Concreteness effects in semantic processing: ERP evidence supporting dual-coding theory.

Abstract

Dual-coding theory argues that processing advantages for concrete over abstract (verbal) stimuli result from the operation of 2 systems (i.e., imaginal and verbal) for concrete stimuli, rather than just 1 (for abstract stimuli). These verbal and imaginal systems have been linked with the left and right hemispheres of the brain, respectively. Context-availability theory argues that concreteness effects result from processing differences in a single system. The merits of these theories were investigated by examining the topographic distribution of event-related brain potentials in 2 experiments (lexical decision and concrete-abstract classification). The results were most consistent with dual-coding theory. In particular, different scalp distributions of an N400-like negativity were elicited by concrete and abstract words.

Cites (2)

1. The discovery of processing stages: Extensions of Donders' method
   Sternberg, Saul · 1969 · Acta Psychologica
2. Frequency and neighborhood effects on lexical access: Activation or search?
   Andrews, Sally · 1989 · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

Show all 2 references

Cited by (15)

1. Electrophysiology reveals semantic memory use in language comprehension.
   Kutas, Marta, Federmeier, Kara D. · 2000 · Trends in Cognitive Sciences
2. Words in the brain's language
   Pulvermüller, Friedemann · 1999 · Behavioral and Brain Sciences
3. The P600 as an index of syntactic integration difficulty
   Kaan, Edith, Harris, Anthony, Gibson, Edward, Holcomb, Phillip · 2000 · Language and Cognitive Processes
4. The representation of abstract words: Why emotion matters.
   Kousta, Stavroula-Thaleia, Vigliocco, Gabriella, Vinson, David P., Andrews, Mark, Del Campo, Elena · 2011 · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
5. Brain potentials reveal unconscious translation during foreign language comprehension
   Thierry, Guillaume, Wu, Yan Jing · 2007 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

See all 428