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Related Experiment Videos

Returning the tables: language affects spatial reasoning.

Stephen C Levinson1, Sotaro Kita, Daniel B M Haun

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, PO Box 310, NL-6500 AH Nijmegen, The Netherlands. stephen.levinson@mpi.nl

Cognition
|August 15, 2002
PubMed
Summary
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This study refutes claims that language does not influence spatial reasoning. Experiments show spatial language and cognition are linked, challenging the idea that cognitive styles solely determine linguistic expression.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Cross-cultural studies suggest language and spatial cognition covary.
  • Li and Gleitman argue language does not causally affect non-linguistic spatial thinking.
  • They propose ecological factors and cognitive styles influence language.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To challenge Li and Gleitman's interpretation of spatial language and cognition research.
  • To demonstrate that linguistic coding causally affects non-linguistic spatial reasoning.
  • To re-evaluate cross-cultural findings on language and spatial cognition.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental manipulation of spatial cues while holding language constant.
  • Analysis of Li and Gleitman's experimental data.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Critique of arguments from animal and infant studies.

    • Main Results:

    • Li and Gleitman's experiments, when properly analyzed, support the hypothesis that language influences spatial cognition.
    • A crucial distinction regarding frames of spatial reference was overlooked by Li and Gleitman.
    • Their reinterpretation of cross-cultural data and other supporting studies is flawed.

    Conclusions:

    • Linguistic coding has a causal effect on non-linguistic spatial thinking.
    • The relationship between language and spatial cognition is not merely reflective of pre-existing cognitive styles.
    • The presumed lack of cognitive efficacy of language is unsupported by evidence.