LINGUIST List 33.1444
Mon Apr 25 2022
Diss: Cognitive Science; Psycholinguistics: Alper Kumcu: '' Looking for language in space: Spatial simulations in memory for language ''
Editor for this issue: Sarah Goldfinch <sgoldfinchlinguistlist.org>
Date: 22-Apr-2022
From: Alper Kumcu <alperkumcu
gmail.com>
Subject: Looking for language in space: Spatial simulations in memory for language
E-mail this message to a friend Institution: University of Birmingham
Program: Psychology
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2019
Author: Alper Kumcu
Dissertation Title: Looking for language in space: Spatial simulations in memory for language
Dissertation URL:
https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/8842/ Linguistic Field(s): Cognitive Science
Psycholinguistics
Dissertation Director:
Robin Thompson
Linda Wheeldon
Dissertation Abstract:
Grounded-embodied theories hold that language is understood and remembered through perceptual and motor simulations (i.e., activations and re-activations of sensorimotor experiences). This thesis aims to illustrate simulations of space in memory for language. In four experiments, we explored (1) how individuals encode and re-activate word locations and (2) how word meanings activate locations in space (e.g., “bird” - upward location). Experiment 1 reveals that the propensity to refer to the environment during retrieval correlates with individual’s visuospatial memory capacity. Experiment 2 shows that words which are more difficult to remember and, particularly, words that are more difficult to visualise in mind lead to more reliance on the environment during word retrieval. Experiment 3, which is a norming study, demonstrates that there is a high degree of agreement among individuals when linking words to locations in space although there are no explicit conventions with regard to word - space associations. Experiment 4, in which recognition memory for words with spatial associations was probed, shows that both language-based simulation of space and simulation of word locations dictate memory performance even if space is irrelevant and unnecessary for successful retrieval. Results are discussed within grounded-embodied and extended approaches to memory and language.
Page Updated: 25-Apr-2022