Language and Intelligence: A Relationship Supporting the Embodied Cognition Hypothesis.
Attà Negri, Marco Castiglioni, Cristina Liviana Caldiroli, Arianna Barazzetti
Journal of Intelligence July 14, 2022 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence10030042 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 32 |
| Population | Nonclinical adult subjects |
| Measures | WAIS-IV, Relationship Anecdotes Paradigm Interview, computerized measures of referential competence |
| Keywords | Embodied cognition Enaction Intelligence Linguistic analysis Referential process |
| Key findings | Intelligence scores correlated with the use of somatic and sensory words in autobiographical narratives, but were not associated with other referential competence measures involving abstract domains or vivid or reflective language style. The authors argue this supports the hypothesis that sensorimotor schemas have an intrinsic role in language and cognition. |
Abstract
Cognitive science has gathered robust evidence supporting the hypothesis that cognitive processes do not occur in an amodal format but take shape through the activation of the sensorimotor systems of the agent body, which works as simulation system upon which concepts, words, and thought are based. However, studies that have investigated the relationship between language and cognitive processes, as both embedded processes, are very rare. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that intelligence is associated with referential competence, conceived as the ability to find words to refer to our subjective and perceptual experience, and to evoke understanding of this experience in the listener. We administered the WAIS-IV test to 32 nonclinical subjects and collected autobiographical narratives from them through the Relationship Anecdotes Paradigm Interview. The narratives were analyzed linguistically by applying computerized measures of referential competence. Intelligence scores were found to correlate with the use in narratives of words related to somatic and sensory sensations, while they were not associated with other measures of referential competence related to more abstract domains of experience or based on vivid or reflective dimensions of language style. The results support the hypothesis that sensorimotor schemas have an intrinsic role in language and cognition.