Allan Paivio’s Double Coding Theory
Double coding theory is a cognitive theory developed by Allan Paivio in 1971. It is based on the idea that mental image formation promotes learning. Thus, this theory asserts that it is possible to stimulate learning and expand study material through verbal associations and visual images.
Our cognition is a complex process. She is able to simultaneously process language input and non-verbal objects and / or events. According to Allan Paivio’s Double Coding Theory, our language system directly processes linguistic input and output using symbolic images to adjust behavior and event. It therefore has a dual functionality.
The double coding theory
According to Paivio, there are two ways to amplify what one has learned: with verbal associations and with visual images. Double coding theory tells us that information, both visual and verbal, is used to represent information. Visual and verbal information is processed in different ways and in different channels of the human mind. Therefore, this results in separate representations for the information processed in each channel.
The mental codes that correspond to these representations are used to organize the incoming information that can be stored, retrieved and even modified for later use. To remember information, we can use both visual and verbal codes. Furthermore, coding a stimulus in two different ways increases the possibility of remembering a memorized item.
There are three different types of processing in double coding theory: representational processing, referential processing, and associative processing. In the majority of cases, all three forms are needed, subconsciously, when it comes to a specific task. A given task may require only one of these treatments or all three combined.
Paivio also postulated that there were two types of representative units. These are “images” for mental images and “logogens” for verbal entities. Logogens organize themselves in terms of associations and hierarchies, while images organize themselves in terms of part-whole relationships.
- We speak of representational processing when verbal or non-verbal representations are activated directly
- The processing is referential when the activation of the verbal system occurs through the non-verbal system or vice versa
- The processing is associative when the representations are activated within the same system -verbal or non-verbal-
Comments on the double coding theory
There is some controversy over the limitations of Allan Paivio’s double coding theory. For example, this theory does not take into account the possibility that cognition is done through something other than words or pictures. There hasn’t been enough research done to determine if words and pictures are the only way to make us remember things. In fact, if one discovered another form of code, the theory would become more important.
Another limitation of double coding theory is that it is only valid for tests where people are asked to focus in order to identify how the concepts relate to each other. If one cannot form associations between a word and an image, codification is more difficult. It is also difficult to remember the word at a later time. This limits the effectiveness of the double coding theory.
Finally, this theory is not accepted by all. John Anderson and Gordon Bower proposed propositional theory as an alternative to the mental representation of knowledge. Propositional theory asserts that mental representations are stored as propositions and not as images. Here, the proposition is defined as the meaning underlying the relation between the concepts. This theory asserts that images result from other cognitive processes because knowledge is not represented in the form of images, words or symbols.
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