David Sidhu - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by David Sidhu

PLOS ONE, Nov 8, 2023

The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and ... more The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and /o/) and round shapes, and other language sounds (e.g., /t/ and /i/) and spiky shapes. This is an example of sound symbolism and stands in opposition to arbitrariness of language. It is still unknown when sensitivity to sound symbolism emerges. In the present series of studies, we first confirmed that the classic maluma/takete effect would be observed in adults using our novel 3-D object stimuli (Experiments 1a and 1b). We then conducted the first longitudinal test of the maluma/takete effect, testing infants at 4-, 8-and 12-months of age (Experiment 2). Sensitivity to sound symbolism was measured with a looking time preference task, in which infants were shown images of a round and a spiky 3-D object while hearing either a round-or spiky-sounding nonword. We did not detect a significant difference in looking time based on nonword type. We also collected a series of individual difference measures including measures of vocabulary, movement ability and babbling. Analyses of these measures revealed that 12-month olds who babbled more showed a greater sensitivity to sound symbolism. Finally, in Experiment 3, we had parents take home round or spiky 3-D printed objects, to present to 7-to 8-month-old infants paired with either congruent or incongruent nonwords. This language experience had no effect on subsequent measures of sound symbolism sensitivity. Taken together these studies demonstrate that sound symbolism is elusive in the first year, and shed light on the mechanisms that may contribute to its eventual emergence.

Is a boat bigger than a ship? Null results in the investigation of vowel sound symbolism on size ... more Is a boat bigger than a ship? Null results in the investigation of vowel sound symbolism on size judgments in real language

Sound symbolism refers to the finding that individuals have biases to associate certain language ... more Sound symbolism refers to the finding that individuals have biases to associate certain language sounds (i.e., phonemes) with certain perceptual and/or semantic features (see Lockwood & Dingemanse, 2015; Sidhu & Pexman, 2018a). An example of this is the association between the phoneme /i/ (as in heed) and smallness. This is of special interest to language because it can enable iconic relationships between form and meaning: instances in which a word's form maps onto its meaning via resemblance. For instance, the word teeny contains a vowel associated with smallness, and refers to something small. Iconicity can also exist through Preface Chapter 2 is adapted from the pre-proof version of the following open access publication, permitted under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.

Abstract words refer to concepts that cannot be directly experienced through our senses (e.g. &lt... more Abstract words refer to concepts that cannot be directly experienced through our senses (e.g. truth, morality). How we ground the meanings of abstract words is one of the deepest problems in cognitive science today. We investigated this question in an experiment in which 62 participants were asked to communicate the meanings of words (20 abstract nouns, e.g. impulse; 10 concrete nouns, e.g. insect) to a partner without using the words themselves (the taboo task). We analysed the speech and associated gestures that participants used to communicate the meaning of each word in the taboo task. Analysis of verbal and gestural data yielded a number of insights. When communicating about the meanings of abstract words, participants' speech referenced more people and introspections. In contrast, the meanings of concrete words were communicated by referencing more objects and entities. Gesture results showed that when participants spoke about abstract word meanings their speech was accompanied by more metaphorical and beat gestures, and speech about concrete word meanings was accompanied by more iconic gestures. Taken together, the results suggest that abstract meanings are best captured by a model that allows dynamic access to multiple representation systems.This article is part of the theme issue 'Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'.

The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and ... more The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and /o/) and round shapes, and other language sounds (e.g., /t/ and /i/) and spiky shapes. This is an example of sound symbolism and stands in opposition to arbitrariness of language. It is still unknown when sensitivity to sound symbolism arises. In the present series of studies, we first confirmed that the classic maluma/takete effect would be observed in adults using our novel 3-D object stimuli (Experiments 1a and 1b). We then conducted the first longitudinal test of the maluma/takete effect, testing infants at 4-, 8-and 12-months of age (Experiment 2). Sensitivity to sound symbolism was measured with a looking time preference task, in which infants were shown images of a round and a spiky 3-D object while hearing either a round-or spiky-sounding nonword. We did not detect a significant difference in looking time based on nonword type. We also collected a series of individual difference measures including measures of vocabulary, movement ability and babbling. Analyses of these measures revealed that 12-month olds who babbled more showed a greater sensitivity to sound symbolism. Finally, in Experiment 3, we had parents take home round or spiky 3-D printed objects, to present to 7-to 8-month-old infants paired with either congruent or incongruent nonwords. This language experience had no effect on subsequent measures of sound symbolism sensitivity. Taken together these studies demonstrate that sound symbolism is elusive in the first year, and shed light on the mechanisms that may contribute to its eventual emergence.

Language and Cognition, Oct 28, 2019

In contrast to arbitrariness, a recent perspective is that words contain both arbitrary and iconi... more In contrast to arbitrariness, a recent perspective is that words contain both arbitrary and iconic elements. We investigated iconicity in word recognition, and the possibility that iconic words have special links between phonological and semantic features that may facilitate their processing. In Experiment 1 participants completed a lexical decision task (is this letter string a word?) including words varying in their iconicity. Notably, we manipulated stimulus presentation conditions such that the items were visually degraded for half of the participants; this manipulation has been shown to increase reliance on phonology. Responses to words higher in iconicity were faster and more accurate, but this did not interact with condition. In Experiment 2 we explicitly directed participants' attention to phonology by using a phonological lexical decision task (does this letter string sound like a word?). Responses to words that were higher in iconicity were once again faster. These results demonstrate facilitatory effects of iconicity in lexical processing, thus showing that the benefits of iconic mappings extend beyond those reported for language learning and those argued for language evolution.

Acta Psychologica, Jun 1, 2014

Research examining semantic richness effects in visual word recognition has shown that multiple d... more Research examining semantic richness effects in visual word recognition has shown that multiple dimensions of meaning are activated in the process of word recognition (e.g., Yap et al., 2012). This research has, however, been limited to nouns. In the present research we extended the semantic richness approach to verb stimuli in order to investigate how verb meanings are represented. We characterized a dimension of relative embodiment for verbs, based on the bodily sense described by Borghi and Cimatti (2010), and collected ratings on that dimension for 687 English verbs. The relative embodiment ratings revealed that bodily experience was judged to be more important to the meanings of some verbs (e.g., dance, breathe) than to others (e.g., evaporate, expect). We then tested the effects of relative embodiment and imageability on verb processing in lexical decision (Experiment 1), action picture naming (Experiment 2), and syntactic classification (Experiment 3). In all three experiments results showed facilitatory effects of relative embodiment, but not imageability: latencies were faster for relatively more embodied verbs, even after several other lexical variables were controlled. The results suggest that relative embodiment is an important aspect of verb meaning, and that the semantic richness approach holds promise as a strategy for investigating other aspects of verb meaning.

PLOS ONE, Jul 6, 2018

Recent research on aesthetics has challenged the adage that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder... more Recent research on aesthetics has challenged the adage that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" by identifying several factors that predict ratings of beauty. However, this research has emerged in a piecemeal fashion. Most studies have examined only a few predictors of beauty, and measured either subjective or objective predictors, but not both. Whether the predictors of ratings of beauty versus liking differ has not been tested, nor has whether predictors differ for major distinctions in art, such as abstract vs. representational paintings. Finally, past studies have either relied on experimenter-generated stimuli-which likely yield pallid aesthetic experiences-or on a curation of high-quality art-thereby restricting the range of predictor scores. We report a study (N = 598) that measured 4 subjective and 11 objective predictors of both beauty ratings and liking ratings, for 240 abstract and 240 representational paintings that varied widely in beauty. A crossover pattern occurred in the ratings, such that for abstract paintings liking ratings were higher than beauty ratings, whereas for representational paintings beauty ratings were higher than liking ratings. Prediction was much better for our subjective than objective predictors, and much better for our representational than abstract paintings. For abstract paintings, liking ratings were much more predictable than beauty ratings. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Psychological Research-psychologische Forschung, Aug 10, 2020

words have usually been treated as a homogenous group, with limited investigation of the influenc... more words have usually been treated as a homogenous group, with limited investigation of the influence of different underlying representational systems for these words. In the present study we examined lexical-semantic processing of abstract verbs, separating them into mental state, emotional state and nonembodied state types. We used a syntactic classification task and a memory task to investigate behavioural differences amongst the abstract verb types. Semantic richness effects of each of the verbs' associates were then investigated to determine the relationship of linguistic associations to semantic processing response times for abstract verbs. We found a modest effect of abstract verb type, with mental state abstract verbs processed more quickly than nonembodied abstract verbs in the syntactic classification task; however, this effect was task dependent. We also found that memory was less accurate for the mental state abstract verbs. The semantic richness analysis of abstract verb associates revealed (1) that the concreteness of an abstract verb's associates has a positive relationship to the verb's response time and (2) a negative relationship between response time and age of acquisition for associates of nonembodied verbs. The results provide support for the proposal that abstract concepts engage complex representations in modal and linguistic systems.

Frontiers in Psychology, Jun 30, 2016

Theories of embodied cognition propose that sensorimotor information is simulated during language... more Theories of embodied cognition propose that sensorimotor information is simulated during language processing (e.g., Barsalou, 1999). Previous studies have demonstrated that differences in simulation can have implications for word processing; for instance, lexical processing is facilitated for verbs that have relatively more embodied meanings (e.g., Sidhu et al., 2014). Here we examined the effects of these differences on memory for verbs. We observed higher rates of recognition (Experiments 1a-2a) and recall accuracy (Experiments 2b-3b) for verbs with a greater amount of associated bodily information (i.e., an embodiment effect). We also examined how this interacted with the imagined enactment effect: a memory benefit for actions that one imagines performing (e.g., Ditman et al., 2010). We found that these two effects did not interact (Experiment 3b), suggesting that the memory benefits of automatic simulation (i.e., the embodiment effect) and deliberate simulation (i.e., the imagined enactment effect) are distinct. These results provide evidence for the role of simulation in language processing, and its effects on memory.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Nov 1, 2021

Iconicity is the property whereby signs (vocal or manual) resemble their referents. Iconic signs ... more Iconicity is the property whereby signs (vocal or manual) resemble their referents. Iconic signs are easy to relate to the world, facilitating learning, and processing. Here we examine whether the benefits of iconicity will lead to its emergence and to maintenance in language. We focus on shape iconicity (the association between rounded objects and roundsounding words like bouba; and between spiky objects and spiky-sounding words like kiki) and motion iconicity (the association between longer words and longer events). In Experiment 1 participants generated novel labels for round vs. spiky shapes, and long vs. short movements (1a: text, 1b: speech). Labels for each kind of stimulus differed in a way that was consistent with previous studies of iconicity. This suggests that iconicity emerges even on a completely unconstrainted task. In Experiment 2 (2a: text, 2b: speech), we simulate language change in the laboratory (as iterated learning) and show that both forms of iconicity are introduced and maintained through generations of language users. Thus, we demonstrate emergence of iconicity in spoken languages and we argue that these results reflect a pressure for language systems to be referential which favours iconic forms in the cultural evolution of language (at least up to a point where it is balanced by other pressures, e.g., discriminability). This can explain why we have iconicity across natural languages and may have implications for debates on language origins.

Frontiers in Psychology, Aug 9, 2016

Previous research has examined the effects of emotional experience (i.e., the ease with which wor... more Previous research has examined the effects of emotional experience (i.e., the ease with which words evoke emotion information) in semantic categorization (SCT), word naming, and Stroop tasks (Newcombe et al., 2012; Siakaluk et al., 2014; Moffat et al., 2015). However, to date there are no published reports on whether emotional experience influences performance in the lexical decision task (LDT). In the present study, we examined the influence of emotional experience in LDT using three different stimulus sets. In Experiment 1 we used a stimulus set used by both Kousta et al. (2009; Experiment 1) and Yap and Seow (2014) that is comprised of 40 negative, 40 positive, and 40 neutral words; in Experiment 2 we used a stimulus set comprised of 150 abstract nouns; and in Experiment 3 we used a stimulus set comprised of 373 verbs. We observed facilitatory effects of emotional experience in each of the three experiments, such that words with higher emotional experience ratings were associated with faster response latencies. These results are important because the influence of emotional experience: (a) is observed in stimulus sets comprised of different types of words, demonstrating the generalizability of the effect in LDT; (b) accounts for LDT response latency variability above and beyond the influences of valence and arousal, and is thus a robust dimension of conceptual knowledge; (c) suggests that a richer representation of emotional experience provides more reliable evidence that a stimulus is a word, which facilitates responding in LDT; and (d) is consistent with grounded cognition frameworks that propose that emotion information may be grounded in bodily experience with the world (Barsalou, 2003, 2009; Vigliocco et al., 2009).

Current Directions in Psychological Science, Jul 3, 2019

A wealth of research demonstrates that certain language sounds seem to go better with certain kin... more A wealth of research demonstrates that certain language sounds seem to go better with certain kinds of targets (i.e., sound-symbolic associations). The most well-known example is the maluma-takete effect, in which nonwords such as maluma are judged as good matches for round shapes, whereas nonwords such as takete are judged as good matches for sharp shapes. Most of this research involves nonwords, but recent work has shown that sound symbolism has implications for real first names. On the basis of a name’s sound, individuals tend to pair the name with particular shapes and indicate that they prefer people with congruent pairings of name sound and face shape. Individuals also associate different kinds of personalities with given names on the basis of the sounds the names contain. Thus, sound symbolism is not limited to nonwords and can emerge even with words that have existing associations. Sound-symbolic associations may also occur with more abstract properties (e.g., personality traits). Thus, this work provides insight about mechanisms underlying sound-symbolic association.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, Aug 24, 2017

Sound symbolism refers to an association between phonemes and stimuli containing particular perce... more Sound symbolism refers to an association between phonemes and stimuli containing particular perceptual and/or semantic elements (e.g., objects of a certain size or shape). Some of the best-known examples include the mil/mal effect (Sapir, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12, 225-239, 1929) and the maluma/takete effect (Köhler, 1929). Interest in this topic has been on the rise within psychology, and studies have demonstrated that sound symbolic effects are relevant for many facets of cognition, including language, action, memory, and categorization. Sound symbolism also provides a mechanism by which words' forms can have nonarbitrary, iconic relationships with their meanings. Although various proposals have been put forth for how phonetic features (both acoustic and articulatory) come to be associated with stimuli, there is as yet no generally agreed-upon explanation. We review five proposals: statistical co-occurrence between phonetic features and associated stimuli in the environment, a shared property among phonetic features and stimuli; neural factors; species-general, evolved associations; and patterns extracted from language. We identify a number of outstanding questions that need to be addressed on this topic and suggest next steps for the field.

Sarcasm is a common form of social language but one that can be challenging for children to under... more Sarcasm is a common form of social language but one that can be challenging for children to understand. We investigated whether training can enhance children's ability to understand sarcasm. Participants were 111 five-to six-year-olds, assigned to either the training or control condition. In both conditions, children were first shown a series of puppet shows. Each puppet show ended with a sarcastic or literal remark. After each show children were asked about speaker belief, intent, and humour. Children's responses were used to estimate their pre-training sarcasm understanding. In the training condition, children were taught what sarcasm was and what cues to look for as they interacted with the researcher over a set of stories where characters made either sarcastic or literal remarks. In the control condition children read a non-sarcastic storybook with the researcher. Children's understanding of sarcasm was then reassessed using another series of puppet shows. For children who were not already proficient in sarcasm understanding, training was associated with more accurate speaker belief and intent responses and more accurate sarcasm detection. Training was not related to children's speaker humour responses. Thus, the findings of the present study provide evidence that aspects of children's sarcasm understanding can be enhanced through training. The training paradigm could be developed further to test its effectiveness in other populations who struggle with sarcasm understanding, and to help refine theories of irony development. Impact Statement Children often find it hard to understand the meaning of sarcastic speech. The results of this study show that children's sarcasm detection can be improved with a single training session. This suggests that social learning and experience are important to children's ability to understand sarcasm.

Growing evidence suggests that, along with arbitrariness, non-arbitrariness exists in language. A... more Growing evidence suggests that, along with arbitrariness, non-arbitrariness exists in language. An example of this is iconicity, in which a word's form resembles its meaning. We investigated whether phonological processing plays a key role in the facilitated processing of iconic language (i.e., in some studies the meanings of iconic words are retrieved more quickly and more accurately). First, we reanalyzed the phonological lexical decision task (PLDT) data from Experiment 2 in Sidhu, Vigliocco, and Pexman (2020), and used accuracy on pseudohomophone trials to gauge extent of phonological processing. Participants with greater pseudohomophone accuracy were found to show larger iconic facilitation. We further tested this relationship with a new PLDT experiment, and collected imitativeness ratings for 522 words in order to manipulate the imitativeness of the iconic stimuli used. We found again that individual differences in phonological processing interacted with iconic facilitation. Further, these effects were found only for imitative iconic words (i.e., onomatopoeia and ideophones), suggesting that direct imitativeness is important to iconic facilitation. These findings suggest phonology plays a key role in iconic facilitation, and that the extent to which an individual engages in phonological processing may affect the strength of observed iconicity effects.

Previous research has demonstrated a tendency to pair nonwords like bouba with round shapes, and ... more Previous research has demonstrated a tendency to pair nonwords like bouba with round shapes, and nonwords like kiki with sharp shapes. This is evidence against the arbitrariness of language, and supports the notion that phonemes can be inherently meaningful (i.e., sound symbolism). However many of these studies used explicit tasks. I investigated if the Bouba/Kiki effect would emerge on a more implicit measure: a priming task. Across six experiments I varied instructions and stimuli and in some experiments a priming effect was observed: participants were faster or more accurate when responding to shapes following a congruent than an incongruent nonword prime. The categorization of neutral shapes was also impacted by the type of nonword prime. These results provide some support for the possibility of sound symbolic priming.

PLOS ONE, Nov 8, 2023

The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and ... more The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and /o/) and round shapes, and other language sounds (e.g., /t/ and /i/) and spiky shapes. This is an example of sound symbolism and stands in opposition to arbitrariness of language. It is still unknown when sensitivity to sound symbolism arises. In the present series of studies, we first confirmed that the classic maluma/takete effect would be observed in adults using our novel 3-D object stimuli (Experiments 1a and 1b). We then conducted the first longitudinal test of the maluma/takete effect, testing infants at 4-, 8-and 12-months of age (Experiment 2). Sensitivity to sound symbolism was measured with a looking time preference task, in which infants were shown images of a round and a spiky 3-D object while hearing either a round-or spiky-sounding nonword. We did not detect a significant difference in looking time based on nonword type. We also collected a series of individual difference measures including measures of vocabulary, movement ability and babbling. Analyses of these measures revealed that 12-month olds who babbled more showed a greater sensitivity to sound symbolism. Finally, in Experiment 3, we had parents take home round or spiky 3-D printed objects, to present to 7-to 8-month-old infants paired with either congruent or incongruent nonwords. This language experience had no effect on subsequent measures of sound symbolism sensitivity. Taken together these studies demonstrate that sound symbolism is elusive in the first year, and shed light on the mechanisms that may contribute to its eventual emergence.

Language and Cognition, Oct 28, 2019

Acta Psychologica, Jun 1, 2014

PLOS ONE, Jul 6, 2018

Psychological Research-psychologische Forschung, Aug 10, 2020

Frontiers in Psychology, Jun 30, 2016

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Nov 1, 2021

Frontiers in Psychology, Aug 9, 2016

Current Directions in Psychological Science, Jul 3, 2019

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, Aug 24, 2017