TY - JOUR
T1 - Tight and loose are not created equal
T2 - An asymmetry underlying the representation of fit in English- and Korean-speakers
AU - Norbury, Heather M.
AU - Waxman, Sandra R.
AU - Song, Hyun Joo
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by an IES training grant to Norbury and NIH R01 HD30410 to Waxman. Portions of this research were presented at the meetings of the Cognitive Development Society (2005) and the Cognitive Science Society (2006). We are indebted to D. Medin and E. Leddon for extensive discussions, and to S. Hespos for insights into all phases.
PY - 2008/12
Y1 - 2008/12
N2 - Research concerning the spatial dimension fit (tight versus loose) has been based on a tacit but untested assumption that the dimension fit is symmetrical, with tight- and loose-fitting relations highlighting the dimension fit with equal force. We propose a reformulation, documenting that adult speakers of English (Experiment 1) and Korean (Experiment 2) are sensitive to the dimension fit, but that their representation is asymmetric, with tight-fitting events highlighting fit with greater force than loose-fitting events. We propose that sensitivity to the dimension fit is more resilient than has previously been suggested, and that the asymmetry documented here provides a foundation upon which to pursue nuanced questions about the relationship between language and our underlying representations of space.
AB - Research concerning the spatial dimension fit (tight versus loose) has been based on a tacit but untested assumption that the dimension fit is symmetrical, with tight- and loose-fitting relations highlighting the dimension fit with equal force. We propose a reformulation, documenting that adult speakers of English (Experiment 1) and Korean (Experiment 2) are sensitive to the dimension fit, but that their representation is asymmetric, with tight-fitting events highlighting fit with greater force than loose-fitting events. We propose that sensitivity to the dimension fit is more resilient than has previously been suggested, and that the asymmetry documented here provides a foundation upon which to pursue nuanced questions about the relationship between language and our underlying representations of space.
KW - Conceptual representation
KW - Language and thought
KW - Spatial representation
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cognition.2008.07.019
DO - 10.1016/j.cognition.2008.07.019
M3 - Article
C2 - 19010464
AN - SCOPUS:56349151958
SN - 0010-0277
VL - 109
SP - 316
EP - 325
JO - Cognition
JF - Cognition
IS - 3
ER -