Csaba Pléh, psychologist and member of HAS, examined the basic correlation of thought and language based on a cognitivist concept of representation. Since our behavior is related not to the external stimuli but to the representations thereof, the use of symbols is dominant in the relation of our inner world to the outer world, including social relations. The two basic types of inner models are images and words, and relate to the world in different ways. Thinking in images is the primary and more immediate impression of the world. Words, on the other hand, are linked to the objects arbitrarily, forming a semantic system. There are various theories of the relationship of language and thought based on different philosophical and psychological frameworks. The lecturer is an adherent of the compromise theory.

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