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To explain how abstract concepts, like “truth”, are represented is pivotal for embodied and grounded theories, according to which concepts are grounded in sensorimotor system. An important novelty in recent literature is the recognition that abstract concepts are not a unitary whole, but there might exist sub-kinds of abstract concepts, that are differently represented. Some studies have started to explore the differences between abstract concepts, such as mathematical, emotional, institutional and social concepts. However, an accurate classification has not yet been provided. The aim of our work is to identify fine-grained differences between abstract concepts. We selected 425 abstract words and classified them into preexisting and new categories of concepts: mathematical and logic, social, linguistics, institutional, temporal, spatial, mental states, characteristics of the self, events, pure abstract, imaginary, knowledge areas, cognitive processes, bodily states and physical. A sample of 240 participants rated words on a 7-points Likert-type scale on various dimensions. Aside classical dimensions, like concreteness, abstractness, and imageability, we considered novel dimensions highlighted by recent studies: age and modality of acquisition (perceptual vs linguistic); valence (positive and negative); social dimension; Body-object interaction; perceptual modality and interoception. Preliminary results highlighted a distinction between two macro-kinds of concepts, characterized by a different level of grounding. “Emotions” and “Bodily states” obtained higher BOI and interoception ratings than other categories. “Institutional concepts” and “Knowledge domains” were judged with higher MoA, i.e. mostly linguistically acquired. Our results suggest that differences in concepts kinds thus do not depend only on content but also on mechanisms like interoception and language activation.

Previous research investigating handle-response compatibility effects with graspable objects used different categories of objects as stimuli, regardless of their specific, intrinsic characteristics. The current study explores whether different types of objects’ characteristics may elicit different types of spatial compatibility, that is, handle-response and response-effect compatibility as well as their potential interaction. In Experiment 1, objects having a graspable handle opposite to either a visible functional component (i.e., handle-function objects: a teapot) or a latent functional component (handle-only objects: a pitcher lacking the spout) were presented separately in different blocks. Both the handle and the goal-directed functional components of these objects were located on the horizontal axis. In Experiment 2, handle-only objects had a handle located on the horizontal axis and a latent functional component located on the vertical axis (e.g., a cup). In both experiments, participants were required to judge the material (plastic and metal) the object was made of. Results showed that the handle-response compatibility effect was sensitive to whether the actions consequences of object manipulation took place on the horizontal rather than on the vertical axis.

Questo studio indaga la relazione tra i movimenti del nostro corpo e l’elaborazione numerica andando a studiare l’asse di movimento circolare. I partecipanti dovevano contare aggiungendo o sottraendo ‘tre’ mentre eseguivano dei movimenti circolari, in direzione oraria o antioraria, in modalità attiva (camminando) oppure in modalità passiva (venivano spinti su una sedia a rotelle). I risultati hanno messo in luce la presenza di una relazione tra l’elaborazione numerica e la direzione del movimento circolare, sia in condizioni di movimento attivo che passivo, ma solo per le addizioni e limitatamente ai partecipanti maschi. This study investigates the relationship between the movements of the whole body and numerical calculation, such as additions and subtractions. Starting from previous evidence on the horizontal and vertical axes, in the present study participants were required to count by adding or subtracting 'three' while performing a motion on the circular axis (i.e., a clockwise or counterclockwise movement), in an active (i.e., walking) or passive mode (i.e., being pushed on a wheelchair). Results showed the presence of a relationship between numerical processing and the direction of the circular movement, both in an active and passive movement condition, but only for additions and only for male participants. Implications of the results for theories of embodied cognition are discussed.

According to embodied and grounded theories concepts are grounded in sensorimotor systems. The majority of evidence supporting these views concerns concepts referring to objects or actions, while evidence on abstract concepts is more scarce. Explaining how abstract concepts, as “freedom”, are represented, would however be pivotal for grounded theories. According to some recent proposals, abstract concepts are grounded evoking both sensorimotor and linguistic experience, thus activating the mouth motor system more than concrete concepts. Two experiments are reported, aimed at verifying whether abstract, concrete and emotional words activate the mouth and hand effectors. In both experiments participants performed first a lexical decision, then a recognition task. In Experiment 1 participants responded by pressing a button either with the mouth or with the hand, in Experiment 2 responses were given with the foot, while a button held either in the mouth or in the hand was used to respond to catch-trials. Abstract words were slower to process in both tasks (concreteness effect). Across the tasks and experiments, emotional concepts had instead a fluctuating pattern, different from those of both concrete and abstract concepts, suggesting that they cannot be considered as a subset of abstract concepts. The interaction between kind of concept (abstract, concrete and emotional) and effector (mouth, hand) was not significant in the lexical decision task, likely because it emerged only with tasks implying a deeper processing level. It reached significance, instead, in the accuracy analyses of the recognition tasks. In both experiments abstract concepts yielded less errors in the mouth than in the hand condition, supporting our main prediction. Emotional concepts had instead a more variable pattern. Overall, our findings indicate that different kinds of concepts differently activate the mouth and hand effectors, but they also suggests that concepts activate effectors in a flexible and task-dependent way.

Supplemental material, Supplementary_appendix for Visual versus auditory Simon effect: A behavioural and physiological investigation by Stefania D’Ascenzo, Luisa Lugli, Giulia Baroni, Roberto Guidotti, Sandro Rubichi, Cristina Iani and Roberto Nicoletti in Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

In this article, we propose a new kind of stereotype, which we call «epistemological stereotype». Our hypothesis is that philosophy-of-science typical debates concern issues that are implicit in scienti c research, that is, in the back- ground of assumptions of researchers in different disciplines. We tried to nd them by analyzing the possible stereotypes, namely, implicit category and categorization related to philosophy-of-science debates, such as realism/antirealism or reduction- ism/emergence. In order to do that, we used IAT (Implicit Association Test) method, a tool from the social psychology, usually exploited in detecting stereotypes, and we carried out an experiment on subjects that are target of our study: researchers from different scienti c elds. In the nal part of the paper, we discuss the prelimi- nary results, which show a tendency con rming our hypothesis, and we draw some closing remarks concerning the possible repercussions of epistemological stereo- types on scienti c methodology and research.

This study aims to explore the possibility of stereotypes in scientific research. With this, we are not referring to stereotypes concerning scientist features, such as gender or race, but “epistemological” stereotypes in scientific research, especially methodologically ones and those related to ontological commitments about studied subjects. With “epistemological stereotype” we mean tendencies such as, for example, considering objects or phenomena in scientific theories as objects or phenomena of real world or just concepts in those theories. The problem is how pinpointing these possible tendencies without explicitly asking. Form this point of view, we know that stereotypes and bias could be very close or even overlapped. But, for our purposes, we will assume that we are dealing with stereotypes because they are tightly related to categorization and categorization tasks are part of some peculiar cognitive experimentation methodologies used to detect implicit connections among different categories.

L’effetto Simon consiste in una prestazione più veloce ed accurata quando la posizione della risposta corrisponde alla posizione dello stimolo anche se questa non è rilevante per il compito. Il presente lavoro ha studiato l’emergere dell’effetto Simon e il suo decorso temporale con stimoli visivi e risposte oculo-motorie utilizzando un paradigma di tipo standard: stimoli e risposte condividevano infatti una relazione anatomico-spaziale. I risultati hanno mostrato un effetto (1) ampio e significativo sia nei tempi di reazione saccadici che negli errori e (2) con un decorso temporale descrescente, supportando l’ipotesi che esso sia dovuto ad un meccanismo visuomotorio.

According to the appraisal theory, stimuli which are relevant for human well-being are processed primarily by the attentional system, especially those which have social characteristics (e.g., fearful faces with averted gaze direction). The purpose of this study was to investigate, using the paradigm of the affective priming, whether and how the processing of the specific combination of emotional facial expressions and gaze directions may trigger an emotional evaluation. Furthermore we assessed whether this activation may be long lasting and influencing (i.e., facilitate or delay) the processing of a following stimulus and, more specifically, how this process may differ in two distinct age groups (children vs. teenagers). Findings showed a specific interference of emotion related to age: only the teenagers were able to process the emotional association between two stimuli.

Una delle domande che meglio colgono il complesso rapporto tra le identità individuali, il nostro sé, e gli altri-da-noi potrebbe essere così formulato: quanto c’è di assolutamente individuale in una mente umana? In altri termini, quelli propri della psicologia narrativa, partendo dall’assunto che le storie che raccontiamo di noi servono a elaborare continuamente la nostra identità: Quanto c’è di assolutamente individuale nella memoria autobiografica di una persona e dunque nel processo di elaborazione dell’identità? I nostri ricordi, il nostro senso di chi siamo, le storie che raccontiamo di noi, sono nostri oppure sono intrinsecamente creati dall’insieme e nell’insieme delle relazioni sociali di appartenenza?

This study investigated whether the interaction with objects could be modulated by the real presence of another person. We used a “joint paradigm” in which participants performed the task while another person was just sitting in front of them (Social condition) or interacting with them (Joint condition). Kinematics measures showed how comprehending sentences referring to objects and to others influenced overt movement.

Secondo la prospettiva dell’embodied cognition, linguaggio e azione sarebbero connessi da un forte legame bidirezionale. Scopo del presente esperimento è indagare in che modo il sistema motorio venga modulato durante la comprensione di frasi che fanno riferimento ad un contesto «relazionale», in cui cioè si mettono in relazione il sé, un altro agente e un oggetto connotato emotivamente (es. «L’oggetto è bello/brutto, portalo a te/dallo ad un altro). I risultati suggeriscono che la simulazione motoria è influenzata, oltre che dalle proprietà emotive dell’oggetto descritto, anche dagli elementi sociali che caratterizzano il contesto cui le frasi fanno riferimento.

Aspetto importante nella psicologia della comunicazione, l'ascolto ha ricevuto una alterna e non sempre adeguata attenzione nei modelli teorici e nella ricerca. Questo volume, frutto del contributo di importanti studiosi, presenta le basi relazionali e psicologiche dell'ascolto, ne individua le dinamiche portanti attraverso l'analisi di alcuni ambiti della vita quotidiana e professionale in cui si esercita l'"arte di ascoltare". Un testo utile non solo a studenti, ma a tutti coloro che si occupano della relazione di aiuto: psicologi, psicoterapeuti, insegnanti, medici, professionisti dell'area sanitaria.

Aspetto importante nella psicologia della comunicazione, l'ascolto ha ricevuto una alterna e non sempre adeguata attenzione nei modelli teorici e nella ricerca. Questo volume, frutto del contributo di importanti studiosi, presenta le basi relazionali e psicologiche dell'ascolto, ne individua le dinamiche portanti attraverso l'analisi di alcuni ambiti della vita quotidiana e professionale in cui si esercita l'"arte di ascoltare". Un testo utile non solo a studenti, ma a tutti coloro che si occupano della relazione di aiuto: psicologi, psicoterapeuti, insegnanti, medici, professionisti dell'area sanitaria.

Il saggio si colloca nell'ambito degli studi sulla memoria autobiografica e l'elaborazione dell'identità. Raccontare episodi della propria vita è un'attività che ha come scopo ultimo l'attribuzione di senso alla vita stessa, a noi stessi, all'identità propria e altrui. Da questo punto di vista la memoria autobiografica può essere considerata come una memoria semantica personale: la sua organizzazione narrativa modella i ricordi, ri-costruisce la “verità verosimile” degli eventi e, continuamente in essi, la nostra identità personale. Questo processo apparentemente solitario, individuale, addirittura solipsitico, tale non si rivela mai, tale non può essere. Quando narriamo, infatti, non solo ad un interlocutore esterno ma anche nel nostro dialogismo interno, noi “agiamo” sempre in funzione di un'alterità. E' appunto attraverso l’interazione reale e/o simbolica con l'altro che negoziamo i significati degli eventi e la nostra stessa identità evidenziando di entrambi la natura collettiva, situazionale e negoziale. L’interazione amicale, focus specifico di questo saggio, è un contesto particolare all’interno del quale, grazie alla reiterazione dello stesso racconto e alla presenza di un ascoltatore attivo che condivide le stesse conoscenze, il processo identitario è maggiormente negoziato e co-cocostruito tra chi narra e chi ascolta.