Cognitive Considerations of Journaling With Images

This discussion is being created “live” while I work with and get feedback from the Journaling with Images series. It will grow - so come back when you can. If you would like to be kept in the loop in person let me know (timothy.smith@outlook.com).

What is the relationship between images and cognition?

Personal images (images that we have taken or have collected) represent interfaces of complex interactions with our memories, our recall and our experience of and relationship to events, people, places and things. They can be thought of both as stimuli and probes.

Let’s start by asking a few thought questions:

  • In what way do we have a relationship with personal images?

  • Think about an event for which you know you have one or images. Think about the event before looking at the images. Write down ten or so things that you can remember about the event before looking at this images. Why ten? No particular reason - you could probably come up with as many as you care to spend time on – but a small number will be enough to observe some things about memory – so let’s keep it to 10 or so). Now look at the images one by one. Continue to make your list using the images.

Observe what is different to you about the two processes. Does it feel different? What felt easier - with images or without?

Are the lists different? Does one list contain a certain “kind of thing” that the other does not?

Thinks about these and we’ll pick up from here next time!