Multiple code theory
Comment: Hi Devonian Wombat—thank you for your comment. It's a good question. The two concepts under the related concepts are integral to MCT and really only make sense within the context of the theory. That being said, they could at some point form their own pages, and thus be put in something like a "see also" page.
Multiple code theory (MCT) is a cognitive theory that conceives of the human brain as processing information in multiple 'codes,' or formats. These codes include both symbolic verbal information, symbolic nonverbal information, and subsymbolic information.[1] 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.[2]
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, and linguistics.
Related Concepts
The Referential Process
The Referential Process (RP) refers to a set of cognitive functions that connect symbolic verbal, symbolic 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).[3] Disruptions to the referential process lead to dissociations of the various verbal and nonverbal aspects of the schema, and a consequent disruption in emotion regulation and construction of meaning. The referential process has been operationalized with various language-based measures, both hand-scored and computerized.[4]
Emotion Schemas
An emotion schema is a kind of memory schema made up of a representation of a self in relation to an other. It is initially built up primarily through repeated affective experiences.[5] Subsymbolic information, which may be connected to symbolic verbal and nonverbal forms of information via the referential process, constitutes the core of an emotion schema.[6] The dissociation of the various informational codes within the emotion schema has been associated with various forms of psychopathology.[7] The model of psychopathology in Multiple Code Theory is thus one based primarily on dissociation, with traumatic psychological experiences triggering dissociative processes 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
- ^ "Psychoanalytic Terms And Concepts", Psychoanalytic Terms and Concepts, Yale University Press, pp. 1–211, 2017-12-31, retrieved 2023-09-03
- ^ Solano, Luigi (December 2010). "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.
- ^ Negri, Attà; Christian, Christopher; Mariani, Rachele; Belotti, Luca; Andreoli, Giovanbattista; Danskin, Kerri (2019-04-19). "Linguistic features of the therapeutic alliance in the first session: a psychotherapy process study". Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome. 22 (1). doi:10.4081/ripppo.2019.374. 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.
- ^ Bucci, Wilma (2021). Emotional Communication and Therapeutic Change: Understanding Psychotherapy through Multiple Code Theory. Routledge, New York. ISBN 9780367645601.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Di Trani, Michela; Mariani, Rachele; Renzi, Alessia; Greenman, Paul Samuel; Solano, Luigi (2018). "Alexithymia according to Bucci's multiple code theory: A preliminary investigation with healthy and hypertensive individuals". Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice (91): 232–247.
- ^ 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.