Effects of conceptual differences on the semantic memory retrieval

Baik, Jiseon and Haeil Park. 2018. Effects of conceptual differences on the semantic memory retrieval. Linguistic Research 35(2), 395-412. The present study aims to investigate whether there are any effects of conceptual distinctions on semantic memory retrieval, and if so, how different concepts play out in cued-recall. Semantic memory is one of the core features characterizing humans, and includes all acquired knowledge about the world. We conducted a semantic memory cued-recall study comparing action-associated and literal sentences with non-action and metaphoric ones. Here, we report that action-related sentences are better recalled than their non-action counterparts. This result is attributable to more sensory-motor activation of action-related utterances leading to a better maintenance in memory, which is in support of the Grounded Cognition (henceforth, GC) theory. In addition, we observed a literal sentence advantage during the same task, given that literal sentences are remembered to a greater extent than metaphoric sentences. This finding is also accounted for by the GC model in a way that the more concrete a concept is, the more activation in the sensory-motor cortex it will engage during comprehension, thereby inducing a more effective recall. (Kyung Hee University)