Gestures, systemic functional linguistics and mathematics education

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

Self Cite

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.

Section: Perceptual and Action Effector Strength In Metaphorical Desc...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…Culture is one of the key factors that may strongly influence gesture use. For example, this study did not investigate cross-cultural differences in gestures with various categories of metaphorical and literal statements [ 23 ]. Therefore, the scope to interpret the results is limited.…”

Section: Limitations Of the Study And Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of the Use of Iconic and Metaphoric Gestures with Motion-Based, Static Space-Based, Static Object-Based, and Static Event-Based Statements

Banaruee

2022

Behavioral Sciences

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In this article, we extend our previously suggested categorization of metaphors to literal statements, and categorize metaphorical and literal statements into four pairs of corresponding metaphorical and literal statements: (1) motion-based metaphorical/literal statements; (2) static space-based metaphorical/literal statements; (3) static object-based metaphorical/literal statements; (4) static event-based metaphorical/literal statements. Then, we report a study that investigated the use of metaphoric and iconic gestures with these corresponding categories during the retelling of a set of stories by a group of thirty participants. The participants listened to five audio short stories. Each story contained one statement of each metaphoric category and one statement of each literal category. After listening to each story, they retold it in their own language in front of a camera. The results showed that event-based metaphors and event-based literal statements were accompanied by the smallest number of metaphoric and iconic gestures. Furthermore, there was a significant similarity between each metaphorical category and its corresponding literal category in the number of gestures that were used with these categories. This similarity supports the idea that the mechanisms underlying the embodiment of metaphorical and literal statements are essentially similar.

“…In other words, when an abstract concept is metaphorically understood in terms of a concrete concept, the ways that low-level sub-features are activated may be very different from one individual to another one. Cross-individual differences in understanding abstract concepts and the effect of age, culture, and some mental disorders on abstract concept processing have been discussed on some works (e.g., [49][50][51][52][53]). The role of very low-level sub-features may become more important in the understanding of abstract concepts.…”

Section: Metaphor and Distributed Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The understanding of abstract concepts: a perspective from distributed models of conceptual representation

2022

Discov Psychol

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This theoretical article looks at the process of understanding abstract concepts from the perspective of distributed models of conceptual representation. According to these models, meanings of concepts are essentially componential; that is, the meaning of any concept is represented by small units of meaning, which are called semantic features. Based on these models, this article suggests that scope of interpretation and range of associated semantic features are two key differences between abstract and concrete concepts. While abstract concepts are interpreted within wide scopes and in association with large sets of semantic features, concrete concepts are interpreted within narrower scopes and in association with relatively smaller sets of semantic features. Extending the discussion into the metaphoric understanding of abstract concepts in terms of concrete concepts, it is suggested that when an abstract concept is processed, the activation of low-level sub-features may take place in a variety of ways.