The proposition is a concept borrowed by cognitive psychologists from linguists and logicians. The propostion is the most basic unit of meaning in a representation. It is the smallest statement that can be judged either true or false. Anderson gives the follwoing example of a setnece divided up into its constituent propositions
"Nixon gave a beautiful Cadillac to Brezhnev, who was the leader of the USSR"
This sentence can be divided into three propositions: ,p> 1. "Noxon gave a Cadillac to Brezhnev." 2. "The Cadillac was beautiful." 3. "Brezhnev was the leader of the USSR."
A popular view in cognitive psycyhology is that the mind is structured much like a language. In such a structure, propositions function as basic units of representation, or the building blocks of the mind. It is the content, of the propositions, the connections between propostiions, and the strength of the connections between propositions that determine the structure of mind.
Anderson, J. (1990) Cognitive Psychology and its Implications. W. H. Freeman and Company.
Contributed by Jeff Stepnisky, November 30, 1995 | Dictionary Home Page