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Emoji-based semantic representations for abstract and concrete concepts.

Philipp Wicke1, Marianna Bolognesi2

  • 1School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin D4, Ireland.

Cognitive Processing
|May 9, 2020
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces emoji as a novel method for collecting non-verbal semantic features, revealing differences in how abstract and concrete concepts are represented visually and emotionally.

Keywords:
Abstract conceptsConcrete conceptsEmojiFeature normsSemantic representationVisual features

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Neuroscience
  • Computational Linguistics

Background:

  • The semantic system is increasingly understood as distributed across brain regions and multimodal.
  • Traditional feature norms rely on verbal strings, potentially missing non-verbal semantic information.
  • Abstract and concrete concepts may differ in their reliance on non-verbal features.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose and validate a novel method for collecting non-verbal semantic features using emoji.
  • To investigate how emoji representations differ for abstract versus concrete concepts.
  • To analyze the cognitive strategies employed when using emoji for semantic representation.

Main Methods:

  • A crowdsourcing task where participants used emoji to represent 300 English nouns.
  • Content analysis by multiple annotators to classify cognitive strategies used in emoji representations.
  • Comparison of emoji-based semantic features with traditional verbal feature norms.

Main Results:

  • Abstract concepts, compared to concrete ones, were represented using more emoji, including more facial/emotional emoji.
  • Emoji representations for abstract concepts were less stable and less shared among users.
  • Abstract concepts showed increased use of figurative (metaphor) and linguistic (rebus) strategies.
  • Emoji-based representations correlated less strongly with traditional verbal feature norms.

Conclusions:

  • Emoji offer a valuable tool for capturing the multimodal and non-verbal aspects of semantic representations.
  • Distinct representational characteristics exist for abstract versus concrete concepts when using emoji.
  • This approach highlights limitations of purely verbal feature norms for understanding semantic memory.