Embodiment and gestural realization of ergative verbs

In this study, we examined the gestural embodiment of active, passive, and active-form/passive-sense voices of ergative verbs in English. We analyzed gestures produced by presenters talking about a variety of subjects in a set of videos. We used several Chi-square tests to find out what type of gesture (representational, beat, and pointing gestures) co-occurred more frequently with active, passive, and active-form/passive-sense voices of ergative verbs. The results showed that representational gestures occurred more frequently with active than passive and active-form/passive-sense voices of ergative verbs. Furthermore, representational gestures occurred more frequently with active voices of ergative verbs having human subjects than non-human subjects. This was also the case with active-form/passive-sense sentences. Based on these results, it is suggested that form of a sentence is an influential factor in the process of embodying the situation that is described by that sentence. Active voice of an English ergative verb is more likely to be accompanied by representational gestures and is embodied more strongly than passive and active-form/passive-sense voices of that verb.

The role of Mathematical Semiotic Signs in Enhancing Working Memory and Inhibition as the Components of Executive Functions

In this paper, we draw on Charles Sanders Pierce's typology of semiotic signs and suggest that the three types of signs (icon, index, and symbol) enhance working memory and inhibition through three different mechanisms: icons support the process of embodiment; indexes strengthen focus of attention; symbols enhance the process of generalization. Mathematical icons enhance the process of embodying mathematical entities. They help the individual hold the information associated with a mathematical entity in the visual working memory and suppress information that is irrelevant to the task. Indexes strengthen focus of attention by directly referring to the place of mathematical entities and disregarding contextually-irrelevant stimuli. Symbols enhance the process of generalization by suppressing low-level information and reducing the load on working memory. Since cognitive flexibility as the third component of executive functions builds on working memory and inhibition, it can be hypothesized that mathematical signs contribute to this component as well.

Motor strength as a feature of concepts and visual representations

In this article, we define motor strength as the extent to which a concept is associated with body movements and the motor system that guides body movements. We extend this notion to one of the features of visual representations of some concepts and discuss the role of the motor system in understanding concepts and visual representations that have a significant degree of motor strength. It is suggested that when a concept is understood in its literal sense, the employment of the motor system and gestures in processing that concept depends on its degree of motor strength. If a concept is understood in its metaphorical sense, the employment of the motor system and gestures is dependent on the degree of motor strength of the base of the metaphor through which that concept is understood. The degree of motor strength of a concept relies on its motor affordances and its associations with people's past experiences. Because the motor system plays an essential role in the grounding of many abstract concepts in the physical environment, the notion of motor strength can help psychologists acquire a clearer understanding of how concepts with varying degrees of motor strength are grounded in the physical environment.

Schematic Embodiment of Perseverance in Persian

A group of Persian speakers were asked to talk about the concept of perseverance in semi-structured interviews. Gestures that participants used to talk about this concept were analyzed. The results showed that the concept of perseverance was primarily embodied in upward head gestures, fist-shaped hand gestures, forward hand gestures, and forward leg gestures. In a significant number of cases, these four elements occurred together. This suggests that the embodiment of perseverance can be distributed in several gestures in several body parts. Although these gestures had different directions in various body parts, the pattern of occurrence of these gestures was the same in a significant number of cases. We call this process schematic embodiment. These four elements create a gestural scheme that represents the embodied realization of perseverance. We define gestural scheme as a set of dynamic, sequential, and coordinated gestures that collectively represent a concept or an event.

Embodiment of infinity in mathematics

In this article, we discuss the embodiment of infinity as one of fundamental concepts in mathematics. In contrast to the embodiment of many other mathematical concepts, the embodiment of infinity is an endless dynamic process. In embodying +∞, an object moves rightward toward a previously-set limit and passes it. Then, a new limit is set on the right side of the moving object. The moving object continues its movement and passes it as well. The moving object can pass any limit. In other words, there is no impassable limit for it. In embodying -∞, a similar process happens but the movement is leftward. Embodiment of infinitely small quantities has a basic similarity to the embodiment of infinitely large quantities, although it is different in some respects. We call the embodiment of infinity as iterative embodiment. It is iterative because the process of setting a new limit and passing it is repeated endlessly. Finally, it is suggested that in the process of embodying infinitely large and infinitely small quantities, the visual system and the motor system play important roles, as this process involves spatial concepts and movement.

The Roles of Gestural and Symbolic Schematizations in Inhibition as a Component of Executive Functions

The role of gestural schematization in enhancing thinking processes has been the subject of a large body of works. In this process, contextually unimportant or irrelevant information related to a concept (or a system of concepts) is deleted or ignored, while relevant spatial information is maintained. This process is a special type of inhibition, which is one of the key components of executive functions. In this short paper, it is suggested that gestural schematization is a special type of symbolic schematization, a much more general process through which irrelevant information related to features of a concept (or a system of concepts) is suppressed, while relevant information (spatial and non-spatial) is maintained. Through symbolic schematization, abstract structural similarity between two concepts or between two systems of concepts can be discovered. In this way, an individual's knowledge about the first situation can be generalized to the second situation. Symbolic schematization is the basis of abstraction, knowledge generalization, and knowledge development. This is particularly the case with abstract mathematical thinking. This proposal offers a picture of cognitive mechanisms through which knowledge of abstract mathematical concepts is created and developed in the mind.

The role of perceptual and action effector strength of graphs and bases of mathematical metaphors in the metaphorical processing of mathematical concepts

Metaphors that describe an abstract concept in terms of a motion concept are widely used to enhance our understanding of abstract concepts. These metaphors are used not only in our daily language but also in learning mathematics. As an example, in the process of understanding the abstract representation of a mathematical concept, a graphical representation may play the role of a mediatory domain. This graphical representation could have a high degree of perceptual and action effector strength. This is particularly the case when a gestures (as a motion) is used to depict the graphical representation. After looking at this example, we discuss perceptual and action effector strength of the base domains of several mathematical metaphors that describe mathematical concepts in terms of spatial and motion concepts. Then, based on the data in the Lancaster Sensorimotor Norms, it is suggested that high degrees of perceptual and action effector strength of the base domains of these metaphors play an important role in the grounding of abstract mathematical concepts in the physical environment.

A Review of Studies Supporting Metaphorical Embodiment

This paper presents a review of studies that have provided evidence supporting metaphorical embodiment. These studies are divided into three categories of behavioral, neuroimaging, and corpus studies. After summing up the findings of these studies, it is concluded that metaphorical embodiment is supported by these three lines of research. This is followed by a review of a number of studies that have measured sensorimotor and action effector strengths of various concepts. Then, the idea of sensorimotor and action effector strength of concepts is linked to metaphorical embodiment to present the main idea of the paper. Based on the findings of studies that have measured sensorimotor and action effector strengths of concepts, it is suggested that the degree of involvement of sensorimotor systems in mental simulation of metaphoric actions may not be at the same level in all metaphors. It depends on the sensorimotor strength of the base of the metaphor in various modalities. If the base of a metaphor has a high degree of perceptual strength in a certain modality, that modality plays the most important role in the processing of that metaphor, while other modalities take less important roles. In other words, depending on the sensorimotor strengths of the base of a metaphor in various modalities, those modalities have various levels of importance in the processing of that metaphor. If the base of the metaphor is weak in all modalities, modal resources can come into play to process that metaphor.

How emotions are metaphorically embodied: measuring hand and head action strengths of typical emotional states

This study measured hand and head action strengths of eight typical emotional states using an authentic but implicit emotion elicitation task. Participants listened to and then retold five stories in which eight typical emotional states were experienced by the narrators. The number of hand and head gestures that occur naturally while experiencing an emotional state was used as an index to determine the hand and head action strength of that emotional state. Results showed a larger number of head gestures than hand gestures, suggesting that head action strengths of the eight emotional states are stronger than their hand action strengths. These findings are consistent with the data extracted from Lancaster Sensorimotor Norms (LSN), although the two sets of data were gathered in two completely different experimental conditions and in two different languages. Furthermore, our data showed a prototypical directionality effect for the typical emotional states, specifically, happiness, anger and pride were primarily accompanied by upward gestures but downward gestures for sadness and shame; surprise was primarily accompanied by forward gestures but backward gestures for fear and disgust.

Gestural Embodiment of Intensifiers in Iconic, Metaphoric, and Beat Gestures

This study aimed to examine the gestural embodiment of intensifiers in iconic and metaphoric gestures when these words are used with literal and metaphoric statements. We asked a group of Persian native speakers to listen to and then retell a set of Persian stories. In these stories, a number of intensifiers were used with literal and metaphoric sentences. The results showed that when an intensifier was used with a literal sentence, there was a higher probability of using an iconic or beat gesture than when there was no intensifier in the sentence. Also, when an intensifier was used with a metaphoric sentence, there was a higher probability of using a metaphoric or beat gesture than when the sentence contained no intensifier. These results suggested that an intensifier in a literal or metaphoric sentence can strengthen the mental simulation and the embodiment of objects, ideas, or situations. When an intensifier is used with a literal or metaphoric sentence, the strength of activation in the premotor areas may be amplified and spread to motor areas. In contrast, when no such intensifier is used in a literal or metaphoric sentence, there is a higher probability of simulation in premotor areas without spreading to the primary motor areas. The production of an internal force and expressing emphasis are two other possibilities that may explain the higher use of gestures with intensifiers.

How can transforming representation of mathematical entities help us employ more cognitive resources?

This article discusses the cognitive process of transforming one representation of mathematical entities into another representation. This process, which has been called mathematical metaphor, allows us to understand and embody a difficult-to-understand mathematical entity in terms of an easy-to-understand entity. When one representation of a mathematical entity is transformed into another representation, more cognitive resources such as the visual and motor systems can come into play to understand the target entity. Because of their nature, some curves, which are one group of visual representations, may have a great motor strength. It is suggested that directedness, straightness, length, and thinness are some possible features that determine degree of motor strength of a curve. Another possible factor that can determine motor strength of a curve is the strength of association between shape of the curve and past experiences of the observer (and her/his prior knowledge). If an individual has had the repetitive experience of observing objects moving along a certain curve, the shape of the curve may have a great motor strength for her/him. In fact, it can be said that some kind of metonymic relationship may be formed between the shapes of some curves and movement experiences.

Distributed embodiment of metaphorical hope in hand, head, and eyebrow gestures

This study aimed to examine the embodied conceptualization of hope through metaphors. We asked a group of participants to discuss their hopes in a semi-structured interview. We examined the types of hand, head, and eyebrow gestures produced when they were talking about their future hopes. The obtained results showed that when participants talked about their future hopes, they mainly used forward hand gestures, rightward head gestures, and upward eyebrow gestures. Based on these results, it is suggested that various semantic components and emotional associations of hope are metaphorically embodied in different manners in various parts of the body. The future aspect of hope is conceptualized as a forward movement and is embodied as a forward hand gesture. The good or positive emotional aspect associated with future hopes is metaphorically conceptualized as a rightward head gesture or an upward eyebrow gesture. We call this process distributed embodiment of a metaphorical concept. Our proposal is supported by the findings of past studies that have found future is metaphorically embodied as something in front of us (or forward movement), and good is metaphorically embodied as upper space (or upward movement) or right side (or rightward movement).

The roles of motion, gesture, and embodied action in the processing of mathematical concepts

This article discusses perspective and frame of reference in the metaphorical description of mathematical concepts in terms of motions, gestures, and embodied actions. When a mathematical concept is described metaphorically in terms of gestures, embodied actions, or fictive motions, the motor system comes into play to ground and understand that concept. Every motion, gesture, or embodied action involves a perspective and a frame of reference. The flexibility in taking perspective and frame of reference allows people to embody a mathematical concept or idea in various ways. Based on the findings of past studies, it is suggested that the graphical representation of a mathematical concept may activate those areas of the motor system that are involved in the production of that graphical representation. This is supported by studies showing that when observers look at a painting or handwritten letters, they simulate the painter's or writer's hand movements during painting or writing. Likewise, the motor system can contribute to the grounding of abstract mathematical concepts, such as functions, numbers, and arithmetic operations.

A Study of Using Metaphoric and Beat Gestures with Motion-Based and Non-Motion-Based Metaphors during Retelling Stories

In this paper, we classify metaphors into four categories: motion-based metaphors, static space-based metaphors, static object-based metaphors, and static event-based metaphors. Then, a study that investigated the use of gestures with these types of metaphors is reported. The aim was to examine how these types of metaphors are used with metaphoric and beat gestures during the process of re-telling stories. The participants of the study listened to three audio stories. Each story contained two motion-based metaphors, two static space-based metaphors, two static object-based metaphors, and two static event-based metaphors. After listening to each story, they had to retell the stories in front of a camera. The videos were analyzed to determine the number of metaphoric gestures and beat gestures that had been used by participants during the retelling of the stories. The results showed that the highest number of metaphoric gestures had been used with static space-based metaphors. This was followed by motion-based metaphors, static object-based metaphors, and static event-based metaphors, respectively. On the other hand, the highest number of beat gestures was used with static event-based metaphors. These findings indicate that the use of metaphoric gestures and beat gestures accompanying metaphors is highly dependent on the spatial and motoric properties of the base of the metaphors, which supports the idea of embodied metaphor comprehension.

Gestures Enhance Executive Functions for the Understating of Mathematical Concepts

This article discusses the role of gestures in enhancing inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility as the three components of executive functions during the processing of mathematical concepts that are metaphorically described in terms of motion events. Gestures can contribute to the process of inhibition by highlighting the relevant information and keeping the irrelevant information out of focus of attention. Gestures contribute to working memory in two ways during mathematical processing. They increase activity in the motor areas of the brain. Therefore, they may facilitate the process of understanding those mathematical concepts that are described in terms of motion event, as the motor system could play a role in the grounding and the processing of these concepts. Also, gestures can function as an external working memory and keep the visual representation of some parts of information for a short period of time in order to manipulate that information in later stages of processing. Gestures enhance cognitive flexibility by allowing us to have a spatial representation of that concept or idea for a period of time. During this time, we can shift our perspective and process that concept or idea from a variety of perspectives.

Homo-schematic Metaphors: A Study of Metaphor Comprehension in Three Different Priming Conditions

The aim of this study was to investigate the process of metaphor comprehension in three different conditions of metaphor-prime, literal-prime, and no-prime. To achieve this objective, three experiments were conducted. In the metaphor-prime condition, each metaphor was preceded by a homo-schematic metaphor prime. In the literal-prime condition, each metaphor was preceded by a literal prime that provided some information about literal meanings of topic and vehicle of the following metaphor. In the no-prime condition, each metaphor was preceded by no stimulus. In each condition, a group of 20 participants made judgment on the sensibility of 15 metaphors. In Experiment 1, sensibility judgments in the literal-prime and metaphor-prime conditions were compared with each other. In Experiment 2, sensibility judgments in the no-prime and metaphor-prime conditions were compared with each other. In Experiment 3, sensibility judgments in the no-prime and literal-prime conditions were compared with each other. The obtained results indicated that in the metaphor-prime condition, metaphors were judged to have the highest degree of sensibility, and participants were faster in making sensibility judgments. On the other hand, in the literal-prime condition, metaphors were judged to have the lowest degree of sensibility. Therefore, it is suggested that the understanding of a homo-schematic metaphor prime activates an abstract schema. The activation of this schema prepares the ground for the understanding of the following metaphor. When a metaphor prime and its following metaphor share the same schema, the comprehender does not need to re-activate this schema to understand the following metaphor, as this schema has already been activated by metaphor prime.

The strength of weak embodiment

While popular within some cognitive science approaches, the embodiment approach has still found resistance, particularly in light of evidence arguing against strong forms of embodiment. Among other things, the embodiment approach breaks away from the Cartesian ontology of the modulatory system. We claim that the advantages of the embodiment approach are: a) it grounds cognition into modal experience, b) it is harmonious with a materialist philosophy of mind (emergent materialism), and c) it is supported by experimental research in various fields. However, embodiment must still address abstractions, theoretical misunderstandings (representations vs non-representations) and neuroscientific findings that challenge the extension and relevance of sensorimotor properties into cognitive processes. While the strong version of embodiment is seriously challenged by conceptual and physiological setbacks, its weak version is supported by compelling evidence. We suggest future research focus on the psychophysiological bases of grounded cognition and redirect efforts towards the field of cross-modal correspondence.

The Role of Motion Concepts in Understanding Non-Motion Concepts

This article discusses a specific type of metaphor in which an abstract non-motion domain is described in terms of a motion event. Abstract non-motion domains are inherently different from concrete motion domains. However, motion domains are used to describe abstract non-motion domains in many metaphors. Three main reasons are suggested for the suitability of motion events in such metaphorical descriptions. Firstly, motion events usually have high degrees of concreteness. Secondly, motion events are highly imageable. Thirdly, components of any motion event can be imagined almost simultaneously within a three-dimensional space. These three characteristics make motion events suitable domains for describing abstract non-motion domains, and facilitate the process of online comprehension throughout language processing. Extending the main point into the field of mathematics, this article discusses the process of transforming abstract mathematical problems into imageable geometric representations within the three-dimensional space. This strategy is widely used by mathematicians to solve highly abstract and complex problems.