Dual-coding theory

Dual coding theory is a theory of cognition that suggests that the mind processes information along two different channels; verbal and nonverbal. It was first hypothesized by Allan Paivio of the University of Western Ontario in the late 1960s. In developing this theory, Paivio used the idea that the formation of mental imagery aids learning through the picture superiority effect.

According to Paivio, there are two ways a person could expand on learned material: verbal associations and imagery. Dual coding theory postulates that both sensory imagery and verbal information is used to represent information. Imagery and verbal information are processed differently and along distinct channels in the human mind, creating separate representations for information processed in each channel. The mental codes corresponding to these representations are used to organize incoming information that can be acted upon, stored, and retrieved for subsequent use. Both imagery and verbal codes can be used when recalling information. For example, say a person has stored the stimulus concept "dog" as both the word 'dog' and as the image (appearance, sound, smell, and other sensory information) of a dog. When asked to recall the stimulus, the person can retrieve either the word or the image individually, or both simultaneously.