Multiple code theory
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Multiple code theory (MCT) is a cognitive theory that conceives of the human brain as processing information in multiple 'codes,' or formats [1]. These codes include both symbolic verbal information, symbolic nonverbal information, and subsymbolic information.[2] This theory is an outgrowth and modification of Paivio’s Dual-coding theory, and was first hypothesized by Wilma Bucci at the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University.
A symbolic verbal code includes discrete words and images embedded in language and is processed in a single track. A symbolic nonverbal code includes modality-specific mental and embodied images. Sensory and emotional experience is processed in a subsymbolic code. This kind of subsymbolic processing relies predominantly on analogic relationships, with the information it processes being continuous rather than discrete. MCT posits these three kinds of processing as loosely connected to one another through a set of cognitive functions called the referential process.[3]
Multiple code theory and the associated theory of the referential process draw on and bridge variously associated fields, including clinical psychology, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, linguistics, and neuropsychology. MCT attempts to fill the need in psychotherapy process research for more empirically-based, operationalizable constructs. One of its assumptions is that more clinically-based psychodynamic theories, such as Freudian metapsychology, do not meet the requirements of empirical science, and that there is a strong need within the field of clinical process research for empirically testable constructs.[4]
Related Concepts
The Referential Process
The Referential Process (RP) refers to a set of cognitive functions that connects symbolic verbal and nonverbal, and subsymbolic information, allowing an individual to put words to emotional experiences. It is hypothesized that the referential process operates in a three-stage cycle. This cycle begins with a phase of bodily and emotional arousal associated with a particular experience (arousal), the connection of that embodied experience to language (symbolizing), and the subsequent reorganization of the cognitive and emotional schemas previously associated with that experience (reflection/reorganizing). The referential process has been operationalized with various language-based measures, both hand-scored and computerized[5].
Emotion Schemas
Related to the referential process, emotion schemas are a particular form of memory schema, of which . These patterns become activated within the context of particular relationships. These emotion schemas become activated in the respective multiple codes of multiple code theory, with varying levels of dissociation. Subsymbolic information constitutes the core of the emotion schema, which may be connected to symbolic verbal and nonverbal forms of information via the referential process.[6] The dissociation of these various forms of information within the emotion schema has been associated with various forms of psychopathology.[7] [look at notes app for references] The model of psychopathology in Multiple Code Theory is thus one based predominantly on dissociation, with traumatic psychological experiences triggering dissociative process whereby the subsymbolic aspects of emotional schemas become disconnected from symbolic codes. A primary goal of psychotherapy is thus the integration of dissociated schemas.[8]
References
- ^ Bucci, Wilma (1997). Psychoanalysis & Cognitive Science: A Multiple Code Theory (1st ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press. ISBN 1-57230-213-5.
- ^ "Psychoanalytic Terms And Concepts", Psychoanalytic Terms and Concepts, Yale University Press, pp. 1–211, 2017-12-31, retrieved 2023-09-03
- ^ Solano, Luigi (2010-12). "Some thoughts between body and mind in the light of Wilma Bucci's multiple code theory". The International Journal of Psychoanalysis. 91 (6): 1445–1464. doi:10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00359.x. ISSN 0020-7578.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Bucci, Wilma (2013-08-17). "The Referential Process as a Common Factor Across Treatment Modalities". Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome. 16 (1): 16–23. doi:10.4081/ripppo.2013.86. ISSN 2239-8031.
- ^ Maskit, Bernard (2021-01-19). "Overview of Computer Measures of the Referential Process". Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. 50 (1): 29–49. doi:10.1007/s10936-021-09761-8. ISSN 0090-6905.
- ^ Mariani, R.; Di Trani, M.; Negri, A.; Tambelli, R. (August 2020). "Linguistic analysis of autobiographical narratives in unipolar and bipolar mood disorders in light of multiple code theory". Journal of Affective Disorders. 273: 24–31. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.03.170. ISSN 0165-0327.
- ^ Pennebaker, James W.; Graybeal, Anna (June 2001). "Patterns of Natural Language Use: Disclosure, Personality, and Social Integration". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 10 (3): 90–93. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00123. ISSN 0963-7214.
- ^ Bromberg, Philip M. (2011). The shadow of the tsunami and the growth of the relational mind. New York (N.Y.): Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-88694-9.