Dynamic Mathematical Processing Through Symbolic, Situational, and Verbal Representations

In this paper, we discuss symbolic, situational, and verbal mathematical processing. These three modes of processing are conducted by the mediums of symbolic, situational, and verbal mathematical representations. While symbolic processing is a suppressive-oriented mechanism, situational one is receptive-oriented and reliant on sensorimotor features of elements in the context of mathematical representation. Verbal processing is a linguistic-oriented mechanism that is supported by semantic networks. We suggest that these three mechanisms can be dynamically employed at the same time to process a mathematical idea or problem. We call this high-level process as dynamic cross-type representational transformation. Dynamic cross-type representational transformation is a mode of thought that enables the individual to dynamically shift between various types of mathematical representations and to employ a larger part of cognitive capacity and brain’s networks. Finally, we conclude that this dynamic process can be regarded as one specific part of executive functions.