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Updated: Jun 24, 2026
14:38
Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
Published on: November 2, 2012
Perceptual simulation in conceptual combination: evidence from property generation
Ling-ling Wu1, Lawrence W Barsalou
1Department of Information Management, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. llwu@management.ntu.edu.tw
Acta Psychologica
|March 21, 2009
Summary
Participants mentally simulate object properties during conceptual combination, influenced by perceptual factors like occlusion. This suggests mental imagery is key to understanding how we combine concepts.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Computational Linguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Conceptual combination involves integrating information from multiple concepts.
- Previous research has explored various models of conceptual combination, including feature-based and simulation-based approaches.
- The role of perceptual simulation in conceptual combination remains an active area of investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether perceptual simulations are constructed during conceptual combination.
- To examine the influence of perceptual variables, such as occlusion, on property generation.
- To explore the nature of conceptual representations underlying property generation.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments involving feature listing of object properties from noun phrases.
- Manipulation of perceptual variables (occlusion) and instructions (neutral, imagery, word association).
- Analysis of property distributions and comparison across conditions.
Main Results:
- Property generation was influenced by occlusion, with unoccluded properties listed more frequently.
- Neutral participants' property distributions mirrored those of participants instructed to describe images, not word associations.
- Participants generated situated information about background contexts, supporting situated simulation.
Conclusions:
- Perceptual simulations are central to conceptual combination, as evidenced by the impact of perceptual variables.
- Conceptual representations in property generation tasks resemble mental images.
- Simulation-based accounts offer a viable framework for understanding conceptual combination, integrating with existing theories.
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