---
abstract: 'A mathematical basis is proposed for the distinction between associative and relational (symbolic) processing. Associations can be contrasted with relations in terms of ordered pairs versus general ordered N-tuples, and unidirectional access versus omnidirectional access. Relations also have additional properties: they can exhibit predicate-argument bindings, they can be arguments to higher-order structures, and they can participate in operations of selection, projection, join, union, intersection, and difference. Relations can be used to represent structures such as lists, trees and graphs, and relational instances can be thought of as propositions. Within neural net architectures, feedforward networks can be identified with associative proceessing, and tensor product networks with relational processing. Relations have the essential properties of symbolic processing; flexibility, accessibility, and utility for repesenting complex data structures.'
altloc:
  - http://www.etl.go.jp/etl/ninchi/stevep/www/papers/weak-system.ps
chapter: ~
commentary: ~
commref: ~
confdates: July 22-25
conference: Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society
confloc: 'Pittsburg, Pennsylvania'
contact_email: ~
creators_id: []
creators_name:
  - family: Phillips
    given: S.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
  - family: Halford
    given: G. S.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
  - family: Wilson
    given: W. H.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
date: 1995
date_type: published
datestamp: 1998-12-09
department: ~
dir: disk0/00/00/07/64
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edit_lock_user: ~
editors_id: []
editors_name:
  - family: Moore
    given: J. D.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
  - family: Lehmann
    given: J. F.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
eprint_status: archive
eprintid: 764
fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/application_postscript.png;/764/2/weak%2Dsystem.ps
full_text_status: public
importid: ~
institution: ~
isbn: ~
ispublished: pub
issn: ~
item_issues_comment: []
item_issues_count: 0
item_issues_description: []
item_issues_id: []
item_issues_reported_by: []
item_issues_resolved_by: []
item_issues_status: []
item_issues_timestamp: []
item_issues_type: []
keywords: 'relations, associations, omnidirectional, unidirectional, arity, feedforward networks, tensor networks, balance scale'
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:54:16
latitude: ~
longitude: ~
metadata_visibility: show
note: ~
number: ~
pagerange: 688-691
pubdom: FALSE
publication: ~
publisher: 'Lawrence Erlbaum, Marwah, New Jersey'
refereed: FALSE
referencetext: ~
relation_type: []
relation_uri: []
reportno: ~
rev_number: 10
series: ~
source: ~
status_changed: 2007-09-12 16:34:08
subjects:
  - cog-psy
  - comp-sci-neural-nets
succeeds: ~
suggestions: ~
sword_depositor: ~
sword_slug: ~
thesistype: ~
title: 'The processing of associations versus the processing of relations and symbols: A systematic comparison'
type: confpaper
userid: 470
volume: ~
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