This review traces the highlights of almost 30 years of research on imagery and verbal processes and the progressive translation of that empirical base into the dual coding theory (DCT) of memory and cognition. General and specific criticisms of the theory and research findings are also addressed, focussing especially on alternative views that emphasize abstract prepositional representations as the basis of cognition. The first part of the review deals with the origins of DCT in research related to the conceptual peg hypothesis of concreteness and imagery effects on associative memory and with the subsequent unpacking and expansion of the explicit and implicit assumptions embodied in that hypothesis. These assumptions, of which DCT is comprised, pertain to the structural and functional properties of nonverbal and verbal representational systems and their empirical implications for memory, language, and cognition generally. The final section brings the story up to date with a review of empirical and conceptual responses to some recent criticisms of DCT and alternative theoretical views in areas related to concreteness effects on memory, implicit memory, schema theory, and conceptual issues in philosophy of science.

Cette revue retrace les grands moments des quelques trente années de recherche sur l'imagerie et les processus verbaux ainsi que le passage progressif des données empiriques a la théorie du double codage (DCT) de la mémoire et de la cognition. Des critiques générates et...