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Is a linguistic model needed to build abstract event representations?

Irene Canudas-Grabolosa1, Madeline Quam2, Marie Coppola2

  • 1Harvard University, Department of Psychology, William James Hall, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

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Language acquisition may not be essential for forming event concepts. Even without a pre-existing language, individuals can develop abstract representations of generic two-place relations, demonstrating innate cognitive abilities.

Keywords:
Conceptual representationEvent representationHomesignRelational conceptsTwo-participant events

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • A key debate in cognitive development concerns whether language merely expresses existing event concepts or actively shapes their formation.
  • Emerging research suggests that abstract concepts like generic two-place relations (e.g., 'cats push rabbits') might require exposure to linguistic structures (transitive sentences) for their representation.
  • This raises the possibility that language acquisition plays a crucial role in constructing these fundamental event concepts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • This study investigated whether individuals without exposure to a formal language (adult homesigners) could construct abstract representations of generic two-place relations.
  • The research aimed to test the hypothesis that language is necessary for the development of these event concepts.

Main Methods:

  • Adult homesigners and English-speaking five-year-olds participated in a nonverbal imitation task.
  • Participants observed three instances of generic events and then were prompted to enact new event instances using figurines.
  • Performance was assessed based on the accurate mapping of object roles within the event, comparing homesigners to the child group.

Main Results:

  • Both adult homesigners and five-year-old children successfully represented generic two-place relations in the two-participant condition.
  • Participants consistently mapped the correct figurines to their respective roles in the events.
  • No significant differences were found between the homesigner and English-speaking child groups, nor across different event types.

Conclusions:

  • Adult homesigners possess the necessary representational capacities for role binding in event concepts.
  • Abstract representations of generic two-place relations can emerge independently of exposure to a pre-existing language or established linguistic conventions.
  • These findings challenge the notion that language is a prerequisite for constructing fundamental event concepts.