The visual consequences of language comprehension

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract
How do we understand language? What kinds of representations do people form when hearing a story or when reading a paragraph? In this dissertation, I will explore how people make meaning out of the language that they read or hear. One possibility is that the words we read or hear engage perceptuomotor representations, and language comprehension arises from modality-specific simulation or imagery of the linguistic content. Strong versions of the modality-specific approach assume complete overlap between the representations generated by language and those generated by perception and action. Perhaps representations brought about by language only partially overlap and interact with perception and action, with clear limits, and with important differences along the continuum from concrete to abstract language. The studies presented in this dissertation aim to delineate where perception and language understanding share representations and processing resources, and where they diverge. The findings suggest that language understanding affects visuospatial processing (Chapter 2) and visual motion processing (Chapter 3), but to a lesser extent than does perception itself.

Description

Type of resource text
Form electronic; electronic resource; remote
Extent 1 online resource.
Publication date 2011
Issuance monographic
Language English

Creators/Contributors

Associated with Dils, Alexia Toskos
Associated with Stanford University, Department of Psychology
Primary advisor Boroditsky, Lera
Thesis advisor Boroditsky, Lera
Thesis advisor Clark, Herbert H
Thesis advisor McClelland, James L
Advisor Clark, Herbert H
Advisor McClelland, James L

Subjects

Genre Theses

Bibliographic information

Statement of responsibility Alexia Toskos Dils.
Note Submitted to the Department of Psychology.
Thesis Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2011.
Location electronic resource

Access conditions

Copyright
© 2011 by Alexia C Toskos
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

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