world. - **Location:** Inside the mind (mental or cognitive representations) - **Form:** Abstract (thoughts, images, concepts, schemas) - **Manipulation:** Mentally manipulated through cognition. ## External Representations - These are physical symbols or objects in the environment that represent information. - Can be interacted with directly. - **Location:** Outside the mind (in the physical environment) - **Form:** Concrete (symbols, diagrams, texts, objects) - **Manipulation:** Physically manipulated or viewed. ## Symbolic Representation - The use of symbols - abstracts, discrete units of information, to represent objects, concepts, or processes: - These symbols stand for something other than themselves. - They can be manipulated mentally to perform various cognitive tasks, such as reasoning, problem-solving, and communication. ## 2 Key Characteristics of Symbolic Representation: 1. **Abstract** - the symbol doesn't physically resemble what it represents. 2. **Arbitrary** - something that is based on personal choice, random decision, or an agreement. ## Picture in your Mind: Mental Imagery ## Imagery - The mental representation of things that are not currently seen or sensed by the sense organs. - In our minds, we often have images for objects, events, and settings. - May involve mental representations in any of the sensory modalities, such as hearing, smell, or taste. - **Visual imagery** - what most research on imagery in cognitive psychology has focused on. - Representation of objects or setting that are not presently visible to the eyes. - Used to solve problems and to answer questions involving objects. ## Mental Imagery - Can represent things that you have never experienced. - May represent things that do not exist at all outside the mind of the person creating the image. ## Dual-Code Theory: Analog and Symbolic Codes ### Dual-Code Theory - We use both pictorial and verbal codes for representing information in our minds. - The two codes organize information into knowledge that can be acted on, stored somehow, and later retrieved for subsequent use. - Pavio said that mental images are analog codes. - **Analog codes** - resemble the objects they are representing. - Symbolic code - a form of knowledge representation that has been chosen arbitrary to stand for something that does not perceptually resemble what is being represented. - A form of knowledge representation that has been chosen arbitrarily to stand for something that does not perceptually resemble what is being represented. ## Mental Manipulations of Images ### Mental Rotations - Involves rotationally transforming an object's visual metal image. ### Image Scaling - A key cognitive skill that allows people to manipulate mental images by zooming in and out. - Facilitating a flexible understanding of both detailed components and larger contexts within visual-spatial reasoning. ### Image Scanning - The cognitive process of mentally inspecting and moving through a mental image, much like how you would visually scan an actual picture or scene. ### Representational Neglect - A condition in which individuals neglect one side of the mental image or cognitive maps, their internal, mental representation of space, rather than the physical environment. ### Spatial Cognition - The mental processes and abilities involved acquiring, organizing, and utilizing spatial information. - Encompasses a broader range of functions, including perception, memory, reasoning, and navigation in both real and imagined spaces. ### Cognitive Map - A mental representation of spatial information that helps individuals visualize and understand the layout of their environment. - Includes knowledge about locations, distance, and relationships between different objects or places. ## Human seem to use 3 types of knowledge when forming and using cognitive maps: 1. **Landmark knowledge** - Information about particular features at a location and which may be based on both imaginal and propositional representations. 2. **Route-road knowledge** - Involves specific pathways for moving from one location to another. 3. **Survey knowledge** - Involves estimated distances between landmarks, much as they might appear on survey maps.