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What can size tell us about abstract conceptual processing?

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What can size tell us about abstract conceptual processing? / Yao, Bo; Taylor, Jack; Sereno, Sara C.
In: Journal of Memory and Language, Vol. 127, 104369, 31.12.2022.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Yao, B, Taylor, J & Sereno, SC 2022, 'What can size tell us about abstract conceptual processing?', Journal of Memory and Language, vol. 127, 104369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2022.104369

APA

Yao, B., Taylor, J., & Sereno, S. C. (2022). What can size tell us about abstract conceptual processing? Journal of Memory and Language, 127, Article 104369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2022.104369

Vancouver

Yao B, Taylor J, Sereno SC. What can size tell us about abstract conceptual processing? Journal of Memory and Language. 2022 Dec 31;127:104369. Epub 2022 Sept 8. doi: 10.1016/j.jml.2022.104369

Author

Yao, Bo ; Taylor, Jack ; Sereno, Sara C. / What can size tell us about abstract conceptual processing?. In: Journal of Memory and Language. 2022 ; Vol. 127.

Bibtex

@article{5527ba12995b4716b829fdcd454c9ff3,
title = "What can size tell us about abstract conceptual processing?",
abstract = "Embodied cognition theories propose that abstract concepts are grounded in a variety of exogenous and endogenous experiences which may be flexibly activated across contexts and tasks. In three experiments, we explored how semantic size (i.e., the magnitude, dimension or extent of an object or a concept) of abstract (vs concrete) concepts is mentally represented. We show that abstract size is metaphorically associated with the physical size of concrete objects (Experiment 1) and can produce a semantic-font size congruency effect comparable to that demonstrated in concrete words during online lexical processing (Experiment 2). Critically, this size congruency effect is large when a word is judged by its semantic size but significantly smaller when it is judged by its emotionality (Experiment 3), regardless of concreteness. Our results suggest that semantic size of abstract concepts can be grounded in visual size, which is activated adaptively under different task demands. The present findings advocate flexible embodiment of semantic representations, with an emphasis on the role of task effects on conceptual processing.",
keywords = "Size, Emotion, Embodied cognition, Semantic processing, Abstract concepts",
author = "Bo Yao and Jack Taylor and Sereno, {Sara C.}",
year = "2022",
month = dec,
day = "31",
doi = "10.1016/j.jml.2022.104369",
language = "English",
volume = "127",
journal = "Journal of Memory and Language",
issn = "0749-596X",
publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - What can size tell us about abstract conceptual processing?

AU - Yao, Bo

AU - Taylor, Jack

AU - Sereno, Sara C.

PY - 2022/12/31

Y1 - 2022/12/31

N2 - Embodied cognition theories propose that abstract concepts are grounded in a variety of exogenous and endogenous experiences which may be flexibly activated across contexts and tasks. In three experiments, we explored how semantic size (i.e., the magnitude, dimension or extent of an object or a concept) of abstract (vs concrete) concepts is mentally represented. We show that abstract size is metaphorically associated with the physical size of concrete objects (Experiment 1) and can produce a semantic-font size congruency effect comparable to that demonstrated in concrete words during online lexical processing (Experiment 2). Critically, this size congruency effect is large when a word is judged by its semantic size but significantly smaller when it is judged by its emotionality (Experiment 3), regardless of concreteness. Our results suggest that semantic size of abstract concepts can be grounded in visual size, which is activated adaptively under different task demands. The present findings advocate flexible embodiment of semantic representations, with an emphasis on the role of task effects on conceptual processing.

AB - Embodied cognition theories propose that abstract concepts are grounded in a variety of exogenous and endogenous experiences which may be flexibly activated across contexts and tasks. In three experiments, we explored how semantic size (i.e., the magnitude, dimension or extent of an object or a concept) of abstract (vs concrete) concepts is mentally represented. We show that abstract size is metaphorically associated with the physical size of concrete objects (Experiment 1) and can produce a semantic-font size congruency effect comparable to that demonstrated in concrete words during online lexical processing (Experiment 2). Critically, this size congruency effect is large when a word is judged by its semantic size but significantly smaller when it is judged by its emotionality (Experiment 3), regardless of concreteness. Our results suggest that semantic size of abstract concepts can be grounded in visual size, which is activated adaptively under different task demands. The present findings advocate flexible embodiment of semantic representations, with an emphasis on the role of task effects on conceptual processing.

KW - Size

KW - Emotion

KW - Embodied cognition

KW - Semantic processing

KW - Abstract concepts

U2 - 10.1016/j.jml.2022.104369

DO - 10.1016/j.jml.2022.104369

M3 - Journal article

VL - 127

JO - Journal of Memory and Language

JF - Journal of Memory and Language

SN - 0749-596X

M1 - 104369

ER -