Development Of Mental Representation

There is a general and extensive literature in the development of representational thought and symbolic processes because of its centrality in human evolution. However, the umbrella of science and its method does not necessarily lead to a coherent conceptual model, or agreements among scholars. These basic differences among various disciplines have led to the creation of new and exciting realms of research. This book considers how representational or symbolic thought develops for children's use in a wide array of these circumstances.

Originally published in 1982, the editors felt that their field was clearly in need of explanatory accounts for many different areas. This volume presents statements of the status of research in several areas by scholars at the forefront of the discipline. It tries at the same time to juxtapose theoretical and experimental perspectives in order to display some of the major lines of tension in the field. Divided into 5 parts it covers: Theoretical Perspectives; Experimental Studies in Processing; Neuropsychological Studies in Processing; Studies in Development; followed by Commentary on some specific chapters.

The topic of this book is mental representation, a theoretical concept that lies at the core of cognitive science. Together with the idea that thinking is analogous to computational processing, this concept is responsible for the "cognitive turn" in the sciences of the mind and brain since the 1950s. Conceiving of cognitive processes (such as perception, reasoning, and motor control) as consisting of the manipulation of contentful vehicles that represent the world has led to tremendous empirical advancements in our explanations of behaviour. Perhaps the most famous discovery that explains behavior by appealing to the notion of mental representations was the discovery of 'place' cells that underlie spatial navigation and positioning, which earned researchers John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser, and Edvard I. Moser a joint Nobel Prize in 2014. And yet, despite the empirical importance of the concept, there is no agreed definition or theoretical understanding of mental representation. This book constitutes a state-of-the-art overview on the topic of mental representation, assembling some of the leading experts in the field and allowing them to engage in meaningful exchanges over some of the most contentious questions. The collection gathers both proponents and critics of the notion, making room for debates dealing with the theoretical and ontological status of representations, the possibility of formulating a general account of mental representation which would fit our best explanatory practices, and the possibility of delivering such an account in fully naturalistic terms. Some contributors explore the relation between mutually incompatible notions of mental representation, stemming from the different disciplines composing the cognitive sciences (such as neuroscience, psychology, and computer science). Others question the ontological status and explanatory usefulness of the notion. And finally, some try to sketch a general theory of mental representations that could face the challenges outlined in the more critical chapters of the volume.

There is a general and extensive literature in the development of representational thought and symbolic processes because of its centrality in human evolution. However, the umbrella of science and its method does not necessarily lead to a coherent conceptual model, or agreements among scholars. These basic differences among various disciplines have led to the creation of new and exciting realms of research. This book considers how representational or symbolic thought develops for children's use in a wide array of these circumstances.

This book is a result of a Cognitive Science program conducted to identify some of the leading issues and approaches that dominate in cognitive science research. The discussion is organized under four groups: psychological theories, mental representation, cognitive development, and semantic theory.

This is the first volume in the Counterpoints Series, which explores the issues being debated in psychology, child development, linguistics, and neuroscience. Each volume consists of the presentation of three or four extensive chapters by researchers representing key points of view on the issue. This text examines one of the liveliest areas of debate in psychology today, the relationship between perception and mental imagery. A variety of recent studies have pointed to the existence of a strong relationship between memory and mental representation, while others have shown that images are open to reinterpretation and manipulation, and are therefore not merely static impressions or mental representations of memories. Three core chapters by researchers in the midst of this debate--Maria Brandimonte, Geir Kaufmann, and Dan Reisberg--make up the central portion of this text. The first chapter is a historical overview of the problem as well as a review of the research in psychology and the argument as it has developed in related fields, such as philosophy and artificial intelligence. The last chapter pulls together all of the positions and points to new areas of research which may help uncover an explanation for the apparent contradictions in the research. Students and researchers in psychology and cognitive psychology will benefit from this comprehensive look at this heated debate.

..". an excellent collection... " -- Journal of Language Social Psychology An important collection of original essays by well-known scholars debating the questions of logical versus psychologically-based interpretations of language.

A model of writing in cognitive development, Understanding the Representational Mind synthesizes the burgeoning literature on the child's theory of mind to provide an integrated account of children's understanding of representational and mental processes, which is crucial in their acquisition of our commonsense psychology.