symbol

(noun)

Any object, typically material, that is meant to represent another (usually abstract), even if there is no meaningful relationship.

Related Terms

Examples of symbol in the following topics:

  • Human vs. Animal Language

    • Human communication consists of both signals and symbols.
    • Symbols are sounds or gestures that have a specific meaning to a group of people.
    • Symbols, unlike signals, must be taught and learned; they are not instinctual or self-evident.
    • First and foremost, humans use a larger repertoire of symbols, and these symbols are substantially more complex.
    • Humans, by contrast, have open vocal systems, which allow for combinations of symbols to create new symbols with a totally new meaning and therefore allows for an infinite number of ideas to be expressed.

  • IQ Tests

    • Performance IQ is measured through perception and processing skills, such as matrix completion and symbol coding.

  • Interpretation

    • Similarly, a classic psychological experiment showed slower reaction times and less accurate answers when a deck of playing cards reversed the color of the suit symbol for some cards (e.g. red spades and black hearts).

  • Specific Effects of Stress: PTSD

  • Cerebral Hemispheres and Lobes of the Brain

    • Several portions of the parietal lobe are important to language and visuospatial processing; the left parietal lobe is involved in symbolic functions in language and mathematics, while the right parietal lobe is specialized to process images and interpretation of maps (i.e., spatial relationships).

  • Cognitive Development in Childhood

    • Rather, children perform actions as a means to master language and symbolic thought.

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder

    • The rainbow-colored infinity symbol represents the diversity of the autism spectrum as well as the greater neurodiversity movement.

  • Problem Solving

    • There are considered to be two major domains in problem solving: mathematical problem solving, which involves problems capable of being represented by symbols, and personal problem solving, where some difficulty or barrier is encountered.

  • Defining Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

    • The above symbols represent female on the left and male on the right.

  • Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

    • During this stage, children can use symbols to represent words, images, and ideas, which is why children in this stage engage in pretend play.