Representational Types: A Tricode Proposal.
Abstract
Certain mental processes only apply to certain knowledge structures. It is proposed that we consider a distinct representation type to exist if a set of structures have the same processes defined on them. This principle is applied in a production system framework in which the relevant cognitive processes are those which interface declarative memory and production memory with working memory. Numerous empirical phenomena point to the existence of at least three representational types. There are temporal strings, which encode ordinal information about the sequence of a set of events, spatial images, which store information about the spatial configuration of a set of objects, and abstract propositions, which encode abstract relations among objects. These three types of knowledge are treated distinctly by the processes that match production conditions and execute production actions. However, the three types are treated rather similarly with respect to storage and retrieval from declarative memory. These storage and retrieval processes treat from declarative memory. These storage and retrieval processes treat small knowledge chunks, called cognitive units, in an all-or-none manner. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 10, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA116887
Entities
People
- John R. Anderson
Organizations
- Carnegie Mellon University