scholarly journals A review of abstract concept learning in embodied agents and robots

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Cangelosi ◽  
Francesca Stramandinoli
Keyword(s):  
Humanoid Robot ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Embodied Agents ◽  
Finger Counting ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
The Brain

This paper reviews computational modelling approaches to the learning of abstract concepts and words in embodied agents such as humanoid robots. This will include a discussion of the learning of abstract words such as ‘use’ and ‘make’ in humanoid robot experiments, and the acquisition of numerical concepts via gesture and finger counting strategies. The current approaches share a strong emphasis on embodied cognition aspects for the grounding of abstract concepts, and a continuum, rather than dichotomy, view of concrete/abstract concepts differences. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

scholarly journals Abstract concepts, language and sociality: from acquisition to inner speech

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Borghi ◽  
Laura Barca ◽  
Ferdinand Binkofski ◽  
Luca Tummolini
Keyword(s):  
Motor System ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Social Experiences ◽  
Inner Speech ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
System Activation ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Conceptual Meaning

The problem of representation of abstract concepts, such as ‘freedom’ and ‘justice’, has become particularly crucial in recent years, owing to the increased success of embodied and grounded views of cognition. We will present a novel view on abstract concepts and abstract words. Since abstract concepts do not have single objects as referents, children and adults might rely more on input from others to learn them; we, therefore, suggest that linguistic and social experience play an important role for abstract concepts. We will discuss evidence obtained in our and other laboratories showing that processing of abstract concepts evokes linguistic interaction and social experiences, leading to the activation of the mouth motor system. We will discuss the possible mechanisms that underlie this activation. Mouth motor system activation can be due to re-enactment of the experience of conceptual acquisition, which occurred through the mediation of language. Alternatively, it could be due to the re-explanation of the word meaning, possibly through inner speech. Finally, it can be due to a metacognitive process revealing low confidence in the meaning of our concepts. This process induces in us the need to rely on others to ask/negotiate conceptual meaning. We conclude that with abstract concepts language works as a social tool: it extends our thinking abilities and pushes us to rely on others to integrate our knowledge. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use, and representation in the brain’.

scholarly journals The case of CAUSE: neurobiological mechanisms for grounding an abstract concept

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedemann Pulvermüller
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
The Brain

How can we understand causal relationships and how can we understand words such as ‘cause’? Some theorists assume that the underlying abstract concept is given to us, and that perceptual correlation provides the relevant hints towards inferring causation from perceived real-life events. A different approach emphasizes the role of actions and their typical consequences for the emergence of the concept of causation and the application of the related term. A model of causation is proposed that highlights thefamily resemblancebetween causal actions and postulates that symbols are necessary forbinding together the different partially shared semantic features of subsetsof causal actions and their goals. Linguistic symbols are proposed to play a key role in binding the different subsets of semantic features of the abstract concept. The model is spelt out at the neuromechanistic level of distributed cortical circuits and the cognitive functions they carry. The model is discussed in light of behavioural and neuroscience evidence, and questions for future research are highlighted. In sum, taking causation as a concrete example, I argue that abstract concepts and words can be learnt and grounded in real-life interaction, and that the neurobiological mechanisms realizing such abstract semantic grounding are within our grasp.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'.

scholarly journals Metacognition and abstract concepts

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Shea
Keyword(s):  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Internal Assessment ◽  
The Brain

The problem of how concepts can refer to or be about the non-mental world is particularly puzzling for abstract concepts. There is growing evidence that many characteristics beyond the perceptual are involved in grounding different kinds of abstract concept. A resource that has been suggested, but little explored, is introspection. This paper develops that suggestion by focusing specifically on metacognition—on the thoughts and feelings that thinkers have about a concept. One example of metacognition about concepts is the judgement that we should defer to others in how a given concept is used. Another example is our internal assessment of which concepts are dependable and useful, and which less so. Metacognition of this kind may be especially important for grounding abstract concepts. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

scholarly journals Language is more abstract than you think, or, why aren't languages more iconic?

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Lupyan ◽  
Bodo Winter
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Unrelated Question

How abstract is language? We show that abstractness pervades every corner of language, going far beyond the usual examples of freedom and justice . In the light of the ubiquity of abstract words, the need to understand where abstract meanings come from becomes ever more acute. We argue that the best source of knowledge about abstract meanings may be language itself. We then consider a seemingly unrelated question: Why isn't language more iconic? Iconicity—a resemblance between the form of words and their meanings—can be immensely useful in language learning and communication. Languages could be much more iconic than they currently are. So why aren't they? We suggest that one reason is that iconicity is inimical to abstraction because iconic forms are too connected to specific contexts and sensory depictions. Form–meaning arbitrariness may allow language to better convey abstract meanings. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

scholarly journals Functional Neuroanatomy of Contextual Acquisition of Concrete and Abstract Words

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 2154-2171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Mestres-Missé ◽  
Thomas F. Münte ◽  
Antoni Rodriguez-Fornells
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Functional Neuroanatomy ◽  
Linguistic Context ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
New Words ◽  
Simulation Paradigm ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Concrete Words

The meaning of a novel word can be acquired by extracting it from linguistic context. Here we simulated word learning of new words associated to concrete and abstract concepts in a variant of the human simulation paradigm that provided linguistic context information in order to characterize the brain systems involved. Native speakers of Spanish read pairs of sentences in order to derive the meaning of a new word that appeared in the terminal position of the sentences. fMRI revealed that learning the meaning associated to concrete and abstract new words was qualitatively different and recruited similar brain regions as the processing of real concrete and abstract words. In particular, learning of new concrete words selectively boosted the activation of the ventral anterior fusiform gyrus, a region driven by imageability, which has previously been implicated in the processing of concrete words.

scholarly journals Moving beyond the distinction between concrete and abstract concepts

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence W. Barsalou ◽  
Léo Dutriaux ◽  
Christoph Scheepers
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual System ◽  
Frequent Patterns ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Situated Action ◽  
Conceptual Processing ◽  
Individual Concepts ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time

From the perspective of the situated conceptualization framework, the primary purpose of concepts is for categorizing and integrating elements of situations to support goal-directed action (including communication and social interaction). To the extent that important situational elements are categorized and integrated properly, effective goal-directed action follows. Over time, frequent patterns of co-occurring concepts within situations become established in memory as situated conceptualizations, conditioning the conceptual system and producing habitual patterns of conceptual processing. As a consequence, individual concepts are most basically represented within patterns of concepts that become entrained with specific kinds of physical situations. In this framework, the concrete versus abstract distinction between concepts is no longer useful, with two other distinctions becoming important instead: (i) external versus internal situational elements, (ii) situational elements versus situational integrations. Whereas concepts for situational elements originate in distributed neural networks that provide continual feeds about components of situations, concepts for situational integrations originate in association areas that establish temporal co-occurrence relations between situational elements, both external and internal. We propose that studying concepts in the context of situated action is necessary for establishing complete accounts of them, and that continuing to study concepts in isolation is likely to provide relatively incomplete and distorted accounts. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

scholarly journals Language as a disruptive technology: abstract concepts, embodiment and the flexible mind

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Dove
Keyword(s):  
Disruptive Technology ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Cognitive Technology ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
The Brain ◽  
And Task

A growing body of evidence suggests that cognition is embodied and grounded. Abstract concepts, though, remain a significant theoretical challenge. A number of researchers have proposed that language makes an important contribution to our capacity to acquire and employ concepts, particularly abstract ones. In this essay, I critically examine this suggestion and ultimately defend a version of it. I argue that a successful account of how language augments cognition should emphasize its symbolic properties and incorporate a view of embodiment that recognizes the flexible, multimodal and task-related nature of action, emotion and perception systems. On this view, language is an ontogenetically disruptive cognitive technology that expands our conceptual reach. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

scholarly journals Scanning of speechless comics changes spatial biases in mental model construction

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Román ◽  
Andrea Flumini ◽  
Julio Santiago
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Mental Representation ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Model Construction ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
The Brain

The mental representation of both time and number shows lateral spatial biases, which can be affected by habitual reading and writing direction. However, this effect is in place before children begin to read. One potential early cause is the experiences of looking at picture books together with a carer, as those images also follow the directionality of the script. What is the underlying mechanism for this effect? In the present study, we test the possibility that such experiences induce spatial biases in mental model construction, a mechanism which is a good candidate to induce the biases observed with numbers and times. We presented a speechless comic in either standard (left-to-right) or mirror-reversed (right-to-left) form to adult Spanish participants. We then asked them to draw the scene depicted by sentences like ‘the square is between the cross and the circle’. The position of the lateral objects in these drawings reveals the spatial biases at work when building mental models in working memory. Under conditions of highly consistent directionality, the mirror comic changed pre-existing lateral biases. Processes of mental model construction in working memory stand as a potential mechanism for the generation of spatial biases for time and number. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

scholarly journals Gender is not simply a matter of black and white, or is it?

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gün R. Semin ◽  
Tomás Palma ◽  
Cengiz Acartürk ◽  
Aleksandra Dziuba
Keyword(s):  
Female Gender ◽  
Male Gender ◽  
Gender Classification ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Black And White ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Female Target ◽  
The Brain

Based on research in physical anthropology, we argue that brightness marks the abstract category of gender, with light colours marking the female gender and dark colours marking the male gender. In a set of three experiments, we examine this hypothesis, first in a speeded gender classification experiment with male and female names presented in black and white. As expected, male names in black and female names in white are classified faster than the reverse gender-colour combinations. The second experiment relies on a gender classification task involving the disambiguation of very briefly appearing non-descript stimuli in the form of black and white ‘blobs’. The former are classified predominantly as male and the latter as female names. Finally, the processes driving light and dark object choices for males and females are examined by tracking the number of fixations and their duration in an eye-tracking experiment. The results reveal that when choosing for a male target, participants look longer and make more fixations on dark objects, and the same for light objects when choosing for a female target. The implications of these findings, which repeatedly reveal the same data patterns across experiments with Dutch, Portuguese and Turkish samples for the abstract category of gender, are discussed. The discussion attempts to enlarge the subject beyond mainstream models of embodied grounding. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

scholarly journals Communicating abstract meaning: concepts revealed in words and gestures

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenka Zdrazilova ◽  
David M. Sidhu ◽  
Penny M. Pexman
Keyword(s):  
Concrete Word ◽  
Abstract Word ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Multiple Representation ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Representation Systems ◽  
Abstract Nouns ◽  
Concrete Nouns ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
The Brain

Abstract words refer to concepts that cannot be directly experienced through our senses (e.g. truth , morality ). How we ground the meanings of abstract words is one of the deepest problems in cognitive science today. We investigated this question in an experiment in which 62 participants were asked to communicate the meanings of words (20 abstract nouns, e.g. impulse ; 10 concrete nouns, e.g. insect ) to a partner without using the words themselves (the taboo task). We analysed the speech and associated gestures that participants used to communicate the meaning of each word in the taboo task. Analysis of verbal and gestural data yielded a number of insights. When communicating about the meanings of abstract words, participants' speech referenced more people and introspections. In contrast, the meanings of concrete words were communicated by referencing more objects and entities. Gesture results showed that when participants spoke about abstract word meanings their speech was accompanied by more metaphorical and beat gestures, and speech about concrete word meanings was accompanied by more iconic gestures. Taken together, the results suggest that abstract meanings are best captured by a model that allows dynamic access to multiple representation systems. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

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