Chapter 3- Symbols and Rate Enhancement Flashcards
Symbol
Something that stands for or represents something else, the referent
Referent
That which a symbols represents
Symbols can be described in terms of characteristics, including
1/ realism 2/ iconicity 3/ ambiguiyt 4/ complexity 5/ figure-ground differential 6/ perceptual distinctness 7/ acceptability 8/ efficiency 9/ colour 10/ size
Iconicity
Any association that an individual forms between a symbol and its referent
Continuum from transparent to opaque
Transparent
Symbols in which the shape, motion, or function of the referent is depicted to such an extent that meaning of the symbol can be readily guessed in the absence of the referent
Opaque
Symbols in which no symbol-referent relationship is perceived even when the meaning of the symbol is known
Translucent
Symbols in which the meaning of the referent may or may not be obvious, but a relationship can be perceived between the symbol and the referent once the meaning is provided (e.g. flat hand gesture for “stop”)
Aided symbols
Require some type of external assistance such as a device for production. e.g. real objects, black-and-white line drawings
Unaided symbols
Require no external device for production. e.g. facial expressions, manual signs, natural speech and vocalizations
Combined symbol sets
Incorporation of both aided and unaided elements.
Symbol understanding - development
Meaning of symbol mediated by various factors intrinsic to viewer
- motivation
- neurological status
- developmental age
- sensory abilities
- cognitive skills
- communication/language abilities
- world experience
culture, time, experience
_______ plays a critical role in symbol learning process
Spoken language comprehension
How developmental age affects symbol understanding
Degree of iconicity does not facilitate meaning in 18-month olds, but does in 26-month-olds
“Pictorial competence” – the ability to perceive, interpret, understand, and use pictures communicatively, develops gradually over the first few years of life
Until end of second year, TD children respond to pictures as they would objects, by trying to grasp them
It is not until around age 3 that children begin to understand
1/ pictures are two-dimensional objects in their own right (dual representation)
2/ pictures can stand for objects or concepts (they are symbols)
3/ referents can be depicted symbolically in multiple ways (colour photograph, b/w line drawing)
The ability to comprehend and use a variety of symbol types continues to develop until..
at around age 5, children are able to consider attributes of the symbol producer as well (e.g. matching crudely drawn and sophisticated symbols with pictures of children and adults, respectively)
Pictorial competence does not emerge…
uniformly for all symbols.
happy before sad, angry, scared/afraid
nouns before verbs, descriptors, wh- questions
Children’s drawings of concepts tend to …
- be different from commercially available symbo lsets
- include familiar people
- embed concepts in contexts
Developmentally Appropriate Symbols
The _______ value of a referent is also likely to affect its learnability
reinforcement
abstract symbol for highly desired item may be learned more readily than highly guessable symbol for a less desirable item
Children’s ability to identify and generalize symbols that depict abstract linguistic concepts can be affected by factors such as
- Concreteness
- Familiarity
- Context
- Wholeness
- Colour
- Focus
Concreteness
Clearly depicted people and/or observable activities
Familiarity
Symbols depicting familiar activities in context
Wholeness
Symbols depicting complete people or object rather than elements or parts that are separated/disjoined
Colour
Symbols that use bright colours to highlight contrasts and details are more easily discriminated and more interesting
Focus
Symbols that emphasize relevant characteristics via size and position of characters or objects, vs. use of arrows or other markers to draw attention to relevant details