Does visualisation help or hinder concrete word processing?

In an iconicity judgement task, participants were asked whether word pairs were iconic (e.g., nose–tongue; joy–sorrow) or reverse-iconic (e.g., tongue–nose; sorrow–joy), and an advantage for abstract word pairs (i.e., joy–sorrow) was found. Malhi and Buchanan proposed that this reverse concreteness, or abstractness, effect was the result of participants taking a visualisation/imagining (time-costly) approach towards the concrete word pairs and an emotional/intuitive (time-efficient) approach towards the abstract word pairs. This study tested this proposal by asking participants questions about strategy use (Experiment 1). In the forced-choice questions, all participants reported using a visualisation/imagining approach towards the concrete word pairs and most participants reported using an emotional/intuitive approach towards the abstract word pairs. In the open-ended responses, visual-spatial reasoning and real-life experience emerged as themes for the concrete word pairs and social norms and values emerged as themes for the abstract word pairs, adding to our understanding of the grounding of abstract words. In Experiment 2, participants were supplied with pictures as an aid to visualisation with the expectation that this would reduce the time required for concrete word processing. Supplying pictures made participants faster and more accurate at completing the task. Experiment 3 manipulated the type of visual aid by also supplying pictures that did not match the orientation of the word pairs. Participants were only more accurate when the pictures were in the correct and iconic spatial arrangement. A flexible abstractness and concreteness effects (FACE) theory is proposed which integrates symbolic and embodied accounts and introduces constructs such as direct and constrained imageability for concrete words and indirect and free imageability for abstract words.

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Abstract Semantic Associative Network Training: A Replication and Update of an Abstract Word Retrieval Therapy Program

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00066 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 1574-1595

Author(s):

Chaleece W. Sandberg ◽

Teresa Gray

Keyword(s):

Concrete Word ◽

Abstract Word ◽

Distinct Pattern ◽

Word Retrieval ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Associative Network ◽

Direct Training ◽

Network Training ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Concrete Words

Purpose We report on a study that replicates previous treatment studies using Abstract Semantic Associative Network Training (AbSANT), which was developed to help persons with aphasia improve their ability to retrieve abstract words, as well as thematically related concrete words. We hypothesized that previous results would be replicated; that is, when abstract words are trained using this protocol, improvement would be observed for both abstract and concrete words in the same context-category, but when concrete words are trained, no improvement for abstract words would be observed. We then frame the results of this study with the results of previous studies that used AbSANT to provide better evidence for the utility of this therapeutic technique. We also discuss proposed mechanisms of AbSANT. Method Four persons with aphasia completed one phase of concrete word training and one phase of abstract word training using the AbSANT protocol. Effect sizes were calculated for each word type for each phase. Effect sizes for this study are compared with the effect sizes from previous studies. Results As predicted, training abstract words resulted in both direct training and generalization effects, whereas training concrete words resulted in only direct training effects. The reported results are consistent across studies. Furthermore, when the data are compared across studies, there is a distinct pattern of the added benefit of training abstract words using AbSANT. Conclusion Treatment for word retrieval in aphasia is most often aimed at concrete words, despite the usefulness and pervasiveness of abstract words in everyday conversation. We show the utility of AbSANT as a means of improving not only abstract word retrieval but also concrete word retrieval and hope this evidence will help foster its application in clinical practice.

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The Anatomical Correlates of Abstract and Concrete Words: A meta-analytical review of whole-brain imaging studies

10.21203/rs.3.rs-258993/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Madalina Bucur ◽

Costanza Papagno

Keyword(s):

Word Processing ◽

Abstract Word ◽

Imaging Studies ◽

Middle Temporal ◽

Abstract Nouns ◽

Neuroimaging Data ◽

Analytical Review ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

Concrete Words

Abstract Several studies have investigated how abstract and concrete concepts are processed in the brain, but data are controversial, in particular neuroimaging data contrast with clinical neuropsychological observations. A possible explanation could be that previous meta-analyses considered different types of stimuli (nouns, verbs, literal and figurative sentences). Using the ALE method, we meta-analyzed 32 brain-activation imaging studies that considered only words (nouns and verbs). Five clusters were associated with concrete words (the left superior occipital, middle temporal, parahippocampal and bilateral posterior cingulate, angular, and precuneus gyri); four clusters were associated with abstract words (left IFG, superior, and middle temporal gyri). When only nouns were considered three left activation clusters were associated with concrete stimuli and only one with abstract nouns (left IFG). These results confirm that concrete and abstract word processing involves at least partially segregated brain areas, the IFG being relevant for abstract nouns and verbs while more posterior temporo-parieto-occipital regions seem to be crucial for concrete words.

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Distinct Brain Systems for Processing Concrete and Abstract Concepts

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/0898929054021102 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 905-917 ◽

Cited By ~ 346

Author(s):

J. R. Binder ◽

C. F. Westbury ◽

K. A. McKiernan ◽

E. T. Possing ◽

D. A. Medler

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Knowledge ◽

Word Processing ◽

Semantic Processing ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Concrete Word ◽

Angular Gyrus ◽

Abstract Concepts ◽

Central Interest ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Concrete Words

Behavioral and neurophysiological effects of word imageability and concreteness remain a topic of central interest in cognitive neuroscience and could provide essential clues for understanding how the brain processes conceptual knowledge. We examined these effects using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants identified concrete and abstract words. Relative to nonwords, concrete and abstract words both activated a left-lateralized network of multimodal association areas previously linked with verbal semantic processing. Areas in the left lateral temporal lobe were equally activated by both word types, whereas bilateral regions including the angular gyrus and the dorsal prefrontal cortex were more strongly engaged by concrete words. Relative to concrete words, abstract words activated left inferior frontal regions previously linked with phonological and verbal working memory processes. The results show overlapping but partly distinct neural systems for processing concrete and abstract concepts, with greater involvement of bilateral association areas during concrete word processing, and processing of abstract concepts almost exclusively by the left hemisphere.

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Communicating abstract meaning: concepts revealed in words and gestures

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2017.0138 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 373 (1752) ◽

pp. 20170138 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

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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Pacifier overuse interferes with children’s abstract word processing

10.31219/osf.io/p7a9u ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Laura Barca ◽

Claudia Mazzuca ◽

Anna M. Borghi

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Word Processing ◽

Abstract Word ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Abstract Concepts ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Emotional Words ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Perception Action

The prolonged use of an oral device affecting facial mimicry and the position of mouth muscles (i.e. the pacifier) during the acquisition of linguistic, emotional and cognitive abilities, could have an impact on children’s conceptual representation. Here we explore if the lasting effect of pacifier overuse affects categorization. Typically developing children aged 7-8 years performed a semantic categorization task (animal vs. non-animal), where non-animal stimuli were abstract, concrete and emotional words. The speed of response of children who overused the pacifier was modulated by the type of words they had to process, with slower response time for abstract words, followed by concrete and then emotional ones. The influence of the type of word was less marked for the other groups of children, and they overall presented a similar pattern. Markedly, this is the first evidence of a long-lasting interference effect of pacifier overuse on language processing. Its influence is specific for abstract words processing, suggesting that it preventing phonoarticulatory simulations at time of language acquisition influences representation of abstract concepts. Results support the view that abstract words are grounded both in perception-action and language.

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