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Allan Paivio


Paivio received his masters and Ph.D from McGill University and worked with Dr. Wallace Labert on bilingual processing during his graduate studies. As part of his graduate work Paivio worked with Lambert and conducted a study which examined recall by looking at the differences between the adjective-noun order and the noun-adjective order as indicators. Paivio and Lambert found evidence supporting nouns and modifying adjectives being learned more easily when the adjectives are listed ahead of the nouns rather than after them. A table is provided to the right showing the results from the study.

After Paivio graduated he taught at the University of Western Ontario from 1963 until his retirement. In 1963, Paivio investigated whether learning adjective-nouns pairs is effected by the degree a noun is abstract. Previous literature had shown that physical nouns are more meaningful and easier to remember then abstract nouns or adjectives. The study by Paivio gave further evidence that concrete nouns can be more easily learned then abstract nouns. The study also confirmed that noun-adjective pairs were more easily learned in the noun-adjective order because nouns can only provoke a few different adjectives and the adjectives of the same pairs can elicit many alternate nouns. Therefore, the noun-adjective order and easier to remember and learn.

Dual Coding Theory

Paivio conducted experiments on the role of imagery in associative learning, which led to his discovery of dual coding theory (DCT). In 1967 the theory was first addressed to the Canadian Psychological Association and was presented more in depth in reviews in 1969 and 1971. In 1991, Paivio assessed the previous and current status of his dual coding theory. He also addressed criticisms and alternate views on the theory. Dual-coding theory was the first systematic objective approach to the study of imagery and its functions. Dual coding theory has some system level assumptions. The verbal and nonverbal systems are functionally independent, but interconnected. There are three different levels of processing: representational processing, referential processing, and associative processing. Verbal systems generate sequential structures and nonverbal transformations are governed by the structural and processing constraints of nonverbal representations. Dual-coding theory developed from conceptual-peg hypothesis as a starting point, which is a rhyming mnemonic technique. One type of criticism of Paivio’s theory is that recall effects could also be explained by levels of processing without the verbal and nonverbal coding. R.J. Anderson stated that if words are more deeply coded they will have a higher probability of being remembered then pictures. Paivio later conducted experiments that disproved R.J. Anderson’s statement. Another aspect of DCT that is in question is the interpretation of picture superiority in free recall. Recognition scores for pictures are higher than for words, even when the studied items are words and the test items are pictures.

There is evidence supporting that high-imagery nouns are recalled significantly better than low-imagery nouns. In a study by Paivio and Begg it was found that this result could not be accounted for by differential interference attributable to interitem semantic or associative readiness. The effect of the concreteness of imagery on short term memory was suggested to be a positive effect accredited to imagery.

Allan Paivio is most well-known for his Dual Coding Theory (DCT) which gives empirical evidence of the mental processes that underlie human behaviour and experience. DCT illustrates psychological events as a result of nonverbal mental systems that are dedicated to the processing of imagery and verbal mental systems are focused on linguistic information. The verbal system contains word-like codes that are random symbols that represent tangible objects and events, as well as abstract ideas. Nonverbal representations are analogous or perceptually similar to the events that they denote instead of unsystematic symbols. Referential connections are the links between the nonverbal and verbal mental systems and they connect the verbal and imaginal codes. Representations within the verbal and nonverbal systems are connected through associative connections. The imagery value of material being learned is important for imagery processing. Concreteness reflects the strength of word-to-image referential connections and therefore. Therefore, words that are more concrete are most likely to have a corresponding image and more likely to be remembered in recall.

Two ideas of the theory were that image code was more available for pictures and verbal code was more available for words. Sequential processing was specialized by the verbal system and parallel processing was specialized by the image system. In 1981, Paivio’s students and associates gathered for a conference and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the publication of Imagery and Verbal Process, which was published in 1971. The conference laid the foundation for the book, Imagery, Memory and Cognition. The first two chapters focus on individual differences in imagery, such as sex differences. The third and fourth chapters focus on memory and fifth and six focus on decision making. Colin MacLeod wrote a review of Imagery, Memory and Cognition in which he argues that the book makes minimal progress in further developing dual coding theory. In the ten chapters, all except for three reports on new experiments that are not published somewhere else. Therefore, there is not sufficient evidence that the findings are supported. MacLeod was also disappointed with Paivio’s last chapters of the book. Paivio only evaluated three classes of negative evaluation in which he was quick to reject them. MacLeaod had an overall negative review of the book and concluded that little theoretical development had taken place in the last ten years.

The book of Imagery and Verbal Process consists not only of findings of Paivio, but also poses questions to be answered in the future. The first three chapters are theoretical, the fourth chapter and chapters there after discuss a variety of perceptual, learning and verbal outcomes that pertain to the general theory.

Thompson and Paivio examined the mnemonic independence of auditory and visual nonverbal stimuli in free recall. Recall in the picture-sound condition was greater than with just picture or just sound. Paivio and Csapo examined the superiority of recall with pictures and the effects of organization and elaboration.

Paivio wrote the book Mind and Its Revolution: A Dual Coding Theoretical Approach, which was published in 2009 and covers recent developments in Dual Coding Theory. Several chapters also describe how the mind is an outcome of evolutionary processes using dual coding theory. Paivio and Sadoski conducted a study in 2011 that assessed Elman’s theory in the role of mental lexicon in language processing and applied the prospective of Dual Processing Theory. They found evidence for some agreements and disagreements with aspects of Elman’s position.

The unit-level assumptions in dual-coding theory are that the representational units in each system tend to conform to a certain patter and are specific perceptual-motor correspondents. The units are organized in a hierarchy and nonverbal units are synchronously organized.

Dual Coding Theory Applied to Education

The primary purpose of education is to foster learning and therefore dual coding theory is important to understanding how information is represented and learned. DCT proposes that the probability of image arousal is important in the representation of text, and therefor memory recall. In a study, students were tape-recorded while they defined either concrete or abstract words. The definitions of abstract words contained more hesitation. Educational research has provided strong evidence for the importance of superior learning of larger texts with imagery and concreteness. Words are also learned more easily by association of words to one another. The explanation that there are two processes states that there is an additive effect of imagery and verbal codes as being better then verbal code alone. Concrete text is remembered more easily then abstract text and students who receive imagery instruction remember more than students who do not. Imagery processes gives insight into different types of study skills. Students who generate mental images while studying or write out examples are shown to remember more than students who do not. Thinking of an example may provoke a personal memory or cause them to think of concrete events and associate them with the events. More is still needed to investigate more into DCT and its use in the education system. Student knowledge and ability can affect mental models. Indirect associations effect learning meaning that words that are related by a certain category are better remembered then arbitrary words. Students have been shown to remember more when taught with personal examples and reference to concrete subjects.

Synchronous Organization

Paivo also found evidence that multiple units of information can be combined quickly into synchronously-organized, integrated visual compounds that function as units in memory storage. This allows for a more efficient way of retrieving memories. In a study, Paivio found that words could not be integrated into memory in the same way as visual components. Words have sequential constraints and therefore take up more storage pace.

Object Identification from a Dual Coding Persective

In 1996, Johnson, Paivio and Clark reviewed the three stages of object identification, name activation and response generation in regards to naming pictured objects. An object must first be acknowledged as being an affiliate of a certain object classification. The name then must be activated. A specific response must then be prepared and completed by articulatory commands. Several methods, such as naming experiments, are used to determine which stages are affected by item, task or participant variables. The multiple stages of naming can be affected by practice and context manipulations. Practise can increase the speed of naming item specific facilitation. Dual-coding theory differs from other models of naming in that it proposes that long-term images tend to conform to a general pattern.

In a study, Kounios and Holcomb found evidence supporting the consistency of dual coding theory over context availability theory, which states that concreteness effects result from processing differences in a single system. Paivio argued that the verbal and nonverbal systems both process concrete systems. Abstract words are processes mainly by the verbal system. The occurrence of both systems for concrete words is thought to increase the learning of these items. Studies by Bleasdale and Chiarello, Senehi, and Nuding in 1987 both on different reasons behind dual-coding theory and concreteness effects. The studies were both consistent with dual-coding theory. A study by Marschark and Paivio showed results that were inconsistent with dual coding theory. The study investigated picture word transfer effects and found that switching from pictures to words appeared to have a negative effect on reaction time and switching from words to pictures had a positive effect, which contracts dual processing theory. The study assessed whether abstract and concrete sentences can be processes in an integrated or holistic way. The results of all three studies provided evidence supporting that the processing of concrete and abstract sentences is holistic. The results showed that integrated mental representations are responsible for concrete and abstract processing, which contradicts dual processing theory. The first two studies showed inferences derived from the meaningful organization of information on the basis of investigation of context and knowledge of language and the world. There were ways in which concrete and abstract conditions different in ways that are consistent with dual-coding theory, including concrete sentences leading to a higher recall rate.

Bilingual Version of Dual Coding Theory

A bilingual version of dual coding theory was studied in 1988, and the results supported dual coding theory and the independence store hypothesis of bilingual memory. The study tested French-English bilinguals who were asked to remember lists concrete and abstract words using different times in between leaning and recalling. Semantic repetitions had additive effects on recall over single words. Also, recall of identical repetitions increased more with more elapsed time then recall of semantic repetitions. The effects of semantic replications were weaker for synonyms then for translations.

Applications of Dual Coding Theory

Dual-coding theory has many applications. The understanding of dual-coding theory can lead to improving approaches to learning. When giving instructions or teaching a lesson it is best to present images along with words. When learning a new language it is also helpful to pair the new language word with a native-language word that sounds similar. Dual-coding theory also provides a basis for cognitive tests. Imaginal processes contribute to the performances on such tests as the Weschler’s test, therefore understanding this theory can provide further inside to the brain process and the results on these tests.