Premium
The mind considered as a system of meaning structures II. Concepts and representations
Author(s) -
LUNDH LARSGUNNAR
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1982.tb00436.x
Subject(s) - psychology , meaning (existential) , mental representation , cognition , cognitive psychology , cognitive development , cognitive science , theory of mind , conceptual system , epistemology , philosophy , neuroscience , psychotherapist
The theory of the mind considered as a system of meaning structures, which was sketched in an earlier paper (Lundh, 1981), is developed further in this paper. Whereas the earlier paper remained at a prelinguistic, sensorimotor level of functioning, the present paper extends the theory to conceptual thinking. Three main distinctions are drawn: between 1) mental representations and symbols, 2) sensorimotor intelligence and conceptual intelligence, and 3) habitual inferences and cognitive operations. Sensorimotor development consists in the development of mental representations, which the child, however, does not yet have any conscious access to. It is argued that sensorimotor structures are transformed into conceptual and propositional structures to the extent that the child becomes able not only to act, but also to think in terms of these structures—the latter is equated with the development of a kind of conscious access to already existent mental representations.