Complexity Of Mental Representations Research Articles

Animal thought exceeds language-of-thought.

Quilty-Dunn et al. claim that all complex infant and animal reasoning implicate language-of-thought hypothesis (LOTH)-like structures. We agree with the authors that the mental life of animals can be explained in representationalist terms, but we disagree with their idea that the complexity of mental representations is best explained by appealing to abstract concepts, and instead, we explain that it doesn't need to.

Social Cognition and Levels of Personality Organization in Patients With Somatoform Disorders

Social cognition and its association with level of personality organization (PO) were examined in 163 patients with severe somatoform disorders (SFDs) and 151 psychiatric (PSA) control patients. Social cognition was measured with the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale, which assessed both affective and cognitive facets of social cognition. Levels of PO were assessed using theory-driven profiles of the Dutch Short Form of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The SFD patients exhibited impairments in the cognitive facets of social cognition but not more so than the PSA controls. The results for the affective aspects indicated that the SFD patients exhibited lower levels of emotional investment yet higher affect tone in interactions than the PSA controls. In contrast to the control group, level of PO was not associated with social cognition in SFD. Together, the results indicated that impairments in complexity of mental representations are not specific to SFD patients, yet impairments in emotional investment may be specific to SFD.

Optimising the use of note‐taking as an external cognitive aid for increasing learning

AbstractTaking notes is of uttermost importance in academic and commercial use and success. Different techniques for note‐taking utilise different cognitive processes and strategies. This experimental study examined ways to enhance cognitive performance via different note‐taking techniques. By comparing performances of traditional, linear style note‐taking with alternative non‐linear technique, we aimed to examine the efficiency and importance of different ways of taking notes. Twenty‐six volunteer adult learners from an information management course participated in this study. Cognitive performance scores from a traditional linear note‐taking group were compared with another group by using a commercially available non‐linear note‐taking technique. Both groups were tested in two settings: after a classroom lecture and a panel forum discussion. Tasks included measures on story comprehension, memory, complexity of mental representations and metacognitive skills. Data analysis revealed that the non‐linear note‐takers were significantly better than the linear group both in terms of the quantity and the quality of the learned material. This study demonstrates the importance of using cognitively compatible note‐taking techniques. It identifies the cognitive mechanisms behind effective note‐taking and knowledge representation. Using such techniques enables deeper understanding and more integrated knowledge management.

Seeing close others as we see ourselves: One’s own self-complexity is reflected in perceptions of meaningful others

Although past research has established a correspondence between the content of knowledge about the self and close others, the current work evaluated the prediction that the self-concept also influences the structure of these perceptions. Specifically, we expected greater correspondence in the complexity of mental representations between the self and others included in the self. In Study 1, we found that self-complexity was related to the perceived complexity of a close other and that this outcome did not reflect a general tendency to perceive the world in a systematically complex or simple fashion (i.e., cognitive complexity). In Study 2, we found that the correspondence between self-complexity and complexity of representations of others increased for individuals more included in the self. Finally in Study 3, we observed that experimentally manipulating inclusion of other in the self resulted in perceived structural similarity between representations of the self and others. Implications of self-concept representation for social relationships are discussed.