Open Collections

Dramkin, Denitza

University of British Columbia

The human mind represents information in many domains and formats. Perceptual representations of number, space, and time integrate into a holistic conscious experience, while abstract representations (e.g., morality, justice, meaning, etc.) shape our collaborative and individual behaviours. To accomplish this, perceptual and non-perceptual representations must interface, allowing us to use abstractions to describe our perception, and using perceptual experience to help us choose specific instances of potentially infinite categories. What mechanism supports the interface between perceptual experiences, especially those which are universally shared across human and non-human animals alike, and language, a distinctly human psychological phenomenon? To explore this puzzle, I focus on one case study in particular: the link between number words and perceptual magnitudes (e.g., number, space, time). Across 5 studies and distinct developmental groups (e.g., children, adults), I examine (1) what supports the acquisition of the logical, generative interface that underlies this link (Chapter 2), (2) how this interface can be extended once it’s acquired (Chapter 3) and (3) what the representational format is that allows number words to be linked to perceptual magnitudes in the first place (Chapter 4 & Chapter 5). This dissertation provides several insights into how the human mind integrates perceptual and non-perceptual formats. I demonstrate that once this interface is achieved between number words and one perceptual magnitude (i.e., number) early in development, it can be logically and flexibly extended across perceptual experiences, including to different units (e.g., labelling a set of 3 dots as “one”; Chapter 3) and magnitudes (e.g., length: judging that a line is “eight” units long; Chapter 2). Then, by exploring differences in how this interface is implemented across numeric vs. non-numeric magnitudes (Chapter 4), I get at the very format of perceptual representations, themselves (Chapter 5). Understanding how this interface is achieved is not only important for getting at the broader relationship between language and perception but is even more important from the perspective of development. Children have access to perceptual magnitude representations from birth but slowly acquire culturally-specific tools for reasoning about these magnitudes in abstract ways (e.g., number words, measurement units, mathematics, etc.).

Text

2023-10-06

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/86101

Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/