Characteristics of Symbol System

Salomon, G. (1982) The interaction of media, cognition and learning. An exploration of how symbolic forms cultivate mental skills and affect knowledge acquisition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Annotated Link

Symbols and Symbol System

• Symbols is defined as anything that can convey information, allow the extract of some semantic knowledge

• Syntactic rules combine symbols into schemes

• Scheme can apply to field of reference / field of reference is denoted by scheme

• Scheme + field of reference together becomes a symbol system (e.g.: Musiical performance is the field of reference for musical notation)

• Field of reference itself can be a symbol system

• Modes of symbol combination (e.g.: sequence of symbols) is also related to relationship among the denoted referents

Logical Analysis of Symbol System

Notationality of a system

• Notational: Both the element and the referents need to be disjoint and segregated

• Non-notational / dense: A system that entails unsegregated elements with not well segregated field of reference.

Description, Depiction, and Expression

• Eisner (1970)'s four classes (from description to depiction)

  1. Conventional symbols: Arbitary forms taken to repsent an event / idea

  2. Qualitative symbols: Form with physionomic property of the symbol envoking intended qualities / feeling.

  3. Connotative symbols: Form with morphological distortions to porduce emphasis

  4. Representational symbols: Forms represent the empirical aspect of reality

• Goodman argues that

  1. resemblance is not required for description and depiction. For example, a picture depicting statesman as a lion represent statement without resembling him. But the same picture does not representthe animal.

  2. Characteristics of notationality and its correlates distinguish depiction vs. description. (Nonnotational / dense system depict/represent and notation system describe)

• Expression:

  • Based on properties that the symbol possess

  • The symbol also must exemplify a quality metaphorically

Psychological Treatment of Description vs. Depiction

• Author deviating from Goodman's view, resemblance is very important in description vs. depiction

• Referrents is normally not the actual object, but mental images / internal representation of the object

• Symbolic presentation is more similar to the referent then the opposite (A picture of a dog is more smilar to dog then dog to the picture)

• Internal representation is constructed by preexisting encounters / knowledge

Main Takeaway

• Notational qualities determine it depict or describe

• Structural congruity with internal representations determine how realistic the depiction is or how iconic the description is.