PSYB57H3 Study Guide - Final Guide: Literal And Figurative Language, Mental Rotation, Mnemonic
Document Summary
Alan paivio introduced the dual-coding theory, where humans have 2 systems for representing events (verbal and non-verbal) The system used depends on the nature of the information. The units that compose the verbal system are called logogens (information underlying use of words) The units that compose the non-verbal system are called imagens (information that generates mental images) Imagens operate synchronously (they are all available for inspection immediately) Information contained in one system can give rise to processes in the other. Ex a verbal description (dining room) can elicit a mental image (the table) and vice versa (referential connections) The ease with which something can elicit a mental image is called imagery. Paivio thought that words which easily elicit an image are concrete, while words that don"t easily elicit an image are abstract. Concreteness defines the degree in which a word refers to concrete objects, places, things, people etc. In his studies, he found that imagery and concreteness are highly correlated.
