Exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individuals

In this study, our objective was to explore the impact of hearing loss on the conceptual system underlying word meaning. We collected perceptual strength norms for 200 Italian words from early deaf individuals with limited or no access to auditory information and compared them to existing norms from...

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Main Authors: Simona Amenta, Giulia Loca, Gabriele Gianfreda, Pasquale Rinaldi, Francesco Pavani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2024-12-01
Series:Language and Cognition
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Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000139/type/journal_article
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author Simona Amenta
Giulia Loca
Gabriele Gianfreda
Pasquale Rinaldi
Francesco Pavani
author_facet Simona Amenta
Giulia Loca
Gabriele Gianfreda
Pasquale Rinaldi
Francesco Pavani
author_sort Simona Amenta
collection DOAJ
description In this study, our objective was to explore the impact of hearing loss on the conceptual system underlying word meaning. We collected perceptual strength norms for 200 Italian words from early deaf individuals with limited or no access to auditory information and compared them to existing norms from hearing individuals. For each word, participants provided perceptual strength ratings for each perceptual modality. Our results revealed a significant reduction of the auditory modality in the norms provided by deaf individuals compared to the hearing population. However, we did not observe an overall decrease in reported perceptual strength. Interestingly, we found a heightened involvement of other sensory modalities accompanied by reduced modality exclusivity in the conceptualization of words, indicating that deaf individuals heavily rely on information coming from the other perceptual modalities to form concepts. These findings suggest that hearing loss leads to a reorganisation of word conceptualization, characterised by increased multisensoriality. Importantly, although diminished, the auditory modality remains present, suggesting that deaf individuals can still infer auditory-associated knowledge about words to some extent.
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publishDate 2024-12-01
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spelling doaj-art-e325162973ad4a4ea91e0f7f8891a4602025-08-20T02:19:37ZengCambridge University PressLanguage and Cognition1866-98081866-98592024-12-01161448147710.1017/langcog.2024.13Exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individualsSimona Amenta0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0391-6164Giulia Loca1Gabriele Gianfreda2Pasquale Rinaldi3Francesco Pavani4Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, ItalyNational Research Council, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technology, Rome, ItalyNational Research Council, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technology, Rome, ItalyCentre for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca “Cognizione, Linguaggio e Sordità” (CIRCLeS), University of Trento, Rovereto, ItalyIn this study, our objective was to explore the impact of hearing loss on the conceptual system underlying word meaning. We collected perceptual strength norms for 200 Italian words from early deaf individuals with limited or no access to auditory information and compared them to existing norms from hearing individuals. For each word, participants provided perceptual strength ratings for each perceptual modality. Our results revealed a significant reduction of the auditory modality in the norms provided by deaf individuals compared to the hearing population. However, we did not observe an overall decrease in reported perceptual strength. Interestingly, we found a heightened involvement of other sensory modalities accompanied by reduced modality exclusivity in the conceptualization of words, indicating that deaf individuals heavily rely on information coming from the other perceptual modalities to form concepts. These findings suggest that hearing loss leads to a reorganisation of word conceptualization, characterised by increased multisensoriality. Importantly, although diminished, the auditory modality remains present, suggesting that deaf individuals can still infer auditory-associated knowledge about words to some extent.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000139/type/journal_articleconceptual representationdeafnessmultisensorialitymodality exclusivityperceptual strength norms
spellingShingle Simona Amenta
Giulia Loca
Gabriele Gianfreda
Pasquale Rinaldi
Francesco Pavani
Exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individuals
Language and Cognition
conceptual representation
deafness
multisensoriality
modality exclusivity
perceptual strength norms
title Exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individuals
title_full Exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individuals
title_fullStr Exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individuals
title_full_unstemmed Exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individuals
title_short Exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individuals
title_sort exploring conceptual representation and grounding through perceptual strength norms in deaf individuals
topic conceptual representation
deafness
multisensoriality
modality exclusivity
perceptual strength norms
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000139/type/journal_article
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AT gabrielegianfreda exploringconceptualrepresentationandgroundingthroughperceptualstrengthnormsindeafindividuals
AT pasqualerinaldi exploringconceptualrepresentationandgroundingthroughperceptualstrengthnormsindeafindividuals
AT francescopavani exploringconceptualrepresentationandgroundingthroughperceptualstrengthnormsindeafindividuals