Towards a unified model of semantic memory: validation and theoretical implications of the conceptual feature rating space

ABSTRACT

The representation of abstract and concrete concepts has long been a debated question in the literature. In previous work, we created a semantic space which was able to model abstract and concrete concepts in a single multidimensional space. In this study, we tested the validity of our semantic space by comparing it with Latent Semantic Analysis in a word relatedness task during eyetracking. We measured reaction time, gaze measures, and pupil dilation. The results of our study revealed that the newly created space was valid and not just a product of our data. Our ability to simulate a high dimensional semantic space represents a step forward in our understanding of the representation of concepts.

KEYWORDS:

• Word concreteness effect
• semantic memory
• concrete-abstract
• pupillometry
• eyetracking

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.