CARTOGRAPHY COGNITIVE: AN INSTRUMENT TO BECOME SPATIAL OF
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
L.S. Issmael, P.M.L. Menezes
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de
Geografia, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
lsoraya@terra.com.br
Although having a long history, coming since ancient times,
Cartography as a Science is a very early matter. This delay occurred because
the trends of technicians approach of its research, only related to the
artistic map elements.
The attempt to imposing
a theoretical field, called Theoretical Cartography, only occurred
significantly after the World War II, when began discussions about the visual
impression importance, in cartographic design, as well as clarity and
legibility of maps. So a general analysis of all processes was carried out, and
it was presented the new Cartographic Communication theories, mainly through
researches as The Look of Maps, by Robinson.
At the beginning of Seventies, some cartographers developed
communication models
about cartographic information, and the discussion among
researchers made possible several theoretical analyses of Cartography. The aim
of the researchers was to establish a theoretical system to support Cartography
as science.
Under this approach, the Theory of Cartographic
Communication was developed and introduced the Modeling, Semiology and
Cognition Theories. Although existing some terminologies difference between
each one, each of them kept the same set of analysis: reality, map designer or
cartographer, map reader or map and image reality user, with changes only on
the information ways, that could be through the model,
semiology or cognition.
The mentioned Theories are inside the target of Theoretical
Cartography, according RAMIREZ, which has the aim to explain
the Cartography as science, and identify its components and inter-relations, to
define the meaning of the maps and its components and to develop tools for
analytical study of geo-spatial data.
This paper aims a state of art study of Cognitive Theory, as
a Cartographic method. This Theory, which was developed from Cognitive
Psychology, involves logical mental operations, considering maps as a variable
source of information, which depends directly on user’s characteristics,
resulting greater attention in map design processes, when maps becomes to be
instruments to acquisition of new knowledge on the represented reality.
Complementing this paper, the relationship between reader
and map must be analyzed. It’s necessary
to understand the cartographic language, the graphical language of maps also,
linking cartographic language and Graphical Semiology Theory, which is also
called Signs General Theory.