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Multimodal semantic quantity representations: further evidence from korean sign language
Frank Domahs1, Elise Klein, Korbinian Moeller
1Section Neuropsychology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen University Aachen, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychology
|February 1, 2012
Summary
Korean deaf signers
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The representation of numerical quantity is fundamental to cognition.
- Studies suggest that numerical representations can be influenced by modality and culture.
- The role of embodied cognition, particularly finger-based representations, in numerical processing is debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how visual-manual number representations interact with symbolic number processing.
- To examine the influence of Korean Sign Language (KSL) number signs on numerical cognition in deaf signers.
- To test models of numerical representation against empirical data from a unique population.
Main Methods:
- Participants: Deaf Korean signers, hearing German non-signers, deaf German non-signers, and hearing Chinese non-signers.
- Task: Arabic digit comparison task assessing response times and accuracy.
- Analysis: Examination of the magnitude effect and its modulation by sign language properties.
Main Results:
- Deaf Korean signers showed response time patterns modulated by KSL number sign properties, a culture-specific effect not seen in other groups.
- The magnitude effect, indicative of a basic quantity system, was present across all groups.
- Finger-based quantity representations were automatically activated in Korean deaf signers, even when detrimental to performance.
Conclusions:
- Numerical quantity is not represented by a single, amodal system.
- Embodied, finger-based representations are automatically accessed during symbolic number tasks.
- Cognitive models must account for modality-specific and culture-specific influences on numerical cognition.
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