Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-14-2017 10:30 AM Abstract and Concrete Concepts According to Word Association Daniel Nedjadrasul The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Ken McRae The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Psychology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Science © Daniel Nedjadrasul 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Nedjadrasul, Daniel, "Abstract and Concrete Concepts According to Word Association" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4765. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4765 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT In psychology, the abstract/concrete distinction refers to a distinction among concepts, which is typically characterized as follows. Concrete concepts are those whose referents can be experienced through sensation/perception, such as dog or pond, whereas abstract concepts are those whose referents lack this attribute, such as truth (Wiemer-Hastings & Xu, 2005; Connell & Lynott, 2012; Brysbaert, Warriner, & Kuperman, 2014). This thesis describes and, using word association, tests several theories of conceptual representation motivated by the abstract/concrete distinction (or, where not motivated by it, with potential implications related to it). These include Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1986, 2007), Perceptual Symbol Systems (Barsalou, 1999, 2008), Language and Situated Simulations (Barsalou, Santos, Simmons, & Wilson, 2008), and Different Representational Frameworks (Crutch & Warrington, 2005, 2007, 2010). We find mixed support for Dual Coding Theory and Perceptual Symbol Systems, strong support for Language and Situated Simulations, and no support for Different Representational Frameworks. Keywords: abstract and concrete concepts, dual coding, language, representation, simulation, word association I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special thank you to Dr. Ken McRae for his kind guidance and patience, as well as for giving me this opportunity in the first place. Thanks also to the McRae lab, the Western University Psychology Department, and my family and friends. II TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.................................................................................................................I Acknowledgments...............................................................................................II Table of Contents................................................................................................III List of Tables........................................................................................................V List of Figures.....................................................................................................VI List of Appendices.............................................................................................VII List of Abbreviations........................................................................................VIII Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................1 1.1 The Abstract/Concrete Distinction and its Value..............................................1 1.2 Theories Addressing the Distinction: A Literature Review...............................2 1.2.1 Dual Coding Theory (DCT)................................................................2 1.2.2 Perceptual Symbol Systems (PSS)...................................................7 1.2.3 Language and Situated Simulations (LASS)....................................12 1.2.4 Different Representational Frameworks (DRF)...............................15 Chapter 2: Using Word Association..................................................................20 2.1 Why We Use Word Association.....................................................................20 2.2 How We Use Word Association.....................................................................20 2.2.1 Word Association Pairs and Concepts.............................................20 2.2.2 Classes, Systems, and Types of Relations......................................25 2.2.3 Dependent Variables.......................................................................28 Chapter 3: Testing the Theories........................................................................33 3.1 Testing Dual Coding Theory (DCT)...............................................................33 3.1.1 Hypotheses and Specific Predictions..............................................33 3.1.2 Analyses and Results......................................................................34 3.1.3 Discussion.......................................................................................36 3.2 Testing Perceptual Symbol Systems (PSS)..................................................39 3.2.1 Hypotheses and Specific Predictions..............................................39 3.2.2 Analyses and Results......................................................................40 3.2.3 Discussion.......................................................................................42 III 3.3 Testing Language and Situated Simulations (LASS).....................................43 3.3.1 Hypotheses and Specific Predictions..............................................43 3.3.2 Analyses and Results......................................................................45 3.3.3 Discussion.......................................................................................47 3.4 Testing Different Representational Frameworks (DRF).................................49 3.4.1 Hypotheses and Specific Predictions..............................................49 3.4.2 Analyses and Results......................................................................49 3.4.3 Discussion.......................................................................................51 3.5 Additional Analyses and Results...................................................................52 3.5.1 Additional Analyses and Results.....................................................52 Chapter 4: General Discussion.........................................................................54 4.1 General Discussion.......................................................................................54 4.1.1 Regarding Main Results..................................................................54 4.1.2 Regarding Additional Results..........................................................58 4.1.3 Limitations and Future Work............................................................61 4.1.4 Conclusion......................................................................................64 4.2 Summary......................................................................................................65 References..........................................................................................................66 Appendices.........................................................................................................71 Curriculum Vitae.................................................................................................78 IV LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Orthogonal conceptual relations between symbolic systems and sensorimotor systems with examples of types of modality-specific information represented in each subsystem. Table and title recreated from Paivio (1986, p. 57, 2007, p. 36)........................................................................................3 Table 2. Results from univariate analyses conducted on several measures related to our concepts.......23 Table 3. Predictions based on DCT (P1-P16).........................................................................................33 Table 4. Summary of evidence for DCT predictions (P1-P16).................................................................37 Table 5. Predictions based on PSS (P17-P26).......................................................................................40 Table 6. Summary of evidence for PSS predictions (P17-P26)...............................................................42 Table 7. Predictions and explorations based on LASS (P27-P28, E1-E2)...............................................45 Table 8. Summary of evidence for LASS predictions (P27, P28) and explorations (E1, E2)....................47 Table 9. Predictions based on DRF (P29-P32).......................................................................................49 Table 10. Summary of evidence for DRF predictions (P29-P32).............................................................51 Table 11. Extra results from TUKEY tests performed on the concept type x systemsantos and concept type x systemintuit interactions (note: the two interactions are from separate ANOVAs)...................................52 Table 12. Extra results from TUKEY tests performed on the concept type x class interaction.................53 V LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Psychology's characterization of the abstract/concrete distinction is the basis for instructions that are used to obtain concept concreteness ratings. Concept concreteness ratings serve as independent variables in studies yielding significant empirical