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Individual differences in spatial cognition influence mental simulation of language.

Nikola Vukovic1, John N Williams2

  • 1Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DA, United Kingdom; Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia.

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Individuals show distinct preferences for egocentric or allocentric spatial frames, influencing how they visually simulate sentences. This highlights individual differences in language comprehension and perceptual simulation.

Keywords:
Embodied cognitionIndividual differencesLanguage comprehensionPerspective takingSpatial cognition

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Sentence comprehension involves perceptual simulation, but factors influencing this process are not fully understood.
  • Previous research on language perspective-taking primarily examined linguistic cues like pronouns.
  • Individual differences in spatial reference frame usage are known but their impact on language processing is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how individual biases in egocentric versus allocentric spatial reference frames affect perceptual simulation during sentence comprehension.
  • To determine if non-linguistic spatial frame preferences predict how individuals visually simulate linguistic information.
  • To explore the role of individual constraints in dynamic perceptual information integration during language processing.

Main Methods:

  • Identified participants with preferential use of egocentric and allocentric spatial reference frames.
  • Assessed these groups using a standard sentence-picture verification task across three experiments.
  • Analyzed how individual spatial frame biases influenced visual simulation during the task.

Main Results:

  • Individual biases in spatial reference frame adoption significantly influenced visual simulation of perspective in language.
  • Findings revealed that grand-averaged effects in sentence comprehension may mask crucial between-subject variability.
  • Demonstrated a link between non-linguistic spatial cognition and language-based perceptual simulation.

Conclusions:

  • Individual differences in spatial reference frame preference are a key factor in perceptual simulation during sentence comprehension.
  • Supports theories of representational pluralism, emphasizing dynamic integration of perceptual information sensitive to individual constraints.
  • Suggests that language processing is not uniform and is modulated by stable individual cognitive styles.