Women's Advantage on Verbal Memory is Not Restricted to Concrete Words

2002 ◽  
Vol 91 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1137-1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doreen Kimura ◽  
Paul G. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Sex Difference ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Real Object ◽  
Verbal Intelligence ◽  
Female Advantage ◽  
Adaptive Mechanisms ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Words ◽  
Better Than

It is well established that women perform better than men on tests of verbal memory, but the nature of this advantage is unclear. To examine whether reference to a real object is a factor, we presented several verbal memory tasks, including one containing words high and low in concreteness. Over all tests there was an expected female advantage. Although concrete words were recalled much better than abstract words, the female advantage was equivalent on both. The sex difference was not accounted for by a difference in verbal intelligence. Possible brain and adaptive mechanisms are discussed.

scholarly journals Concrete vs abstract words – what do you recall better? A study on dual coding theory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Yui ◽  
Roslin Ng ◽  
Hiran Perera-W.A.
Keyword(s):  
Coding Theory ◽  
Dual Coding ◽  
Dual Coding Theory ◽  
Asian Ethnicity ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Words ◽  
Better Than

This study was conducted to investigate the theory of dual coding on remembering words, by testing whether concrete words are better recalled than abstract words. A total of 298 (from Asian ethnicity) participants took part in this study. The participants were divided into two groups, where each group was given a list of abstract or concrete words. Then, they were asked to write down as many words as they recall within two minute. The results demonstrated that the participants recalled concrete words better than the abstract words, supporting previous studies.

Sex Differences in Recall of Real or Nonsense Words

2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doreen Kimura ◽  
Brooke N. Seal
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
The Real ◽  
Female Advantage ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Better Than

Women perform better than men on tests of verbal memory, but the nature of this advantage has not been precisely established. To examine whether phonemic memory is a factor in the female advantage, we presented, along with other verbal memory tasks, one containing nonsense words. Overall, there was the expected female advantage. However, an examination of the individual tests showed female superiority in recall of the real words but not the nonsense words.

scholarly journals Verbal Paired Associates and the Hippocampus: The Role of Scenes

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1821-1845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A. Clark ◽  
Misun Kim ◽  
Eleanor A. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Abstract Word ◽  
Hippocampal Damage ◽  
Matched Pairs ◽  
Hippocampal Function ◽  
Paired Associates ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Words

It is widely agreed that patients with bilateral hippocampal damage are impaired at binding pairs of words together. Consequently, the verbal paired associates (VPA) task has become emblematic of hippocampal function. This VPA deficit is not well understood and is particularly difficult for hippocampal theories with a visuospatial bias to explain (e.g., cognitive map and scene construction theories). Resolving the tension among hippocampal theories concerning the VPA could be important for leveraging a fuller understanding of hippocampal function. Notably, VPA tasks typically use high imagery concrete words and so conflate imagery and binding. To determine why VPA engages the hippocampus, we devised an fMRI encoding task involving closely matched pairs of scene words, pairs of object words, and pairs of very low imagery abstract words. We found that the anterior hippocampus was engaged during processing of both scene and object word pairs in comparison to abstract word pairs, despite binding occurring in all conditions. This was also the case when just subsequently remembered stimuli were considered. Moreover, for object word pairs, fMRI activity patterns in anterior hippocampus were more similar to those for scene imagery than object imagery. This was especially evident in participants who were high imagery users and not in mid and low imagery users. Overall, our results show that hippocampal engagement during VPA, even when object word pairs are involved, seems to be evoked by scene imagery rather than binding. This may help to resolve the issue that visuospatial hippocampal theories have in accounting for verbal memory.

scholarly journals Concrete vs abstract words – what do you recall better? A study on dual coding theory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Yui ◽  
Roslin Ng ◽  
Hiran Perera-W.A.
Keyword(s):  
Coding Theory ◽  
Dual Coding ◽  
Dual Coding Theory ◽  
Asian Ethnicity ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Words ◽  
Better Than

This study was conducted to investigate the theory of dual coding on remembering words, by testing whether concrete words are better recalled than abstract words. A total of 298 (from Asian ethnicity) participants took part in this study. The participants were divided into two groups, where each group was given a list of abstract or concrete words. Then, they were asked to write down as many words as they recall within two minute. The results demonstrated that the participants recalled concrete words better than the abstract words, supporting previous studies.

The grammatical class effect is separable from the concreteness effect in language learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 554-569
Author(s):  
Katherine I. Martin ◽  
Natasha Tokowicz
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Class Effect ◽  
Grammatical Class ◽  
Concreteness Effect ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Words ◽  
Better Than

AbstractTypically concrete words are learned better than abstract words (Kaushanskaya & Rechtzigel, 2012), and nouns are learned better than verbs (Kauschke & Stenneken, 2008). However, most studies on concreteness have not manipulated grammatical class (and vice versa), leaving the relationship between the two unclear. Therefore, in two experiments we examined the effects of grammatical class and concreteness simultaneously in foreign language vocabulary learning. In Experiment 1, English speakers learned ‘foreign language’ words (English pseudowords) mapped to concrete and abstract nouns and verbs. In Experiment 2, English speakers learned German words with the same procedure. Overall, the typical advantages for concrete words and nouns were observed. Hierarchical regression analyses provided evidence that the grammatical class effect is separable from the concreteness effect. This result challenges a strict concreteness-based source of noun/verb differences. The results also suggest that the influences of concreteness and grammatical class may vary across language measures and tasks.

scholarly journals Emotion and concreteness effects when learning novel concepts in the native language

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-191
Author(s):  
Marc Guasch ◽  
Pilar Ferré
Keyword(s):  
Native Language ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Intentional Learning ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Concepts ◽  
Concrete Words ◽  
Better Than

Abstract The aim of the present study was to test the proposal of Kousta et al. (2011), according to which abstract words are more affectively loaded than concrete words. To this end, we focused on the acquisition of novel concepts by means of an intentional learning experiment in which participants had to learn a set of 40 novel concepts in Spanish (definitions) associated with novel word forms (pseudowords). Concreteness (concrete vs. abstract concepts) and emotionality (neutral vs. negative concepts) were orthogonally manipulated. Acquisition was assessed through a recognition task in which participants were asked to match the novel word forms with their definitions. Results showed that concrete concepts were acquired better than abstract concepts. Importantly, the concreteness advantage disappeared when the content of the concept was negative. Hence, emotional (negative) content facilitated the acquisition of abstract concepts, but not of concrete concepts, giving support to the proposal of Kousta et al. (2011).

scholarly journals Verbal paired associates and the hippocampus: The role of scenes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A. Clark ◽  
Misun Kim ◽  
Eleanor A. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Abstract Word ◽  
Hippocampal Damage ◽  
Matched Pairs ◽  
Hippocampal Function ◽  
Paired Associates ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Words

ABSTRACTIt is widely agreed that patients with bilateral hippocampal damage are impaired at binding pairs of words together. Consequently, the verbal paired associates (VPA) task has become emblematic of hippocampal function. This VPA deficit is not well understood, and is particularly difficult for hippocampal theories with a visuospatial bias to explain (e.g., cognitive map and scene construction theories). Resolving the tension among hippocampal theories concerning the VPA could be important for leveraging a fuller understanding of hippocampal function. Notably, VPA tasks typically use high imagery concrete words and so conflate imagery and binding. To determine why VPA engages the hippocampus, we devised an fMRI encoding task involving closely matched pairs of scene words, pairs of object words and pairs of very low imagery abstract words. We found that the anterior hippocampus was engaged during processing of both scene and object word pairs in comparison to abstract word pairs, despite binding occurring in all conditions. This was also the case when just subsequently remembered stimuli were considered. Moreover, for object word pairs, fMRI activity patterns in anterior hippocampus were more similar to those for scene imagery than object imagery. This was especially evident in participants who were high imagery users, and not in mid and low imagery users. Overall, our results show that hippocampal engagement during VPA, even when object word pairs are involved, seems to be evoked by scene imagery rather than binding. This may help to resolve the issue that visuospatial hippocampal theories have in accounting for verbal memory.

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

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.

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.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document