33.1444, Diss: Cognitive Science; Psycholinguistics: Alper Kumcu: '' Looking for language in space: Spatial simulations in memory for language ''

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-33-1444. Mon Apr 25 2022. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 33.1444, Diss:  Cognitive Science; Psycholinguistics: Alper Kumcu: '' Looking for language in space: Spatial simulations in memory for language ''

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Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2022 03:15:35
From: Alper Kumcu [alperkumcu at gmail.com]
Subject: Looking for language in space: Spatial simulations in memory for language

 
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(s):
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.




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