dual coding theory

Dual-coding theoryFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dual-coding theory, a theory of cognition, was hypothesized by Allan Paivio of the University of WesternOntario in 1971. Paivio used the idea that the formation of mental images aids in learning when developing thistheory (Reed, 2010). According to Paivio, there are two ways a person could expand on learned material: verbalassociations and visual imagery. Dual-coding theory postulates that both visual and verbal information is usedto represent information (Sternberg, 2003). Visual and verbal information are processed differently and alongdistinct channels in the human mind, creating separate representations for information processed in eachchannel. The mental codes corresponding these representations are used to organize incoming information thatcan be acted upon, stored, and retrieved for subsequent use. Both visual and verbal codes can be used whenrecalling information (Sternberg, 2003). For example, say a person has stored the stimulus concept, “dog” asboth the word 'dog' and as the image of a dog. When asked to recall the stimulus, the person can retrieve eitherthe word or the image individually or both, simultaneously. If the word is recalled, the image of the dog is notlost and can still be retrieved at a later point in time. The ability to code a stimulus two different ways increasesthe chance of remembering that item compared to if the stimulus was only coded one way.

There are limitations to the dual-coding theory. Dual-coding theory does not take into account the possibility ofcognition being mediated by something other than words and images. Not enough research has been done todetermine if words and images are the only way we remember items, and the theory would not hold true ifanother form of codes were discovered (Pylyshyn, 1973). Another limitation of the dual-coding theory is that itis only valid in for tests on which people are asked to focus on identifying how concepts are related (Reed,2010). If associations between a word and an image cannot be formed, it is much harder to remember and recallthe word at a later point in time. While this limits the effectiveness of the dual-coding theory, it is still validover a wide range of circumstances and can be used to improve memory (Reed, 2010).

Contents

1 Types of Codes2 Support for this theory

2.1 Psychology Support2.2 Cognitive Neuroscience Support

3 Alternative Theory4 For further reading5 References6 External links

Types of CodesAnalogue codes are used to mentally represent images. Analogue codes retain the main perceptual features ofwhatever is being represented, so the images we form in our minds are highly similar to the physical stimuli.They are a near-exact representation of the physical stimuli we observe in our environment, such as trees andrivers (Sternberg, 2003).

Symbolic codes are used to for mental representations of words. They represent something conceptually, and

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sometimes, arbitrarily, as opposed to perceptually. Similar to the way a watch may represent information in theform of numbers to display the time, symbolic codes represent information in our mind in the form of arbitrarysymbols, like words and combinations of words, to represent several ideas. Each symbol (x, y, 1, 2, etc.) canarbitrarily represent something other than itself. For instance, the letter x is often used to represent more thanjust the concept of an x, the 24th letter of the alphabet. It can be used to represent a variable x in mathematics,or a multiplication symbol in an equation. Concepts like multiplication can be represented symbolically by an"x" because we arbitrarily assign it a deeper concept. Only when we use it to represent this deeper concept doesthe letter "x" carry this type of meaning.

Support for this theory

Psychology Support

Many researchers today have agreed that only words and images are used in mental representation (Pylyshyn,1973). Supporting evidence shows that memory for some verbal information is enhanced if a relevant visual isalso presented or if the learner can imagine a visual image to go with the verbal information. Likewise, visualinformation can often be enhanced when paired with relevant verbal information, whether real-world orimagined (Anderson & Bower, 1973). This theory has been applied to the use of multimedia presentations.Because multimedia presentations require both spatial and verbal working memory, individuals dually codeinformation presented and are more likely to recall the information when tested at a later date (Brunye, Taylor,& Rapp, 2008).

Paivio found that participants when shown a rapid sequence of pictures as well as a rapid sequence of wordsand later asked to recall the words and pictures, in any order, were better at recalling images. Participants,however, more readily recalled the sequential order of the words, rather than the sequence of pictures. Theseresults supported Paivio's hypothesis that verbal information is processed differently than visual informationand that verbal information was superior to visual information when sequential order was also required for thememory task (Paivio, 1969). Lee Brooks conducted an experiment that provided additional support for twosystems for memory. He had participants perform either a visual task, where they had to view a picture andanswer questions about the picture, or a verbal task, where they listened to a sentence and were then asked toanswer questions pertaining to the sentence. To respond to the questions, participants were asked to eitherrespond verbally, visually, or manually. Through this experiment, Brooks found that interference occurred whena visual perception was mixed with manipulation of the visual task, and verbal responses interfere with a taskinvolving a verbal statement to be manually manipulated. This supported the idea of two codes used to mentallyrepresent information (Sternberg 2003).

Working memory as proposed by Alan Baddeley includes a two-part processing system with a visuospatialsketchpad and a phonological loop which essentially maps to Paivio’s theory.

Dual-coding theories complement a dual-route theory of reading. When people read written information,dual-route theory contends that the readers access orthographic and phonological information to recognizewords in the writing.

Paivio’s work has implications for literacy, visual mnemonics, idea generation, HPT, human factors, interfacedesign, as well as the development of educational materials among others. It also has implications for, andcounterparts in, cognitive sciences and computational cognitive modeling (in the form of dual process cognitivemodels and so on; e.g., Anderson, 2005; Just et al., 2004, Sun, 2002). It also has had implications for cognitiverobotics.


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Cognitive Neuroscience Support

Two different methods have been used to identify the regions involved in visual perception and visual imagery.Cerebral blood flow allows researchers to identify the amount of blood and oxygen travelling to a specific partof the brain, with an increase in blood flow providing a measure of brain activity. An event related potential canbe used to show the amount of electrical brain activity that is occurring due to a particular stimulus. Researchershave used both methods to determine which areas of the brain are active with different stimuli, and results havesupported the dual-coding theory. Other research has been done with positron emission tomography (PET)scans and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show that participants had improved memory forspoken words and sentences when paired with an image, imagined or real, and showed increased brainactivation to process abstract words not easily paired with an image.

Alternative TheoryDual-coding theory is not accepted by everyone. John Anderson and Gordon Bower proposed an alternativemethod - the propositional theory - of how knowledge is mentally represented. The propositional theory claimsthat mental representations are stored as propositions rather than as images. Here, proposition is defined as themeaning that underlies the relationship between concepts (Sternberg, 2003). This theory states that imagesoccur as a result of other cognitive processes because knowledge is not represented in the form of images,words, or symbols.

The common coding theory has also been proposed as an alternative to dual coding theory. The common codingtheory looks at how things we see and hear are connected to our motor actions. It claims that there is a commoncode that is shared between perceiving something and the respective motor action.

For further reading

Multimedia Learning

References

Anderson, J. R. (2005). Cognitive Psychology and its implications. New York: Worth Publishers.Anderson, J. R. & Bower, G. H. (1973). Human associative memory. Washington, DC: Winston.Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Brunye, T. T., Taylor, H. A., & Rapp, D. N. (2008). Repetition and dual coding in procedural multimediapresentations. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22, 877-895.Denis, M. and Mellet, E. (2002). Neural bases of image and language interactions. International Journalof Psychology, 37 (4), 204-208.Just, M. et al. (2004). Imagery in sentence comprehension: an fMRI study. NeuroImage 21, 112-124.Mayer, R. E. & Moreno, R. (2003). Nine ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning.Educational Psychologist, 38(1), 43-52.Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). A coherence effect in multimedia learning: the case for minimizingirrelevant sounds in the design of multimedia instructional messages. Journal of Educational Psychology,92, 117-125.Paivio, A (1969). Mental Imagery in associative learning and memory. Psychological Review, 76(3),241-263.Paivio, A (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.


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Paivio, A (1986). Mental representations: a dual coding approach. Oxford. England: Oxford UniversityPress.Sternberg, Robert J. (2006). Cognitive psychology fourth edition. Thomson Wadsworth. pp. 234–36.ISBN 0-534-51421-9.Pylyshyn, Z. W. (1973). What the mind's eye tells the mind's brain: A critique of mental imagery.Psychological Bulletin, 80, 1-24.Reed, S. K. (2010). Cognition: Theories and application (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth CengageLearning.Sternberg, R. J. (2003). Cognitive theory (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.Sun, R. (2002). Duality of the Mind. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Thomas, N. J.T., "Mental imagery", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2011 Edition),Edward N Zalta (ed.).

External links

Multiple Code Theory (http://www.thereferentialprocess.org/theory/multiple-code-theory)

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