Renowned psychologist and Stanford University professor Barbara Tversky delves into the fascinating world of cognitive psychology, sharing her insights on how our brains work and how we can optimize its functioning.
Drawing from her extensive experience, she explores the role of experience, attention, language, and spatial thinking in our cognitive processes.
Spatial Thinking in Language
Our language reflects our spatial thinking, with phrases and gestures often having a spatial basis.
This spatial thinking is layered with gestures, language, and diagrams, providing us with additional tools to navigate and interact with the world.
Spatial thinking is the foundation of all thought. Language does affect in humans the way we conceive of space… So our language reflects our spatial thinking. We say somebody’s on the top of a heap and we gesture up or we say someone’s fallen into a depression and we gesture down. – Barbara Tversky
Learning Through Reflection
We learn not just from experience, but also through reflection.
Reflecting on our experiences can help us to draw abstractions and relationships, which can then inform our actions in future situations.
Debunking the Myth of Visual, Verbal, or Mathematical Thinkers
The abilities to think visually, verbally, or mathematically are independent of each other, and one can be good or bad at any of them.
Spatial thinking is not just visual, but involves multiple modalities, including acoustic cues, smells, wind, and the texture of the ground.
Visual Explanations in Learning
Visual explanations, such as diagrams, force us to abstract and focus on the essentials, often more effectively than verbal explanations.
This is particularly evident in educational settings, where students are able to grasp abstract concepts more easily when they are presented visually.
The Power of Experience and Attention
Experience and attention are pivotal in learning and mastering skills.
Theoretical knowledge, such as instructions in a recipe, cannot replace the practical experience and sensory cues necessary for mastery.
This underscores the importance of hands-on experience in learning.
Visual-Spatial World vs. Language
The visual-spatial world operates on its own unique logic, distinct from language.
This realization led to the exploration of the structure and logic of the visual-spatial world, challenging theories that attempted to reduce everything in the visual-spatial world to language-like representations.
Language’s Influence on Thinking
The language we use can shape our thinking.
Research on rodents and primates shows how space is represented in the brain, forming the foundation for conceptual thought.
This suggests that spatial thinking is the basis of all thought, although it is not the entire edifice.
Spatial Arrangement in Conveying Meaning
Even in writing, we use spatial elements such as indentation, spacing, and font size to emphasize certain ideas.
This spatial arrangement can help us understand relationships and hierarchies more clearly.
Body Language in Communication
Body language can often reveal our true feelings and intentions, even when we try to suppress them.
This is why it’s important to pay attention to body language when communicating with others, as it can provide valuable insights into their thoughts and feelings.
Gestures as Learning Aids
Gestures can aid in understanding and remembering complex information.
Studies show that students who gestured while learning, even when alone, performed better on tests.
This suggests that gestures can be a powerful tool for learning.
The abstraction you get either in a diagram or verbal instructions isn’t going to enable you to be a champion diver or a great cook. You can make satisfactory things, but yes, and you need to know not just adding salt, you need to know when to throw in the trash and start all over again. – Barbara Tversky
Technology’s Impact on Communication
Technology, particularly video conferencing platforms like Zoom, can limit our ability to communicate effectively because they only allow us to see a person’s face and shoulders, and not their full body.
This can make it harder to read their body language and understand their intentions.
Spatial Representations and Interactions
Spatial representations are shaped by our interactions.
The continuous recalibration of our visual-spatial systems based on our interactions with the world is a lifelong process.
This is evident in studies where people adapted to lenses that altered their visual perception by physically interacting with their environment.
