“I find this phrase puzzling”: A shared cognitive domain for vision and language
- Griffith Tai, University of Edinburgh
- Geography Building 126, Queen Mary University of London
A shared cognitive domain is a common resource from which diverse systems can all draw, allowing for more efficient analysis. Shared cognitive domains have been found between language and maths (Scheepers & Sturt 2014) as well as language and musical tones (Van de Cavey & Hartsuiker 2016). However, until recently, an investigation into the association of language processing and visual field cognition had yet to be directly addressed. This is an important question as visual cues are considered to enhance comprehension. However, additional information may act in an inhibitory manner, disrupting an individual’s ability to correctly parse written phrases.
I test whether visual structure primes linguistic structure. This is achieved by presenting three puzzle pieces, that connect either 1 and 2 or 2 and 3, which would encourage either a ‘left- branching’ or a ‘right-branching’ reading of a following phrase, respectively. I expect that branching the phrase in a way congruent with the phrase’s actual structure would increase the sensicality rating of the phrase, whilst an incongruent branching would decrease it.
If so, this would have implications for language and cognitive research alike. Practical applications may include the use of visual aids in educational environments, especially alongside abstract concepts.
Scheepers, C. & Sturt, P. (2014). Bi-directional syntactic priming across cognitive domains: From arithmetic to language and back. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 67(8), 1643-1654.
Van de Cavey & Hartsuiker (2016). Is there a domain-general cognitive structuring system? Evidence from structural priming across music, math, action descriptions, and language. Cognition, 146(C), 172-184.
I test whether visual structure primes linguistic structure. This is achieved by presenting three puzzle pieces, that connect either 1 and 2 or 2 and 3, which would encourage either a ‘left- branching’ or a ‘right-branching’ reading of a following phrase, respectively. I expect that branching the phrase in a way congruent with the phrase’s actual structure would increase the sensicality rating of the phrase, whilst an incongruent branching would decrease it.
If so, this would have implications for language and cognitive research alike. Practical applications may include the use of visual aids in educational environments, especially alongside abstract concepts.
Scheepers, C. & Sturt, P. (2014). Bi-directional syntactic priming across cognitive domains: From arithmetic to language and back. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 67(8), 1643-1654.
Van de Cavey & Hartsuiker (2016). Is there a domain-general cognitive structuring system? Evidence from structural priming across music, math, action descriptions, and language. Cognition, 146(C), 172-184.