Dual Coding Theory
Cognition according to DCT involves the activity of two distinct subsystems,
shown in Figure 1, a verbal system specialized for dealing directly with language
and a nonverbal (imagery) system specialized for dealing with nonlinguistic
objects and events. The systems are assumed to be composed of internal
representational units, called logogens and imagens, that are activated when one
recognizes, manipulates, of just thinks about words or things. The representations
are modality -specific, so that we have different logogens and imagens
corresponding to the visual, auditory, and haptic (feel), and motor properties of
language and objects.The representations are connected to sensory input and
response output systems as well as to each other so that they can function
independently or cooperatively to mediate nonverbal and verbal behavior. The
representational activity may or may not be experienced consciously as imagery
and inner speech.