The Semantic Content of Abstract Concepts: A Property Listing Study of 296 Abstract Words.

ABSTRACT: The relation of abstract concepts to the modality-specific systems is discussed controversially. According to classical approaches, the semantic content of abstract concepts can only be coded by amodal or verbal-symbolic representations distinct from the sensory and motor systems, because abstract concepts lack a clear physical referent. Grounded cognition theories, in contrast, propose that abstract concepts do not depend only on the verbal system, but also on a variety of modal systems involving perception, action, emotion and internal states. In order to contribute to this debate, we investigated the semantic content of abstract concepts using a property generation task. Participants were asked to generate properties for 296 abstract concepts, which are relevant for constituting their m

SUBMITTER: Harpaintner M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6156367 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature