Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Event Segmentation in Language and Cognition.

Cognitive science·2026

Same author

Dwell Times Reveal Effects of Abstract Event Type on Attention Allocation.

Cognitive science·2026

Same author

Representation of event boundedness in English and Mandarin speakers.

Cognition·2026

Same author

Close enough isn't good enough in word learning: Successful cross-situational word mappings are semantically independent of previous mappings.

Journal of memory and language·2025

Same author

Pragmatic communication and Theory of Mind.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2025

Same author

Cognitive Control Skills Are Related to Ambiguity Awareness in French-Learning 5-to-6-Year-Olds: Implications for Reading Development.

Cognitive science·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

Does language guide event perception? Evidence from eye movements.

Anna Papafragou¹, Justin Hulbert, John Trueswell

¹Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, 108 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA. papafragou@psych.udel.edu

|April 9, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Language influences attention during motion perception, but only when verbalizing events. Native language guides focus during description, not during free viewing or memorization after the event.

More Related Videos

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Linguistics
Neuroscience

Background:

Languages encode motion events differently, with English prioritizing manner and Greek prioritizing path.
Cross-linguistic differences in motion event encoding may impact attentional processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if language differences in motion event encoding affect attention allocation during perception.
To determine when language influences attention: during encoding or retrieval.

Main Methods:

Compared eye movements of Greek and English speakers viewing motion events.
Tasks included preparing verbal descriptions and memorizing events.
Analyzed attention allocation during motion and post-motion phases.

Main Results:

During verbal description preparation, language groups showed distinct attention patterns within the first second of motion.
During free viewing (memorization task), attention allocation was similar across language groups.
Post-motion, participants attended to aspects not typically encoded in their native language verbs.

Conclusions:

Language primarily influences attention when actively recruiting linguistic forms for tasks like verbal description.
Attention allocation during the perception of ongoing events is not inherently shaped by native language.
Language effects emerge when specific linguistic encoding is required, not during passive observation.