Dual Coding Theory

Dual Coding Theory is a very interesting theory that we discussed in class on Monday. It is definitely something that is pertinent to our class and important to remember because of the fact that it can be used to help people process information more easily through business writing. As was shown through one of the group's proposals, the clouds on the title page and the sunshines in the headings really made people feel happy. When someone reads about the Sunshine House on that proposal, maybe they will think of good times in the sun at the beach or at the park. Thinking these things would help them remember the Sunshine House at later happy times, and maybe they will want to donate their time or financial resources.

Dual Coding is something that is extremely prevalent in our society today. It seems as though almost every advertisement on television is using this theory. Laundry detergent commercials, for example, will show a comparison between some bland, generic brand that doesn't work and their vibrant, brand-name detergent that will return a stained, muddy T-shirt to its original white. Theses commercials that show kids having fun jumping in the mud and then getting their stains removed while at the same time comparing their brand to a brand that doesn't work, use all the different parts of your brain.

Technology has definitely changed over time and taken advantage of dual coding. Think back to before the television was invented and the only way of advertising was through the radio. It was much more difficult to use this theory then because nothing was visual. However, with television, advertisers and others have begun to take more advantage of this physiological phenomenon. Nowadays, on new channels we no longer just watch a show and concentrate solely on that. We can now watch the news, but at the same time study the ticker screen going across the bottom and discover breaking news topics and other top stories. Not only that, but if you come in in the middle of a news story, there is normally another line that lets you in on all of the pertinent facts so that you can catch up and understand what is going on.

Dual Coding Theory is all around us.