Word Learning: Concrete vs Abstract Acquisition

Concrete vs abstract word learning was investigated in first grade subjects on a trials-to-criterion basis. Eight four-letter words were selected (four concrete, four abstract) from a list of common words and presented mechanically to subjects. Subjects were divided into groups high and low in reading readiness. A 2 × 2 analysis of variance indicated that contrary to previously published research, there is no difference in the ability to learn concrete or abstract words. Further, low-readiness subjects did not perform with any significant degree of difference from subjects high in readiness. It was concluded that concreteness or abstractness may not be a significant factor in word learning, as previously assumed.

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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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Use of Magnitude-Estimation Scaling for Predicting Hemispheric Processing of Lexical Decisions

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1993.76.3c.1147 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 76 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1147-1152 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lee W. Ellis ◽

Joan N. Kaderavek ◽

Michael P. Rastatter

Keyword(s):

Reaction Time ◽

Lexical Decision ◽

Analysis Of Variance ◽

Magnitude Estimation ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Normal Subjects ◽

Hemispheric Processing ◽

Lexical Decisions ◽

Significant Magnitude ◽

Abstract Words

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and validity of magnitude-estimation scaling as an alternative to a traditional, somewhat more cumbersome reaction-time procedure in the assessment of hemispheric processing asymmetry. Lexical decision vocal reaction times and magnitude-estimation scaling values were obtained for 16 normal subjects to tachistoscopically presented concrete and abstract words. Analysis of variance showed identical interactions of field x stimuli for each dependent variable while all pair-wise correlations between these measures were significant. Magnitude-estimation scaling may be a sensitive measure of visual psychophysical differences in hemispheric processing and may circumvent problems with variance of latencies associated with disordered populations.

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Learning abstract words and concepts: insights from developmental language disorder

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2017.0140 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 373 (1752) ◽

pp. 20170140 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Marta Ponari ◽

Courtenay Frazier Norbury ◽

Armand Rotaru ◽

Alessandro Lenci ◽

Gabriella Vigliocco

Keyword(s):

Language Disorder ◽

Abstract Word ◽

Primary Role ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Developmental Language Disorder ◽

Abstract Concepts ◽

Abstract Knowledge ◽

Linguistic Input ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Concrete Words

Some explanations of abstract word learning suggest that these words are learnt primarily from the linguistic input, using statistical co-occurrences of words in language, whereas concrete words can also rely on non-linguistic, experiential information. According to this hypothesis, we expect that, if the learner is not able to fully exploit the information in the linguistic input, abstract words should be affected more than concrete ones. Embodied approaches instead argue that both abstract and concrete words can rely on experiential information and, therefore, there might not be any linguistic primacy. Here, we test the role of linguistic input in the development of abstract knowledge with children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and typically developing children aged 8–13. We show that DLD children, who by definition have impoverished language, do not show a disproportionate impairment for abstract words in lexical decision and definition tasks. These results indicate that linguistic information does not have a primary role in the learning of abstract concepts and words; rather, it would play a significant role in semantic development across all domains of knowledge. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

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Neural Correlates of Abstract Verb Processing

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2010.21414 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 106-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Javier Rodríguez-Ferreiro ◽

Silvia P. Gennari ◽

Robert Davies ◽

Fernando Cuetos

Keyword(s):

Active Regions ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Abstract Word ◽

Semantic Retrieval ◽

Word Meanings ◽

Property Integration ◽

Verb Processing ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Extensive Body ◽

Abstract Verbs

The present study investigated the neural correlates of the processing of abstract (low imageability) verbs. An extensive body of literature has investigated concrete versus abstract nouns but little is known about how abstract verbs are processed. Spanish abstract verbs including emotion verbs (e.g., amar, “to love”; molestar, “to annoy”) were compared to concrete verbs (e.g., llevar, “to carry”; arrastrar, “to drag”). Results indicated that abstract verbs elicited stronger activity in regions previously associated with semantic retrieval such as inferior frontal, anterior temporal, and posterior temporal regions, and that concrete and abstract activation networks (compared to that of pseudoverbs) were partially distinct, with concrete verbs eliciting more posterior activity in these regions. In contrast to previous studies investigating nouns, verbs strongly engage both left and right inferior frontal gyri, suggesting, as previously found, that right prefrontal cortex aids difficult semantic retrieval. Together with previous evidence demonstrating nonverbal conceptual roles for the active regions as well as experiential content for abstract word meanings, our results suggest that abstract verbs impose greater demands on semantic retrieval or property integration, and are less consistent with the view that abstract words recruit left-lateralized regions because they activate verbal codes or context, as claimed by proponents of the dual-code theory. Moreover, our results are consistent with distributed accounts of semantic memory because distributed networks may coexist with varying retrieval demands.

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MANOVA: A Procedure Whose Time Has Passed?

Gifted Child Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0016986219887200 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 56-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Francis L. Huang

Keyword(s):

Multivariate Analysis ◽

Analysis Of Variance ◽

Research Question ◽

Statistical Procedure ◽

Large Majority ◽

Multivariate Analysis Of Variance ◽

Dependent Variables ◽

Research Questions ◽

Post Hoc ◽

Published Research

Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) is a statistical procedure commonly used in fields such as education and psychology. However, MANOVA’s popularity may actually be for the wrong reasons. The large majority of published research using MANOVA focus on univariate research questions rather than on the multivariate questions that MANOVA is said to specifically address. Given the more complicated and limited nature of interpreting MANOVA effects (which researchers may not actually be interested in given the actual post hoc strategies employed) and that various flexible and well-known statistical alternatives are available, I suggest that researchers consult these better known, robust, and flexible procedures instead, given the proper match with the research question of interest. Just because a researcher has multiple dependent variables of interest does not mean that a MANOVA should be used at all.

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The benefits of abstract word training on productive vocabulary knowledge among second language learners

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716419000262 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (6) ◽

pp. 1331-1362

Author(s):

Chaleece W. Sandberg ◽

Erin Carpenter ◽

Katherine Kerschen ◽

Daniela Paolieri ◽

Carrie N. Jackson

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Abstract Word ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Lexical Retrieval ◽

Generation Task ◽

Training Paradigm ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Concrete Words

AbstractThis study investigates the effect of an abstract word training paradigm initially developed to treat lexical retrieval deficits in patients with aphasia on second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. Three English–Spanish L2 learners (Experiment 1) and 10 Spanish–English L2 learners (Experiment 3) were trained on 15 abstract words within a context-category (e.g., restaurant) using a five-step training paradigm based on semantic feature analysis. In addition, 7 English–Spanish L2 learners were trained on either abstract or concrete words within a context-category (Experiment 2). Across all experiments, the majority of participants trained on abstract words showed improved production of the trained abstract words, as measured by a word generation task, as well as improvement on untrained concrete words within the same context-category (i.e., generalization). Participants trained on concrete words (Experiment 2) exhibited much smaller word production gains and no generalization to abstract words. These results parallel previous findings from aphasia research and suggest that this training paradigm can successfully be extended to L2 learning contexts, where it has the potential to be a useful tool in vocabulary instruction. We discuss the findings in terms of models of spreading activation and the underlying conceptual representations of abstract and concrete words in the L2 lexicon.

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The Effects of Visual Discrimination Training on Reading Readiness Test Performance of Impulsive First Grade Boys

The Journal of Educational Research ◽

10.1080/00220671.1976.10884918 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 69 (9) ◽

pp. 338-340 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jon E. Shapiro

Keyword(s):

Discrimination Training ◽

Test Performance ◽

Visual Discrimination ◽

First Grade ◽

Reading Readiness

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Problem-Solving Performances of First-Grade Children

Journal for Research in Mathematics Education ◽

10.5951/jresematheduc.2.1.0050 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 50-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Leslie P. Steffe ◽

David C. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Multivariate Analysis ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Analysis Of Variance ◽

Significant Interaction ◽

Univariate Analysis ◽

First Grade ◽

Problem Type ◽

Problem Types ◽

Main Effect ◽

Main Effects

A sample of 111 first-grade children was partitioned into 4 categories, where the categorization was determined by an ability to make quantitative comparisons and IQ. 6 problems of each of 8 problem types were presented to each child in a randomized sequence. Approximately one-half of the children in each category were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 levels of Problem Conditions. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated that IQ was not significant. Problem Conditions was significant (p<.01p<.01). Univariate analysis indicated a significant interaction (p<.05p<.05) due to Quantitative Comparisons and Problem Conditions for 1 problem type; significant main effects (p<.01p<.01) due to Problem Conditions for the remaining 7 problem types; and a significant (p<.05p<.05) main effect due to Quantitative Comparisons for 1 of the remaining 7 problem types.

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