Abstract
Through a wide variety of approaches cognitive science has given us various important insights into the nature of diagrammatic representations. This paper surveys the findings, issues and approaches to diagrammatic representations in cognitive science. Important current issues that are highlighted include: the relation between the parts of the representational system that are internal to the mind and in external visual media that presents the diagram; the use of multiple representations which is typical of real contexts of diagram use; the benefits of diagrams in terms of (i) computational offloading, (ii) re-representation and (iii) graphical constraining.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Cheng, P.C.-H. (1996). Functional Roles for the Cognitive Analysis of Diagrams in Problem Solving. In Cottrell, G.W. (ed.) Proceeding of the Eighteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 207–212. Lawrence Erlbaum: Hillsdale, NJ.
Cheng, P.C.-H. & Simon, H.A. (1995). Scientific Discovery and Creative Reasoning with Diagrams. In Smith, S., Ward, T. & Finke, R. (eds.) The Creative Cognition Approach, 205–228. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.
Egan, D.E. & Schwartz, B.J. (1979). Chunking in Recall of Symbolic Drawings. Memory and Cognition 7 (2): 149–158.
Green, T.G.R. & Petre, M. (1996). Usability Analysis Of Visual Programming Environments–A Cognitive Dimensions Framework. Journal of Visual Languages And Computing 7: 131–174.
Koedinger, K.R. & Anderson, J.R. (1990). Abstract Planning and Perceptual Chunks: Elements of Expertise in Geometry. Cognitive Science 14: 511–550.
Larkin, J.H. (1989). Display-Based Problem Solving. In Klahr. D. & Kotovsky, K. (eds.) Complex Information Processing: The Impact of Herbert A. Simon 319–341. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Hillsdale, New Jersey.
Larkin, J.H. & Simon, H.A. (1987). Why a Diagram is (Sometimes) Worth Ten Thousand Words. Cognitive Science 11 (1): 65–100.
Lopuck, L. (1996). Designing Multimedia. Peachpit Press: Berkley, CA.
Lowe, R.K. (1993). Constructing a Mental Representation from an Abstract Technical Diagram. Learning and Instruction 3 (3): 157–179.
Lowe, R.K. (1994). Selectivity in Diagrams: Reading Beyond the Lines. Educational Psychology 14: 467–491.
Lowe, R.K. (1996). Background Knowledge and the Construction of a Situational Represen- tation from a Diagram. European Journal of Psychology of Education 11: 377–397.
Lowe, R.K. (1997, August). Effects of Interactive Animation in Complex Visual Learning. Paper Presented at the Seventh European Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction. Athens, Greece.
Lowe, R.K. (in press). Domain-Specific Constraints on Conceptual Change in Knowledge Acquisition from Diagram. In Vosniadou, S., Carretero, P. & Schnotz, W. (eds.) New Perspectives on Conceptual Change. Erlbaum.
Lopuck, L. (1996). Designing Multimedia. Peachpit Press: Berkley, CA.
Newell, A. & Simon, H.A. (1972). Human Problem Solving. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Norman, D. (1993). Cognition in the Head and in the World. Cognitive Science 17 (1): 1–6.
Palmer, S.E. (1977). Hierarchical Structure in Perceptual Representation. Cognitive Psychology 9: 441–474.
Reisberg, D. (1987). External Representations and the Advantages of Externalizing One’s Thoughts. Proceedings of the I X Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Seattle, WA/Hillsdale, NJ: LEA.
Rogers, Y. & Scaife, M. (1999). How can Interactive Multimedia Facilitate Learning? Proceedings of First International Workshop on Intelligence and Multimodality in Multimedia Interfaces. Menlo Park, Ca: AAAI Press (in press).
Scaife, M. & Rogers, Y. (1996). External Cognition: how Do Graphical Representations Work? International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 45: 185–213.
Stenning, K. (1999). Distinguishing Semantic from Processing Explanations of the Usability of Representations: Applying Expressiveness Analysis to Animation. Proceedings of First International Workshop on Intelligence And Multimodality in Multimedia Interfaces. Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press (in press).
Stenning, K. & Lemon, O. (1997). Diagrams and Human Reasoning: Aligning Logical and Psychological Perspectives. Position paper for `Thinking With Diagrams II’ Conference, University of Portsmouth, January.
Stenning, K. & Oberlander, J. (1995). A Cognitive Theory of Graphical and Linguistic Reasoning: Logic and Implementation, Cognitive Science 19: 97–140.
Tabachneck, H.J.M., Leonardo, A.M. & Simon, H.A. (1994). How Does an Expert Use a Graph? A Model of Visual and Verbal Inferencing in Economics. In Ram, A. & Eiselt, K. (eds), Proceedings of the 16th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 842–847. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Vera, A.H. & Simon, H.A. (1993). Situated Action: A Symbolic Interpretation. Cognitive Science 17 (1): 7–48.
Zhang, J. (1997). The Nature of External Representations in Problem Solving. Cognitive Science 21 (2): 179–217.
Zhang, J. & Norman, D. A. (1994). Representations in Distributed Cognition Tasks. Cognitive Science 18 (1): 87–122.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cheng, P.CH., Lowe, R.K., Scaife, M. (2001). Cognitive Science Approaches To Understanding Diagrammatic Representations. In: Blackwell, A.F. (eds) Thinking with Diagrams. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3524-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3524-7_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5695-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3524-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive