Semantics of Imperative Statements in the Modern Kyrgyz Language

The cognitive features of imperative utterances in the modern Kyrgyz language have been investigated. As you know, the imperative has two different meanings: one means urgency, necessity and importance, and the other - attempts to influence the actions of other people. Imperative means something extremely important or necessary. It also means order. The analyzed imperative statements are considered in the mainstream of conceptual grammar, which allows you to highlight syntactic concepts, or mental images that stand behind linguistic signs and are reflected in the analyzed syntactic structures. The purpose of the article is to identify and describe imperative utterances in the Kyrgyz language, to reveal the mechanisms for changing the prototypical meaning of the verb lexicon in the structure of the imperative using theories such as the theory of functional styles, the theory of discourse, the theory of speech acts and the theory of grammar of constructions. The relevance of the article is due to the need to study the semantic features of the imperative statements of the modern Kyrgyz language. The purpose of this work is to show the features of imperatives, to carefully study the types and functions of imperatives in the Kyrgyz language. The data were analyzed using a comparative analysis to find out the differences and similarities of the imperatives of the Kyrgyz language with other languages. The study belongs to qualitative research, as it was conducted using the method of contrast analysis as a comparison of languages. The object of the research is the data imperatives were taken from the sources that were needed for the research.

Visualizing Risky Behaviors Induces a Stronger Neural Response in Brain Areas Responsible for Mental Imagery and Emotions Than Visualizing Neutral Behaviors

In the present study, we used a neuroimaging technique (fMRI) to test the prediction that visualizing risky behaviors induces a stronger neural response in brain areas responsible for emotions and mental imagery than visualizing neutral behaviors. We identified several brain regions that were activated when participants produced mental images of risky versus neutral behaviors and these regions overlap with brain areas engaged in visual mental imagery, speech imagery and movement imagery. We also found that producing mental images of risky behaviors, in contrast to neutral behaviors, increased neural activation in the insula – a region engaged in emotional processing. This finding is in line with previous results demonstrating that the insula is recruited by tasks involving induction of emotional recall/imagery. Finally, we observed an increased BOLD signal in the cingulate gyrus (mid-cingulate area), which is associated with reward-based decision making and monitoring of decision outcomes. In summary, we demonstrated that mental images of risky behaviors, compared to risk-free behaviors, increased neural activation in brain areas engaged in mental imagery processes, emotional processing and decision making. These findings imply that the evaluation of everyday risky situations may originate in visualizing the potential consequences of risk taking and may be driven by emotional responses that result from mental imagery.

Virtual internationalization as a new form of communication between university and foreign students during the global pandemic

This article introduces an original methodological approach to determining and creating mental images of the university and the region in which it is located for foreign students and enrollees. This approach is based on methodology of determining cultural artifacts, concepts and constants that may become the base for the digital visualization of the region’s (in which the university is located) cultural environment. Mental images created using this methodology are the foundation for the new form of communication that is the basis of the “virtual internationalization”. In the article we justify the idea that in the process of globalization - that was heavily influenced by the pandemic – universities can provide unique experiences in exploring culture, history and everyday life of a foreign country or a different region. It is this very experience that motivates enrollees in their choice of studying at a foreign university, and this is why it can be considered the driving force of internationalization, the importance of which for the university’s reputation is not diminished by the pandemic.

Mental Imagery in Bertrand Russell’s Nobel Lecture “What Desires Are Politically Important?”

The article presents the analysis of the mental images of human desires and their verbalization techniques involved in Bertrand Russell’s Nobel lecture delivered in 1950. Human desires are non-material mental constructs that are not clearly defined in the dictionaries, their verbalization being complicated by the issues related to rationality, psychology of thinking, objectivity, and the variability of individual behavioral reactions. The results of the research suggest that the verbalization of desires is essentially complicated by social and cultural stereotypes. It has been noted that storytelling can be applied as one of the most effective techniques to create the required mental imagery of desires in the recipient’s mind. B. Russell’s unique manner of defining such politically important desires as acquisitiveness, vanity, glory, love of power, excitement is carefully analyzed. The use of figurative language as well as conceptual and stylistic metaphors that facilitate the process of shaping mental images of desires have also been the focus of our attention. Special consideration has been given to the analysis of the verbalization means of the politically important desires.

Shakespeare sonnet reading: An empirical study of emotional responses

The present study combines literary theory and cognitive psychology to empirically explore some cognitive and emotional facets of poetry reading, exemplified by the reading of three Shakespeare sonnets. Specifically, predictions generated combining quantitative textual analysis according to the Neurocognitive Poetics model with qualitative textual analysis based on the Foregrounding assessment Matrix of sonnets no. 27, 60 and 66 are empirically tested by analyzing 45 subjects’ ratings of the three sonnets. Reflecting the differences in foregrounding potential of the three sonnets found in the textual analysis, we expected to find different reader responses, accordingly. Our dependent variables are well-established categories of emotional evaluation (e.g. valence and arousal) and cognitive, affective and aesthetic aspects of readers’ responses (e.g. liking and understanding) as well as less common ones (e.g. wonder, delight and mental images). The statistical analyses suggest that the type of foregrounding is more important than the number of foregrounded elements. This finding motivated further qualitative exploration of reader responses to open questions regarding mental images and perceived feelings. Comparing the free recall data about the feelings perceived in the sonnets with the ratings data about Valence and Arousal indicated that only the former one reflects a clear distinction between all three sonnets, whereas the readers’ overall evaluations did not sustain this variety of feelings. Multi-method, interdisciplinary research of this kind contributes to improving our understanding of the potentially unique mechanisms involved in poetry reception, and to forming more precise hypotheses for future experimental studies using, for example, eye tracking.

Visual imagery vividness declines across the lifespan

The capacity to elicit vivid visual mental images varies within an extensive range across individuals between hyper- and aphantasia. It is not clear, however, whether imagery vividness is constant across the lifespan or changes during development and later in life. Without enforcing the constraints of strict experimental procedures and representativity across the entire population, our purpose was to take a first look at the self-reported level of imagery vividness and determine the relative proportion of aphantasic/hyperphantasic participants in different age-groups. Relying on the frequently used Vividness of Visual Mental Imagery questionnaire, we collected data on a random sample of 2252 participants between the ages of 12 to 60 years. We found a novel developmental pattern describing a declining ability to elicit vivid visual mental images in the group averages of different age-groups from adolescence to middle age. This effect involves both a decreasing proportion of individuals with very vivid imagery and an increasing proportion of individuals with weak imagery as maturation (assessed by boneage estimations in adolescents) and aging progresses. This finding may help to shed light on yet unknown developmental mechanisms of our internal, stimulus-independent processes, and might also help to determine genetic, maturational, and age-dependent factors in the extreme cases of hyper- and aphantasia.

EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF SECONDARY OBJECT AND SPATIAL IMAGERY ON A LITERARY TEXT TRANSLATION

Статья посвящена исследованию влияния вторичных образов различного типа на перевод художественного текста. Результаты эксперимента подтверждают ведущую роль предметных образов для нахождения адекватных решений. Также показано наличие умеренной обратной корреляции между уровнем образного мышления в целом и количеством неадекватных трансформаций в переводе. Выявлено негативное влияние на результаты перевода низкого пространственного воображения. The article aims to investigate the influence of different types of secondary mental images on literary text translation. Our experimental data confirm a stone role of object imagery for finding adequate translation solutions, as well as suggest a moderate negative correlation between individual imagery scores and the number of inadequate translation solutions. A low level of spatial imagery may negatively affect the translator’s choices.

The Poverty and Richness of the Imaginary

There is an ambiguity in Jean-Paul Sartre’s The Imaginary (1940). On the one hand, Sartre describes mental images as impoverished in contrast to the fullness and depth of the world of perception. On the other hand, Sartre identifies the imagination with human freedom, and in this sense the imaginary can be seen as an enrichment of the real. This paper explores this ambiguity and its import for understanding both racist and antiracist ways of relating to others. Part One explores Sartre’s argument for the “essential poverty” of the image through examples of racist images. Part Two discusses the enriching power of the imaginary for cultivating more just social and political arrangements in the context of racial oppression. Part Three argues that bad faith can take the form either of fleeing from reality into the impoverished world of the imaginary, or of failing to see the imaginary possibilities implicitly enriching the real.

The Association Between Test Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, and Mental Images Among University Students: Results From an Online Survey

Background and Objectives: A substantial portion of students report test anxiety, and those reporting low levels of self-efficacy seem to be especially affected. Previous research has indicated the relevance of mental images in the maintenance of anxiety disorders, however, no data are available with respect to test anxiety. In order to close this gap, the present study investigates the association between test anxiety, self-efficacy and mental images.Method: One hundred sixty-three university students completed an online survey. Test anxiety (PAF), general self-efficacy (WIRKALL-r), study-related self-efficacy (WIRK_STUD), intrusiveness of mental images (IFES), spontaneous use of imagery (SUIS) and vividness of imagery (VVIQ) were examined.Results: Test-related mental images were frequently reported among the surveyed students. Test anxiety showed a positive correlation with IFES and a negative correlation with self-efficacy. Mediation analyses showed that about one fifth of the influence of self-efficacy on test anxiety is mediated by IFES.Discussion: The present study gives first indication about an association between test anxiety, self-efficacy and mental images, even though the results are limited with respect to generalizability. Further investigations with respect to the impact of test-related mental images on the self-efficacy/test-anxiety linkage are needed.