An Erp Study Of Metaphor Comprehension In Power Under The View Of Embodied Conceptual Representation

The embodied theories of conceptual representation hold that conceptual representation is grounded inthe same neural systems and the way of conceptual processing is the simulation and restore of bodyexperience. Power, as a kind of abstract concept is also has the physical basis of sex, and metaphor is alink bridge between the abstract concept of power and the body perception experience.Human can use these“up”and“down” patial concept to describe the power concept in our daily1ife.But previous studies mostlyfrom the perspective of linguistics and a large corpus to verify the existence of the metaphor that betweenvertical space and power, little empirical research from the perspective of cognitive psychology. This studycombed the domestic and foreign related research about power concept representation, using spatial Stroopparadigm and pay attention to the spatial attention orientation paradigm, from the automatic activation、cross-cultural differences、neural mechanisms aspects to review the power concept representation.Experiment1used the spatial Stroop paradigm to explore that vertical position of a group influencespower judgments.In this experiment,participants were asked to identify whether a word represented apowerful or powerless person (e.g.‘king’ or ‘servant’) which at the top or bottom of the screen. Thebehavior analysis showed that judgments of powerful groups as powerful were faster when the groupsappeared at the top position compared with when they appeared at the bottom position. This difference wassignificant. Similarly, judgments of powerless groups as powerless were also faster when they appeared atthe bottom position compared with when they appeared at the top position, but this difference was notsignificant. The ERP analysis showed larger N100amplitude for congruent trials (i.e., the power word’slocation was congruent with the typical location of the word’s metaphor) and larger P100amplitude、P300amplitude、P450amplitude、P550amplitude and SP amplitude for incongruent trials. These resultssupport the view that vertical position of a group could influence power judgments at sensory processingstage and higher-level response-selection stage;Thinking about power could automatically activate theunderlying spatial up-down (verticality) image schema. Experiment2used spatial attention orientation paradigm to explore that thinking about the abstractconcept power may automatically activate the spatial up–down image schema (powerful up; powerlessdown) and consequently direct spatial attention to the image schema congruent location. In this experi-ment,participants indicated whether a word which represent at the center of the screen represented apowerful or powerless person. After the decision of the words, participants were asked to identify a targetletter (“m” or “n”) at the top or bottom of the screen.The ERP analysis showed larger N100amplitude forcongruent trials and larger P100amplitude and P300amplitude for incongruent trials. These results supportthe view that thinking about the abstract concepts power may drive attention to the image schemacongruent location of a power word and the perception of power words could affect the processing ofsubsequent spatial stimuli.Conclusively,the ERP research on the representation of power confirms all the hypotheses. Therepresentation and processing to power abstract concepts is with sensorimotor experience.Thinking aboutthe abstract concept power may automatically activate the spatial up–down image schema (powerful up;powerless down) and consequently direct spatial attention to the image schema congruent location.Thisstudy deepens the understanding of power representation and reveals the mental representation mechanismof power consciousness and Ranking of thought. These finding not only enrich the embodiment’s theory ofconcept representation,but also help the children to learn the concepts.