Linguistic priors shape categorical perception

Simanova, Irina; Francken, Jolien C.; Lange, Floris P. de; Bekkering, Harold

doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1072638

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Furthermore, recent studies have revealed that neural networks of color perception show strong connections between basic visual areas V1 and V4 and inferotemporal and nearby regions associated with categorization (Walsh, 1999;Roe et al, 2012;Gilbert and Li, 2013;Simanova et al, 2015;Winawer and Witthoft, 2015). Moreover, an fMRI study showed activation of language regions during color perception, supporting the notion of an interaction between higher level cognition and perceptual processes (Siok et al, 2009;Brouwer and Heeger, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Blues in Two Different Spanish-Speaking Populations

et al. 2017

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Several studies investigating color discrimination across languages have shown a facilitation effect in groups that employ more than one term to refer to a given color. While Uruguayans use "azul" to refer to dark blue and "celeste" for light blue, Spaniards use "azul" for dark blue and the compound terms "azul celeste" or "azul claro" for light blue. In this study, Uruguayan and Spanish participants discriminated between pairs of color stimuli that lie at different distances from each other on the blue color spectrum in three different sessions: a session with no interference (basic task), one with verbal and one with visual interference. Only the Uruguayans were more accurate at distinguishing between stimuli associated with different color terms. Furthermore, while both Uruguayans and Spaniards showed a category effect in response times, the effect was strongest for Uruguayans when items were closer to each other on the color spectrum (i.e., more difficult). This study is unique in that we observed different Whorfian effects in two groups that speak the same language but differ in their use of color-specific terms. Our results contribute to the discussion of whether and to what extent language or other cultural variables affect the perception of different color categories.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Blues in Two Different Spanish-Speaking Populations

et al. 2017

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“…It is generally assumed that overlap in the computational mechanisms that underlie conceptual and sensory-motor processing reflect bottom-up sensory-motor effects on higher-order cognition. However, factors like language-mediated categories can constrain sensory perception (Brouwer & Heeger, 2013; Puri, Wojciulik, & Ranganath, 2009; Lee & Noppeney, 2014), suggesting that shared computational processes might partially reflect top-down effects of linguistic priors on perception (Simanova, Francken, de Lange & Bekkering, 2016). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of motion speed in action representations

et al. 2017

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Grounded cognition accounts of semantic representation posit that brain regions traditionally linked to perception and action play a role in grounding the semantic content of words and sentences. Sensory-motor systems are thought to support partially abstract simulations through which conceptual content is grounded. However, which details of sensory-motor experience are included in, or excluded from these simulations, is not well understood. We investigated whether sensory-motor brain regions are differentially involved depending on the speed of actions described in a sentence. We addressed this issue by examining the neural signature of relatively fast (The old lady scurried across the road) and slow (The old lady strolled across the road) action sentences. The results showed that sentences that implied fast motion modulated activity within the right posterior superior temporal sulcus and the angular and middle occipital gyri, areas associated with biological motion and action perception. Sentences that implied slow motion resulted in greater signal within the right primary motor cortex and anterior inferior parietal lobule, areas associated with action execution and planning. These results suggest that the speed of described motion influences representational content and modulates the nature of conceptual grounding. Fast motion events are represented more visually whereas motor regions play a greater role in representing conceptual content associated with slow motion.

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“…Indeed, it has been shown that a larger reward for one of the response options or increased likelihood of occurrence of two events results in an enhanced starting point of evidence accumulation for that particular response (Mulder et al, 2012). It has recently been proposed that language affects perception by setting predictive priors that sharpen perceptual representations (Simanova et al, 2016). Kinoshita et al (2017) indeed showed that the brief presentation of a color word followed by the presentation of a color sign to be categorized resulted in a facilitation effect that translated to boundary separation and starting-point modulations.…”

Section: Congruency With the Target Words Facilitates Information Promentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By "schemata" we mean a set of features/beliefs that subjectively reflect the social category of gender and subsequently influence our decisions. Put differently, language can introduce a top-down bias that can influence both visual perception (Simanova et al, 2016) and social decision making (Kunda and Sherman-Williams, 1993).…”

Section: Effects Of Words On Processing Speed Of Gendered Facesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associative and Identity Words Promote the Speed of Visual Categorization: A Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Account

Todorova

Neville

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Words can either boost or hinder the processing of visual information, which can lead to facilitation or interference of the behavioral response. We investigated the stage (response execution or target processing) of verbal interference/facilitation in the response priming paradigm with a gender categorization task. Participants in our study were asked to judge whether the presented stimulus was a female or male face that was briefly preceded by a gender word either congruent (prime: "man," target: "man"), incongruent (prime: "woman," target: "man") or neutral (prime: "day," target: "man") with respect to the face stimulus. We investigated whether related word-picture pairs resulted in faster reaction times in comparison to the neutral word-picture pairs (facilitation) and whether unrelated word-picture pairs resulted in slower reaction times in comparison to neutral word-picture pairs (interference). We further examined whether these effects (if any) map onto response conflict or aspects of target processing. In addition, identity ("man," "woman") and associative ("tie," "dress") primes were introduced to investigate the cognitive mechanisms of semantic and Stroop-like effects in response priming (introduced respectively by associations and identity words). We analyzed responses and reaction times using the drift diffusion model to examine the effect of facilitation and/or interference as a function of the prime type. We found that regardless of prime type words introduce a facilitatory effect, which maps to the processes of visual attention and response execution.

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Linguistic priors shape categorical perception

Cited by 19 publications

References 60 publications

Blues in Two Different Spanish-Speaking Populations

Blues in Two Different Spanish-Speaking Populations

Effects of motion speed in action representations

Associative and Identity Words Promote the Speed of Visual Categorization: A Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Account

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