What's in a Representation, Why Do We Care, and What Does It Mean? Examining Evidence from Psychology (1997)
article⁄What's in a Representation, Why Do We Care, and What Does It Mean? Examining Evidence from Psychology (1997)
abstract⁄This paper examines psychological evidence on the nature and role of representations in cognition. Bothinternal mental and external physical or digital representations are considered. It is discovered that bothtypes of representation are deeply linked to thought processes. They are linked to learning, the ability to useexisting knowledge, and problem solving strategies. The links between representations, thought processes,and behavior are so deep that even eye movements are partly governed by representations. Choice ofrepresentations can affect limited cognitive resources like attention and shortterm memory by forcing aperson to try to utilize poorly organized information or perform ’translations’ from one representation toanother. The implications of this evidence are discussed. Based on these findings, a set of guidelines ispresented, for digital representations which minimize drain of cognitive resources. These guidelinesdescribe what sorts of characteristics and behaviors a representation should exhibit, and what sorts ofinformation it should contain in order to accommodate and facilitate design. Current attempts to implementsuch representations are discussed.
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| Year |
1997 |
| Authors |
Johnson, Scott. |
| Issue |
Design and Representation |
| Pages |
5-15 |
| Library link |
J. Peter Jordan, Bettina Mehnert & Anton Harfmann, 1997. bib⁄Design and Representation. ACADIA. |
| Entry filename |
what-s-representation-why-do-we |
