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The Human Conceptual System
Sophia Summer School in Cognitive Science

New Bulgarian University
July 2000

Abstract

We first consider definitions of a conceptual system, and then address the issue of whether conceptual representations are grounded in the sensory-motor systems of the brain, or whether they are implemented with arbitrary amodal symbols. After covering a theory of perceptual symbols, we review empirical evidence from cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience that bears on the perceptual grounding of knowledge. We then turn to the issue of abstraction. Of particular interest is whether concepts are abstracted from their background situations, or whether situations constitute an intrinsic aspect of conceptual knowledge. We then consider the organization of the conceptual system. At a micro-level, we will examine the frame-based organization of knowledge, and the dynamic construction of simulations from this knowledge to represent categories on specific occasions. At a macro-level, we will consider an architecture of goal-directed knowledge in which frames become bound to physical settings via a dynamical interface comprised of ad hoc categories.

Lecture 1: Conceptual Systems

Required Readings:

Barsalou, L.W. (1999). Perceptual symbol systems. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 577-609.

Damasio, A.R. (1989). Time-locked multiregional retroactivation: A systems-level proposal for the neural substrates of recall and recognition. Cognition, 33, 25-62.

Recommended Readings:

Pulvermüller, F. (1999). Words in the brain's language. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 253-336.

Goldstone, R., & Barsalou, L.W. (1998). Reuniting perception and conception. Cognition, 65, 231-262.

Barsalou, L.W. (1999). Perceptual symbol systems. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 610-660. [Commentary and response]

Lecture 2: Evidence for Perceptual Symbol Systems

Required Readings:

Barsalou, L.W., Solomon, K.O., & Wu, L.L. (1999). Perceptual simulation in conceptual tasks. In M.K. Hiraga, C. Sinha, & S. Wilcox (Eds.), Cultural, typological, and psychological perspectives in cognitive linguistics: The proceedings of the 4th conference of the International Cognitive Linguistics Association, Vol. 3. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Wu, L., & Barsalou, L.W. (1999). Grounding concepts in perceptual simulation: I. Evidence from property generation. Under review.

Gainotti, G., Silveri, M.C., Daniele, A., & Giustolisi, L. (1995). Neuroanatomical correlates of category-specific semantic disorders: A critical survey. Memory, 3, 247-264.

Recommended Readings:

Solomon, K.O., & Barsalou, L.W. (1999). Grounding concepts in perceptual simulation: II. Evidence from property verification. Under review.

Solomon, K.O., & Barsalou, L.W. (1999). Representing properties locally. Under review.

Lecture 3: The Situated and Embodied Character of Concepts

Required Readings:

Clark, A. (1997). Being there: Putting brain, body, and world together again. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [Chapters 1-4]

Yeh, W., & Barsalou, L.W. (1999). The situated character of concepts. Under review.

Yeh, W., & Barsalou, L.W. (1999). Situation effects in concept learning. Under review.

Recommended Readings:

Glenberg, A.M. (1997). What memory is for. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 20, 1-55.

Clark, A. (1997). Being there: Putting brain, body, and world together again. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [Chapters 5-11]

Lecture 4: The Micro-Structure of Concepts: Dynamic Conceptualization and the Frame-Based Organization of Knowledge

Required Readings:

Barsalou, L.W. (1989). Intraconcept similarity and its implications for interconcept similarity. In S. Vosniadou & A. Ortony (Eds.), Similarity and analogical reasoning (pp. 76-121). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Barsalou, L.W. (1992). Frames, concepts, and conceptual fields. In E. Kittay & A. Lehrer (Eds.), Frames, fields, and contrasts: New essays in semantic and lexical organization (21-74). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Barsalou, L.W., Yeh, W., Luka, B.J., Olseth, K.L., Mix, K.S., & Wu, L. (1993). Concepts and meaning. In In K. Beals, G. Cooke, D. Kathman, K.E. McCullough, S. Kita, & D. Testen (Eds.), Chicago Linguistics Society 29: Papers from the parasession on conceptual representations (pp. 23-61). University of Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society.

Recommended Readings:

Smith, L.B., & Samuelson, L.K. (1997). Perceiving and remembering: Category stability, variability, and development. In K. Lamberts & D. Shanks (Eds.), Knowledge, concepts, and categories (161-196). East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.

Barsalou, L.W., & Hale, C.R. (1993). Components of conceptual representation: From feature lists to recursive frames. In I. Van Mechelen, J. Hampton, R. Michalski, & P. Theuns (Eds.), Categories and concepts: Theoretical views and inductive data analysis (97-144). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Barsalou, L.W., Huttenlocher, J., & Lamberts, K. (1998). Basing categorization on individuals and events. Cognitive Psychology, 36, 203-272.

Lecture 5: The Macro-Structure of Concepts: Types of Concepts and the Organization of Knowledge

Required Readings:

Barsalou, L.W. (1991). Deriving categories to achieve goals. In G.H. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory (Vol. 27, pp. 1-64). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. [Reprinted in A. Ram & D. Leake (Eds.), Goal-driven learning (1995, pp. 121-176). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press/Bradford Books]

Barsalou, L.W., & Borghi, A. (1999). The MEW theory of human activity: Evidence from concepts for settings, events, and situations. Under review.

Recommended Readings:

Vallée-Tourangeau, F., Anthony, S.H., & Austin, N.G. (1998). Strategies for generating multiple instances of common and ad hoc categories. Memory, 6, 555-592.

Barsalou, L.W. (1995). Storage side effects: Studying processing to understand learning. In A. Ram & D. Leake (Eds.), Goal-driven learning (407-419). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press/Bradford Books.