mental representation

Question 1

external representation
- what is it
- give an example

symbolic representation
- what is it
- give an example

Answer 1

pictures versus words - just a representation

ex: describing a car using words or images ; either way, none of the descriptions has an engine or drives, its just a representation

symbolic representation - the relationship between a word and what it represents is arbitrary

ex: all languages have a different word for “dog”

Question 2

mental imagery
- what is it and what are examples

Answer 2

mental representation of things that are not currently being sensed

• things that have occurred
  ex: what you had for dinner last night
• things that have not occurred
  ex: hopes for future and imagination

Question 3

applications to mental imagery

Answer 3

guided imagery
- pain control
- strengthening immune system

Question 4

dual code theory
- what are the two codes
- what is support for it
- what are limitations

Answer 4

1. mental images are analogue codes
   ex: hands on a clock are a representation of the passing of time
2. words are symbolic codes
   ex: words and numbers are arbitrary representations

empirical support:
- when shown a rapid sequence of words and images, participants did better at random recall for images and sequenced recall for words

limitations:
- mental images are not always precise

Question 5

propositional theory
- what is it
- what are limitations
- examples

Answer 5

we do not store information as images but rater as generic codes called “propositional”

brain stores deep meaning, not exact words/images

mental imagery can be directly manipulated
ex: if you have a capital D and rotate it to the left 90 degrees. then add a J underneath. (gets more difficult when the degree of rotation is closer to 180)

limitations:
- its an active process
- RT are proportional to degree of rotation (mental rotation tasks)

Question 6

what is the functional equivalence hypothesis

Answer 6

mental images are internal representations that work in a way that is analogous to the functioning of the perception of physical objects

• mental rotation
• image scaling
• image scanning

Question 7

what is image scaling
- give an example

Answer 7

we answer questions more quickly for large objects than small
- takes longer to describe details of smaller objects (for all pairs, even elephant sized fly)

Question 8

what is image scanning
- give an example

Answer 8

images are scanned in much the same way as real objects are by our visual system

ex: it takes longer to scan across longer distances

given a “map” with different landmarks, it may be easier to scan between two close landmarks than two far away ones

Question 9

cognitive maps
- list three examples and what they are

Answer 9

1. Tolmans rats
   (3 conditions, the rats in condition 3 who were not reinforced until day 11 learned the map quicker)
2. Thorndyke - humans
   - we use landmarks, roads and routes, and survey knowledge (estimated distances between landmarks) to create maps
3. Von Frisch - bees
   - waggle dance
   - bees use a waggling of their bodies to instruct their friends where the nectar is in relation to the sun