The Role of Social Experience in the Grounding of Abstract Concepts

Thesis defense of

Daria Goriachun

Under the direction of de Johannes Ziegler (CRPN) et Núria Gala (LPL)

Jury :
Johannes Ziegler – Directeur de thèse
Núria Gala – Co-directrice de thèse
Anna Borghi – Rapporteure
Penny Pexman – Rapporteure
Gabriella Vigliocco – Présidente du jury
Kristof Strijkers – Examinateur

Abstract :
Understanding abstract concepts like justice or freedom, which do not refer to physical objects, poses a challenge for theories of language processing. This thesis investigates how social experience—both the degree to which words are socially relevant (their socialness) and the social context of communication—affects their processing. Across several experiments, participants processed abstract and concrete words, alone or in pairs. Results show that the social dimension of words affects processing, particularly when participants cooperate. Social interaction thus modulates the way abstract concepts are understood, suggesting that our social experiences can provide grounding for concepts not directly linked to perception or action.