Interoception: the forgotten modality in perceptual grounding of abstract and concrete concepts.

ABSTRACT: Conceptual representations are perceptually grounded, but when investigating which perceptual modalities are involved, researchers have typically restricted their consideration to vision, touch, hearing, taste and smell. However, there is another major modality of perceptual information that is distinct from these traditional five senses; that is, interoception, or sensations inside the body. In this paper, we use megastudy data (modality-specific ratings of perceptual strength for over 32 000 words) to explore how interoceptive information contributes to the perceptual grounding of abstract and concrete concepts. We report how interoceptive strength captures a distinct form of perceptual experience across the abstract-concrete spectrum, but is markedly more important to abstract concepts

SUBMITTER: Connell L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6015840 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature