Exploring the Consequences of Biculturalism: Cognitive Complexity

To explore the possible socio-cognitive consequences of biculturalism, we examined the complexity of cultural representations in monocultural and bicultural individuals. Study 1 found that Chinese-American biculturals’ free descriptions of both American and Chinese cultures were higher in cognitive complexity than that of Anglo-American monoculturals, but the same effect was not apparent in descriptions of culturally-neutral entities (landscapes). Using the same procedures, Study 2 found that the cultural representations of biculturals with low levels of Bicultural Identity Integration (BII; or biculturals with conflicted cultural identities) were more cognitively complex than that of biculturals with high BII (biculturals with compatible cultural identities). This work shows that biculturalism and BII have meaningful cognitive consequences; further it suggests that exposure to more than one culture increases individuals’ ability to detect, process, and organize everyday cultural meaning, highlighting the potential benefits of multiculturalism

The challenge of abstract concepts

Abstract concepts (\u201cfreedom\u201d) differ from concrete ones (\u201ccat\u201d), as they do not have a bounded, identifiable, and clearly perceivable referent. The way in which abstract concepts are represented has recently become a topic of intense debate, especially because of the spread of the embodied approach to cognition. Within this framework concepts derive their meaning from the same perception, motor, and emotional systems that are involved in online interaction with the world. Most of the evidence in favor of this view, however, has been gathered with regard to concrete concepts. Given the relevance of abstract concepts for higher-order cognition, we argue that being able to explain how they are represented is a crucial challenge that any theory of cognition needs to address. The aim of this article is to offer a critical review of the latest theories on abstract concepts, focusing on embodied ones. Starting with theories that question the distinction between abstract and concrete concepts, we review theories claiming that abstract concepts are grounded in metaphors, in situations and introspection, and in emotion. We then introduce multiple representation theories, according to which abstract concepts evoke both sensorimotor and linguistic information. We argue that the most promising approach is given by multiple representation views that combine an embodied perspective with the recognition of the importance of linguistic and social experience. We conclude by discussing whether or not a single theoretical framework might be able to explain all different varieties of abstract concepts

Effects of images on the incidental acquisition of abstract words

Recently, research has investigated whether glossing individual vocabulary words in a reading text with multimedia annotations-either with text, video, or still images- helps students learn the individual items, and therefore improve comprehension (Chun, Plass, 1996; Al-Seghayer, 2001). The studies, which are built around the assumption that students can learn better and more efficiently when information is presented in more than one mode, revealed a positive correlation between imagery and vocabulary acquisition. However, most studies focusing on teaching vocabulary incidentally with multimedia annotations annotated only the more concrete words which can easily be portrayed using still images or video. Research attempting to investigate whether or not still images can adequately represent unknown, abstract vocabulary words, and whether or not they can help the student make meaning of the word, is still identified as a particular need (Kost, Foss and Lenzini, 1999). This study investigates whether still images can adequately represent an abstract word from a language learners\u27 perspective, if still images can help create meaning of unfamiliar, abstract words for ESL learners, and whether imaging abstract words become less meaningful to students the lesser the word\u27s imageability and concreteness ratings (Paivio, Yuille, and Madigan ,1968)

Consensus Paper: Current Perspectives on Abstract Concepts and Future Research Directions

Abstract concepts are relevant to a wide range of disciplines, including cognitive science, linguistics, psychology, cognitive, social, and affective neuroscience, and philosophy. This consensus paper synthesizes the work and views of researchers in the field, discussing current perspectives on theoretical and methodological issues, and recommendations for future research. In this paper, we urge researchers to go beyond the traditional abstract-concrete dichotomy and consider the multiple dimensions that characterize concepts (e.g., sensorimotor experience, social interaction, conceptual metaphor), as well as the mediating influence of linguistic and cultural context on conceptual representations. We also promote the use of interactive methods to investigate both the comprehension and production of abstract concepts, while also focusing on individual differences in conceptual representations. Overall, we argue that abstract concepts should be studied in a more nuanced way that takes into account their complexity and diversity, which should permit us a fuller, more holistic understanding of abstract cognition

A Preliminary Study on the Impact of Lexical Concreteness on Word Senses Disambiguation

PACLIC / The University of the Philippines Visayas Cebu College Cebu City, Philippines / November 20-22, 200

Words have a weight: language as a source of inner grounding and flexibility in abstract concepts

The role played by language in our cognitive lives is a topic at the centre of contemporary debates in cognitive (neuro)science. In this paper we illustrate and compare two theories that offer embodied explanations of this role: the WAT (Words As social Tools) and the LENS (Language is an Embodied Neuroenhancement and Scaffold) theories. WAT and LENS differ from other current proposals because they connect the impact of the neurologically realized language system on our cognition to the ways in which language shapes our interaction with the physical and social environment. Examining these theories together, their tenets and supporting evidence, sharpens our understanding of each, but also contributes to a better understanding of the contribution that language might make to the acquisition, representation and use of abstract concepts. Here we focus on how language provides a source of inner grounding, especially metacognition and inner speech, and supports the flexibility of our thought. Overall, the paper outlines a promising research program focused on the importance of language to abstract concepts within the context of a flexible, multimodal, and multilevel conception of embodied cognition