A common question in psychology, linguistics and philosophy is, "How do we represent the world around us in our heads?". This topic is often considered to be the most difficult topic in the whole of psychology and opinions have often become entrenched causing huge debates¹. The most common idea of what a representation is, is some entity that encodes information about the world in the mental processes of an individual. However, even on this point there is argument. One such argument, from Ray Jackendoff (1983), argues that the mental representations whilst representing the real world, aren't based on a concept of truth but on one of perception as a combination of influences from sensation to mental state. This argument has been gaining ground as studies have continually shown that expectations influence perception.

Forms of representation

There are two broad forms of representation that are encountered day-to-day. These forms are external representations and internal representations