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Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
Linguistic Priors for Perception
Ksenija Slivac1, Monique Flecken2
1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig.
Abstract:
In this commentary, we approach the topic of linguistic relativity from a predictive coding perspective. Discussing the role of "priors" in shaping perception, we argue that language creates an important set of priors for humans, which can affect how sensory information is processed and interpreted. Namely, languages create conventionalized conceptual systems for their speakers, mirroring and reinforcing what is behaviorally important in a society. As such, they create collective conceptual convergence on how to categorize the world and thus "streamline" what people rely on to guide their perception.
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