To call a cloud 'cirrus': sound symbolism in names for categories or items
Abstract
The aim of the present paper is to experimentally test whether sound symbolism has selective effects on labels with different ranges-of-reference within a simple noun-hierarchy. In two experiments, adult participants learned the make up of two categories of unfamiliar objects ('alien life forms'), and were passively exposed to either category-labels or item-labels, in a learning-by-guessing categorization task. Following category training, participants were tested on their visual discrimination of object pairs. For different groups of participants, the labels were either congruent or incongruent with the objects. In Experiment 1, when trained on items with individual labels, participants were worse (made more errors) at detecting visual object mismatches when trained labels were incongruent. In Experiment 2, when participants were trained on items in labelled categories, participants were faster at detecting a match if the trained labels were congruent, and faster at detecting a mismat...ch if the trained labels were incongruent. This pattern of results suggests that sound symbolism in category labels facilitates later similarity judgments when congruent, and discrimination when incongruent, whereas for item labels incongruence generates error in judgements of visual object differences. These findings reveal that sound symbolic congruence has a different outcome at different levels of labelling within a noun hierarchy. These effects emerged in the absence of the label itself, indicating subtle but pervasive effects on visual object processing.
Keywords:
Sound-symbolism / Item label / Category label / CategorizationSource:
PEERJ, 2017, 5Publisher:
- PEERJ Inc, London
Funding / projects:
- Fundamental cognitive processes and functions (RS-179033)
- Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
- Nanyang Assistant Professorship Grant
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3466
ISSN: 2167-8359
PubMed: 28674648
WoS: 000404523200001
Scopus: 2-s2.0-85021376038
Institution/Community
Psihologija / PsychologyTY - JOUR AU - Ković, Vanja AU - Sucević, Jelena AU - Styles, Suzy J. PY - 2017 UR - http://reff.f.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2464 AB - The aim of the present paper is to experimentally test whether sound symbolism has selective effects on labels with different ranges-of-reference within a simple noun-hierarchy. In two experiments, adult participants learned the make up of two categories of unfamiliar objects ('alien life forms'), and were passively exposed to either category-labels or item-labels, in a learning-by-guessing categorization task. Following category training, participants were tested on their visual discrimination of object pairs. For different groups of participants, the labels were either congruent or incongruent with the objects. In Experiment 1, when trained on items with individual labels, participants were worse (made more errors) at detecting visual object mismatches when trained labels were incongruent. In Experiment 2, when participants were trained on items in labelled categories, participants were faster at detecting a match if the trained labels were congruent, and faster at detecting a mismatch if the trained labels were incongruent. This pattern of results suggests that sound symbolism in category labels facilitates later similarity judgments when congruent, and discrimination when incongruent, whereas for item labels incongruence generates error in judgements of visual object differences. These findings reveal that sound symbolic congruence has a different outcome at different levels of labelling within a noun hierarchy. These effects emerged in the absence of the label itself, indicating subtle but pervasive effects on visual object processing. PB - PEERJ Inc, London T2 - PEERJ T1 - To call a cloud 'cirrus': sound symbolism in names for categories or items VL - 5 DO - 10.7717/peerj.3466 ER -
@article{ author = "Ković, Vanja and Sucević, Jelena and Styles, Suzy J.", year = "2017", abstract = "The aim of the present paper is to experimentally test whether sound symbolism has selective effects on labels with different ranges-of-reference within a simple noun-hierarchy. In two experiments, adult participants learned the make up of two categories of unfamiliar objects ('alien life forms'), and were passively exposed to either category-labels or item-labels, in a learning-by-guessing categorization task. Following category training, participants were tested on their visual discrimination of object pairs. For different groups of participants, the labels were either congruent or incongruent with the objects. In Experiment 1, when trained on items with individual labels, participants were worse (made more errors) at detecting visual object mismatches when trained labels were incongruent. In Experiment 2, when participants were trained on items in labelled categories, participants were faster at detecting a match if the trained labels were congruent, and faster at detecting a mismatch if the trained labels were incongruent. This pattern of results suggests that sound symbolism in category labels facilitates later similarity judgments when congruent, and discrimination when incongruent, whereas for item labels incongruence generates error in judgements of visual object differences. These findings reveal that sound symbolic congruence has a different outcome at different levels of labelling within a noun hierarchy. These effects emerged in the absence of the label itself, indicating subtle but pervasive effects on visual object processing.", publisher = "PEERJ Inc, London", journal = "PEERJ", title = "To call a cloud 'cirrus': sound symbolism in names for categories or items", volume = "5", doi = "10.7717/peerj.3466" }
Ković, V., Sucević, J.,& Styles, S. J.. (2017). To call a cloud 'cirrus': sound symbolism in names for categories or items. in PEERJ PEERJ Inc, London., 5. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3466
Ković V, Sucević J, Styles SJ. To call a cloud 'cirrus': sound symbolism in names for categories or items. in PEERJ. 2017;5. doi:10.7717/peerj.3466 .
Ković, Vanja, Sucević, Jelena, Styles, Suzy J., "To call a cloud 'cirrus': sound symbolism in names for categories or items" in PEERJ, 5 (2017), https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3466 . .