Non-Linguistic Representations

Research and Theory on Nonlinguistic Representations
Many psychologists adhere to what has been called the “dual-coding” theory of information storage (see Paivio, 1969, 1971, 1990). This theory postulates that knowledge is stored in two forms—a linguistic form and an imagery form. The linguistic mode is semantic in nature. As a metaphor, one might think of the linguistic mode as containing actual statements in long-term memory. The imagery mode, in contrast, is expressed as mental pictures or even physical sensations, such as smell, taste, touch, kinesthetic association, and sound (Richardson, 1983).
In this book, the imagery mode of representation is referred to as a nonlinguistic representation. The more we use both systems of representation—linguistic and nonlinguistic—the better we are able to think about and recall knowledge. This is particularly relevant to the classroom, because studies have consistently shown that the primary way we present new knowledge to students is linguistic. We either talk to them about the new content or have them read about the new content (see Flanders, 1970). This means that students are commonly left to their own devices to generate nonlinguistic representations. When teachers help students in this kind of work, however, the effects on achievement are strong. It has even been shown that explicitly engaging students in the creation of nonlinguistic representations stimulates and increases activity in the brain (see Gerlic & Jausovec, 1999).