Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition

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.

Structuralism

Structuralism

Structuralism, an early psychological theory developed by Wilhelm Wundt and his student Edward Bradford Titchener, sought to dissect the human mind into its most fundamental components. Wundt's groundbreaking work in his laboratory set the stage for Titchener to define structuralism's goal as cataloging the "atoms" of the mind—sensations, images, and feelings—akin to how chemists identify elements of matter.
Titchener's approach to structuralism was unique. He...

Superposition Theorem

Superposition Theorem

The superposition principle is a fundamental concept stating that in a linear circuit, the voltage across (or current through) an element can be determined by summing the individual contributions of each independent source acting in isolation. When dealing with linear circuits containing multiple independent sources, this principle serves as a valuable tool for analysis. To apply the superposition principle effectively, one should focus on a single independent source at a time while...

Components of Language

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.

Interference and Superposition of Waves

Interference and Superposition of Waves

When two waves of the same nature occur in the same region simultaneously, they result in interference. Interference of waves implies that the net effect of the waves is the sum of the individual waves' effects. However, it does not imply that the individual waves affect the propagation of other waves.
Interference occurs in mechanical waves, such as sound waves, waves on a string, and surface water waves. Mechanical waves correspond to the physical displacement of particles. Hence,...

Language

Language

Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same journal

Cross-Cultural Variation in the Noun Bias in Early Vocabulary Development: A Systematic Review.

Cognitive science·2026

Same journal

Event Segmentation in Language and Cognition.

Cognitive science·2026

Same journal

A Journey Into a Traveler's Mental Map: Duration, Distance, and Speed Experienced in High-Speed Trains.

Cognitive science·2026

Same journal

Mapping Concepts Onto Linguistic Structure: The Case of Animacy.

Cognitive science·2026

Same journal

Pronoun Resolution in Turkish: The Interplay of Referential Form, Word Order, and Implicit Causality.

Cognitive science·2026

Same journal

What's in a Color?: Language, Synesthesia, and Categorical Perception.

Cognitive science·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 4, 2025

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

Extensional Superposition and Its Relation to Compositionality in Language and Thought.

Chris Thornton¹

¹Department of Informatics, University of Sussex.

Cognitive Science

|May 31, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Semantic composition in language and thought can be unified by viewing extensional meanings as inherently compositional. This approach models semantic composition directly, bridging the gap between truth-conditional and concept-combination theories.

Keywords:

Compositionality Concepts Conceptualization Linguistic composition Semantics Truth-conditionality

More Related Videos

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

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

Published on: February 19, 2018

Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Sentence Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism

Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Sentence Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism

Published on: October 3, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 4, 2025

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

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

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

Published on: February 19, 2018

Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Sentence Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism

Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Sentence Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism

Published on: October 3, 2018

Area of Science:

Cognitive Science
Linguistics
Philosophy of Mind

Background:

Discrepancies exist between semantic composition in language (truth-conditional) and thought (concept combination).
Both fields acknowledge the role of extensional (denotational) meanings.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate that extensional meanings are inherently compositional.
To propose a unified model for semantic composition in language and thought.

Main Methods:

Analyzing the compositional nature of extensional meanings.
Developing a direct modeling approach for semantic composition.
Presenting examples to illustrate the direct modeling style.

Main Results:

Extensional meanings possess inherent compositional properties.
A direct modeling approach for semantic composition is feasible.
This approach bypasses the need for specialized linguistic/conceptual apparatus.

Conclusions:

Extensional meanings can mediate between language and thought composition.
A unified theoretical account of semantic composition is achievable.
This framework offers a novel perspective on the relationship between language, thought, and meaning.