Mental representation

Representations ( mental representations or representative ) are constructs of psychology, with the help of scientists from different disciplines try to describe mental processes and to make measurable ( operationalize ). The representation of a particular object (including its operation, for example, the idea of ​​how a computer works ) or process is also called mental model.

In psychoanalysis representation is considered as affective occupied inner ideas. They contain memory traces of the perception of self and object. But the nature of the interaction of self and object can be mentally represented. In psychoanalysis, the description of self and object representations, but also representation of the attachment relationship serves as an important basis for the description of psychic processes.

In cognitive science, the concept of representation is used to describe the information processing in the brain and to understand. In the object perception the correspondence of some sensory stimuli with stored representations are compared. With increasing experience, simplify the mental representations of objects of the external world. This means that only the data required for performance of sensory stimuli are used for the identification of an object. The perception is more efficient.