Few psychological studies have investigated how humans process symbols. However, studies have shown that pictures are often better memorized than words in what is known as the ‘picture-superiorty effect’. According to dual-coding theory, this is because pictures are encoded both verbally and imaginally, whereas words are only verbally coded. With this in mind, the researchers behind the current study set out to investigate how participants remember symbols relative to words.
To do so, they conducted a series of five studies involving 1100 adults. In each study, participants were presented with either a symbol or it’s word equivalent eg. ‘$’ or ‘dollar’. They were then tested on how many symbols or words they could remember. Ultimately, the researchers found that participants were better able to memorize symbols than words with the same meaning.
"Symbols might be more easily remembered because they give concrete visuals to abstract ideas," said Brady Roberts, lead author and PhD candidate in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Waterloo, in a press release, "When we think about abstract concepts, like love, it can be difficult to visualize clearly. But with symbols, we can use a sort of image that represents the concept -- like a heart for love -- which makes the abstract idea more concrete and therefore easier to remember."
Roberts added that symbols might also be easier to remember as they are unique and tend to represent a single concept, whereas words can represent multiple concepts. For example, the ‘play’ symbol seen on videos and TV has one clear meaning ie. to play the video. However, the word ‘play’ has multiple meanings and connotations, ranging from a theoretical performance to children playing in a yard.
Sources: Cognition, Science Daily