Abstract and concrete concepts in conversation

Villani, Caterina; Orsoni, Matteo; Lugli, Luisa; Benassi, Mariagrazia; Borghi, Anna M.

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-20785-5

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…When we hear or read a word the meaning of which we are not certain, we might rehearse possible other words to trace its meaning [ 57 ]. The presence of this process of word search is compatible with the activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus, often associated with phonological working memory and other high-level motor control functions, during abstract concept processing [ 49 , 50 ]. Note that we do not think this process is merely phonological, but that words retrieved through rehearsal can carry meaning and help people retrieve or reconstruct the conceptual meaning or even re-explain it to themselves.…”

Section: Inner Speech and Abstract Concept Acquisition And Processingmentioning

confidence: 88%

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Concepts, abstractness and inner speech

Borghi

Fernyhough

2022

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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We explore the role of inner speech (covert self-directed talk) during the acquisition and use of concepts differing in abstractness. Following Vygotsky, inner speech results from the internalization of linguistically mediated interactions that regulate cognition and behaviour. When we acquire and process abstract concepts, uncertainties about word meaning might lead us to search actively for their meaning. Inner speech might play a role in this searching process and be differentially involved in concept learning compared with use of known concepts. Importantly, inner speech comes in different varieties—e.g. it can be expanded or condensed (with the latter involving syntactic and semantic forms of abbreviation). Do we use inner speech differently with concepts varying in abstractness? Which kinds of inner speech do we preferentially use with different kinds of abstract concepts (e.g. emotions versus numbers)? What other features of inner speech, such as dialogicality, might facilitate our use of concepts varying in abstractness (by allowing us to monitor the limits of our knowledge in simulated social exchanges, through a process we term inner social metacognition )? In tackling these questions, we address the possibility that different varieties of inner speech are flexibly used during the acquisition of concepts and their everyday use. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Concepts in interaction: social engagement and inner experiences’.

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Section: Inner Speech and Abstract Concept Acquisition And Processingmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Why? Explain to me better’ [ 49 ]. The use of such expressions testifies that participants use metacognition in assessing their knowledge.…”

Section: Inner Speech and Abstract Concept Acquisition And Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concepts, abstractness and inner speech

Borghi

Fernyhough

2022

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…The concept of hope is an abstract one. Like other abstract concepts, which do not have clearly perceivable referents (Borghi et al, 2018(Borghi et al, , 2019Borghi, 2020;Dove et al, 2022;Villani et al, 2022), the term hope does not refer to an easily perceivable object in the concrete environment. Abstract concepts are complex and may have a variety of dimensions such as perceptual modality strength, metacognition, social metacognition, interception, emotionality, social valence, hand activation, and mouth activation (Villani et al, 2019(Villani et al, , 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed embodiment of metaphorical hope in hand, head, and eyebrow gestures

Khatin‐Zadeh

Farsani

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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This study aimed to examine the embodied conceptualization of hope through metaphors. We asked a group of participants to discuss their hopes in a semi-structured interview. We examined the types of hand, head, and eyebrow gestures produced when they were talking about their future hopes. The obtained results showed that when participants talked about their future hopes, they mainly used forward hand gestures, rightward head gestures, and upward eyebrow gestures. Based on these results, it is suggested that various semantic components and emotional associations of hope are metaphorically embodied in different manners in various parts of the body. The future aspect of hope is conceptualized as a forward movement and is embodied as a forward hand gesture. The good or positive emotional aspect associated with future hopes is metaphorically conceptualized as a rightward head gesture or an upward eyebrow gesture. We call this process distributed embodiment of a metaphorical concept. Our proposal is supported by the findings of past studies that have found future is metaphorically embodied as something in front of us (or forward movement), and good is metaphorically embodied as upper space (or upward movement) or right side (or rightward movement).

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“…Also, the words expressing abstract concepts are less iconic, i.e., have a lower form-shape resemblance. In fact, abstract concepts appear to be more dependent on linguistic, emotional, and social aspects than concrete ones (e.g., Borghi et al, 2019 ; Connell et al, 2018 ; Cuccio & Gallese, 2018 ; Dove, 2020 , 2022 ; Dove et al, 2020 ; Harpaintner et al, 2018 ; Henningsen-Schomers & Pulvermueller, 2021 ; Kurmakaeva et al, 2021, Vigliocco et al, 2014 ; Villani et al, 2021 , 2022 ; Zdrazilova et al, 2018 ). Furthermore, their meaning is more variable across individuals, contexts, and cultures (Borghi, 2022 ), making them less determined, and likely to generate higher uncertainty (Mazzuca et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abstract concepts and simulated competition

Nico

Borghi

Tummolini

et al. 2023

Psychological Research

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To better understand the social determinants of conceptual knowledge we devised a task in which participants were asked to judge the match between a definition (expressed in abstract or concrete terms) and a target-word (also either abstract or concrete). The task was presented in the form of a competition that could/could not include an opponent, and in which different percentages of response rounds were assigned to the participant at the experimenter’s discretion. Thus, depending on the condition, participants were either exposed to a competitive context mimicking a privileged/unprivileged interaction with the experimenter or to a socially neutral setting. Results showed that manipulation of the social context selectively affected judgments on abstract stimuli: responses were significantly slower whenever a definition and/or a target word were presented in abstract form and when participants were in the favorable condition of responding in most of the trials. Moreover, only when processing abstract material, responses were slower when an opponent was expected to be present. Data are discussed in the frame of the different cognitive engagements involved when treating abstract and concrete concepts as well as in relation to the possible motivational factors prompted by the experimental set-up. The role of social context as a crucial element for abstract knowledge processing is also considered.

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Abstract and concrete concepts in conversation

Cited by 12 publications

References 55 publications

Concepts, abstractness and inner speech

Concepts, abstractness and inner speech

Distributed embodiment of metaphorical hope in hand, head, and eyebrow gestures

Abstract concepts and simulated competition

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