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Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition01:27

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.
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
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Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs. “eh”). Phonemes combine to...
Language Development01:22

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Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
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Language01:16

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
05:15

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

On the experiential link between spatial and temporal language.

Teenie Matlock1, Michael Ramscar, Lera Boroditsky

  • 1Department of Psychology, Stanford University.

Cognitive Science
|June 28, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

We use our understanding of physical motion to grasp abstract concepts like time. Fictive motion, like a road running along a coast, influences how we reason about time.

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Last Updated: May 31, 2026

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Conceptual Metaphor Theory

Background:

  • Abstract concepts like time are difficult to grasp directly.
  • Experiential knowledge, particularly spatial and motion understanding, may ground abstract thought.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if fictive motion (FM), a nonliteral form of motion, influences temporal reasoning.
  • To determine the pervasiveness of embodied cognition in abstract concept understanding.

Main Methods:

  • Participants were exposed to stimuli involving fictive motion.
  • Temporal reasoning tasks were administered to assess the influence of FM.
  • Cognitive structures underlying literal and fictive motion were compared.

Main Results:

  • Fictive motion (FM) engages cognitive structures similar to those used for literal motion.
  • Exposure to FM significantly influenced participants' temporal reasoning.
  • This suggests a link between spatial-motion cognition and abstract temporal concepts.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding abstract concepts like time may rely on concrete, embodied experiences such as motion.
  • Fictive motion serves as a cognitive bridge, leveraging spatial-temporal schemas for abstract thought.
  • Embodied cognition plays a significant role in how humans conceptualize and reason about abstract domains.