Conceptual Fluency Research Articles

Cognition in (inter)action: multimodal metaphors produced during a lesson of German as a Foreign Language

The article explore how metaphoricity is expressed through the multimodal metaphors produced by a German-native-speaker teacher and Brazilian learners of German as a Foreign Language when discussing possible metaphorical meanings of the preposition and verbal prefix uber. The lesson, which was taught for undergraduates at a Brazilian university, was videotaped. The interactions were transcribed using the conventions GAT 2 and gestures were described based on Cienki (2010). Based on the concepts of Conceptual Fluency by Danesi (1995) as well as the dynamic aspects of metaphoricity by Muller and Cienki (2009), the analysis revealed how metaphor thinking is indeed embodied and how such embodiment can be explored in the classroom.

High School Students’ Language Related Struggles with Contextualized Differential Equations

Upon observing with concern that the majority of high school students experienced severe language related difficulties when solving contextualized differential equations, the researcher then decided to investigate the kinds of such challenges and their impact on students’ learning of differential equations. A sample of 10 mathematics students was selected from one urban high school in one province in Zimbabwe. Written tasks and follow up interviews were employed as data collection tools for the study. Content analysis technique was applied to the written responses and interview transcriptions to obtain a revealing picture of how the kinds of the language related challenges interfere with the growth of mathematical content. The study revealed that the students struggled with interpreting and formulating differential equations from given mathematical situations. Further, interpretation of given initial conditions posed a challenge to the learners. A major consequence of these language related challenges was that the students could not generate complete solutions and lack of interplay between conceptual and procedural fluency was one of the insights generated from this study with regards to the learning of differential equations. The study findings have important implications for instruction in high school mathematics lessons such as the need to develop and foster the students’ abilities to engage in adaptive reasoning and use multiple modes of presenting content in order to promote students’ understanding of contextualized differential equations.

La fluidez conceptual en la interlengua escrita de aprendientes alemanes de español como lengua extranjera

This paper focuses on the written interlanguage of German college students studying Spanish as a Foreign Language in four different levels (A2-C1). In order to observe the evolution of conceptual fluency, a total number of sixty participants wrote an essay about their Spanish studies without previous instruction on the Theory of Conceptual Metaphor (Lakoff/Johnson 1980). The metaphorical density index was measured with special attention paid to the differences and similarities between the German and Spanish semantic conceptual systems and the metaphors used in each stage of learning. The results show that the L1 plays a fundamental role in the typology of metaphors, while quantitative factors such as the metaphorical density index can also vary depending on the target language and the topics of the essays. Therefore, conventional metaphors play a fundamental role in foreign language learning, as the most significant examples in terms of lack of conceptual fluency have been caused by copying linguistic structures from conventional German metaphors into the target language.

The Easier the Better: How Processing Fluency Influences Self-Efficacy and Behavioral Intention in Pro-Social Campaign Advertising

This study examines how processing fluency influences people’s behavioral intention to perform a pro-social behavior. In particular, we predict that high processing fluency enhances self-efficacy perception which, in turn, increases behavioral intention to participate in a pro-social campaign. Study 1 tested the proposed effect in the context of a pro-environmental campaign. Results showed that individual’s subjective feeling of processing fluency affects the degree of self-efficacy and intention to engage in recycling behavior. Study 2 replicated study 1 in the context of organ donation. In addition, we manipulated the degree of conceptual fluency by differently pairing message framing (gain vs. loss) and background color (blue vs. red). As predicted, participants exposed to campaign advertising with conceptually matching framing-color pairs (blue—gain framing and red—loss framing) expressed a greater level of self-efficacy than those who were exposed to mismatched pairs. In addition, self-efficacy mediated the influence of the color–framing match on the intention to donate organs. Our research contributes to the existing literature by identifying critical drivers that promote actions toward pro-social campaigns. It also provides useful guidelines for marketers who design and implement pro-social campaign communications.

FN400 and sustained negativity reveal a premise monotonicity effect during semantic category-based induction.

The premise monotonicity effect during category-based induction is a robust effect that occurs when generalization of a novel property shared by many cases is more likely than one shared by few cases. The timing of brain activity during this effect is unclear. Therefore, the event-related potentials (ERPs) underpinning this effect were measured by manipulating the premise sample size (single [S] vs. two [T]) in a semantic category-based induction task, with the conclusion categories either including the premise categories (congruent induction) or not (incongruent induction). The behavioral results replicated the premise monotonicity effect, and revealed that S arguments produced longer reaction times and more conservative response criteria than did T arguments. This suggests that the premise monotonicity effect was affected by both evidence accumulation speed and decision threshold. ERP results demonstrated that the premise monotonicity effect was reflected by two parameters during inductive decision: (1) S arguments elicited larger FN400 amplitudes than did T arguments under congruent induction, which was linked to reduced global similarity, decreased cognitive relevance, and attenuated conceptual fluency and (2) S arguments elicited larger sustained negativity (SN) in the 450-1050-ms time window than did T arguments, which is related to more inference-driven integration and interpretive processes. Our findings provide insight into the complex temporal course of the premise monotonicity effect during semantic category-based induction.

The temporal dynamics of perceptual and conceptual fluency on recognition memory

Recognition memory can be driven by both perceptual and conceptual fluency, but when and to what extent they contribute to recognition memory remains an open question. The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the neural correlates of perceptual and conceptual fluency, when they gave rise to recognition. We manipulated the perceptual and conceptual fluency of retrieval cues in the recognition test independently to obtain the effects of different types of fluency. Behavioral results showed that perceptual fluency selectively affected K hits, while conceptual fluency affected R hits and K false alarms. In addition, conceptual fluency facilitated the response times of R hits. The ERP results showed that perceptual fluency effect appeared at 100–200 ms and conceptual fluency effect appeared at 300–500 ms. The parietal LPC peaked earlier for conceptually primed trials compared to unprimed trials. These results suggest that perceptual and conceptual fluency had different effects on recognition judgments, and these two types of fluency can be delineated by distinct ERP correlates. The current finding indicates that unconscious memory processes can support recognition and have provided insights into the underlying mechanism involved in recognition memory.

The effects of stimulus complexity and conceptual fluency on aesthetic judgments of abstract art: Evidence for a default–interventionist account

ABSTRACTWe report an experiment investigating how stimulus complexity and conceptual fluency (i.e., the ease of deriving meaning) influence aesthetic liking judgments for abstract artworks. We presented participants with paintings at two levels of complexity (high vs. low) and five levels of conceptual fluency (determined from a prior norming study) and requested separate ratings of beauty and creativity. Our predictions were derived from the PIA Model (Pleasure-Interest Model of Aesthetic Liking), which views aesthetic preferences as being formed by two, distinct fluency-based processes: an initial, automatic, stimulus-driven, default process and a subsequent, perceiver-driven deliberative process. A key trigger for deliberative processing is assumed to be disfluency at the default stage, as caused by factors such as visual complexity. We predicted that complexity and conceptual fluency would interact in determining aesthetic liking, with people preferring complex stimuli, but only when these are relatively easy to process conceptually. Our results supported this prediction for beauty judgments, although creativity judgments showed a curiously uniform profile. Nevertheless, the predictive capacity of the PIA Model in relation to beauty judgments attests to the explanatory strength of this default–interventionist theory of aesthetic liking. We conclude by noting important parallels between the PIA Model and the Revised Optimal Innovation Hypothesis, which likewise has broad reach in explaining how defaultness and non-defaultness affect pleasure across a range of linguistic and pictorial stimuli.

Picture (im)perfect: Illusions of recognition memory produced by photographs at test.

Photographs have been found to affect a variety of psychological judgments. For example, nonprobative but semantically related photographs may increase beliefs in the truth of general knowledge statements (Newman, Garry, Bernstein, Kantner, & Lindsay, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 19(5), 969-974, 2012; Newman et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 41(5), 1337-1348, 2015). Photographs can also create illusions of memory (Cardwell, Henkel, Garry, Newman, & Foster, Memory & Cognition, 44(6), 883-896, 2016; Henkel, Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(1), 78-86, 2011; Henkel & Carbuto, 2008). A candidate mechanism for these effects is that a photograph increases the fluency with which a statement or an event is processed. The present study was conducted to determine whether photos at test can induce illusions of recognition memory and to test the viability of a conceptual fluency explanation of these effects. The results of the present study suggest that photographs enhance the fluency of related words (Experiment 1), that false memories can be produced by the mere presence of a related photo on a recognition memory test for words (Experiments 2 & 3), and that these effects appear to be limited to conceptually based recognition tests (Experiments 4 & 5). The results support the notion that photograph-based illusions of memory stem from the ability of related photographs to increase the speed and ease of conceptual processing.

A Persuasão Inconsciente: Um Modelo Conceitual sobre os Efeitos da Multitarefa de Mídia sobre a Fluência de Processamento do Consumidor

Objetivo: Direcionar novos estudos de fluncia de processamento no contexto relativamente novo da multitarefa de mdia, comportamento que tem se tornado popular nos ltimos anos. Mtodo: Reviso da vasta literatura de fluncia de processamento, fluncia perceptual e fluncia conceitual, incluindo seus diversos efeitos, diferentes contextos comportamentais e as teorias que explicam o fenmeno. Realizou-se tambm uma breve reviso sobre a recente literatura da multitarefa e multitarefa de mdia. Originalidade/Relevncia: Estmulos fluentes possuem vrios efeitos positivos no consumidor em relao a estmulos no fluentes, contudo, todos os estudos de fluncia at agora consideraram indivduos focados em uma atividade durante a exposio ao estmulo, o que no representa grande parte do comportamento habitual dos indivduos que costumam se engajar em mais de uma atividade ao mesmo tempo, principalmente ao consumir uma mdia. Este trabalho destaca este gap e fornece direes para futuros trabalhos. Resultados: A partir da reviso da literatura, este artigo oferece proposies de estudo e um modelo conceitual que podem orientar futuras pesquisas sobre fluncia de processamento (perceptual e conceitual) em situaes em que o consumidor desempenha mais de uma atividade ao mesmo tempo. Contribuies tericas / metodolgicas: Este artigo contribui para a melhor compreenso dos efeitos de exposies a estmulos a partir do melhor entendimento dos efeitos da fluncia perceptual e conceitual e como esses efeitos podem ser afetados pelo comportamento multitarefa de mdia.

Fluency or Similarities? Cognitive Abilities that Contribute to Creative Metaphor Generation

This study focused on the cognitive abilities that contribute to creative metaphor generation. A concept explanation task was used to test conventional and novel (creative) metaphor generation. Conceptual fluency and similarities were measured using the Tel-Aviv Creativity Test (TACT). The main goal was to investigate how fluency of ideas and similarities contribute to creative metaphor generation. Fifty-four children (M = 12.59, SD = 2.05) participated in the study. The findings demonstrated that fluency of ideas contributed to the prediction of creative potential, but not conventional metaphor generation, beyond similarities, cognitive abilities, executive functions, verbal abilities, and age. The results thus show that novel metaphor generation is unique and separate estimate of creative potential, which is reciprocally related to conceptual fluency.

판매원-브랜드 이미지 일치성이 개념적 유창성과 고객 평가에 미치는 영향과 브랜드 친숙도의 조절효과

온라인 구매가 일상화됨에 따라 오프라인 매장은 단순히 제품을 판매하는 장소가 아닌 브랜드를 체험하고 경험을 공유 하는 공간으로 진화하고 있다. 이와 함께 브랜드 의미와 메시지를 전달하는 핵심 매체로서 매장 판매원의 역할이 중요해 졌다. 본 연구의 목적은 브랜드와 판매원의 이미지 일치성이 브랜드 정보 전달과 고객 반응에 미치는 영향에 대해 분석하 는 것이다. 고객이 인지하는 판매원과 브랜드간 이미지 일치성은 고객과 판매원이 보유한 브랜드 이미지의 차이에서 비 롯된다고 가정하였으며, 개념적 유창성이 판매원과 브랜드간 이미지 일치성과 고객의 평가 관계에서 매개변수로 작용한 다고 설정하였다. 나아가 본 연구는 개념적 유창성과 고객 평가의 관계에서 브랜드 친숙도가 조절변수로서 미치는 영향 력을 분석하였다. 국내 H백화점 5개 지점의 판매원과 고객을 대상으로 실시한 설문조사 자료를 사용하여 가설을 분석한 결과는 다음과 같다. 먼저 고객과 판매원이 보유한 브랜드 이미지의 격차가 클수록 고객은 판매원의 전반적인 이미지가 해당 브랜드 이 미지와 일치하지 않는다고 인식하는 것으로 나타났다. 판매원과 브랜드 이미지의 일치성은 개념적 유창성에 긍정적인 영 향을 미치는 것을 알 수 있었다. 나아가 개념적 유창성이 높을수록 고객의 매장 충성도, 브랜드 가치 평가가 높아지는 것이 확인되었다. 또한 브랜드 친숙도가 낮을 때 개념적 유창성이 고객의 매장 충성도와 브랜드 가치 평가에 미치는 영향이 유 의하게 커지는 것을 알 수 있었다. 본 연구는 고객과 판매원간 브랜드 이미지 일치성의 영향을 살펴본다는 점에서 관련 연 구의 범위를 확대하고 이론을 발전시키는 데 기여할 뿐 아니라 고객접점 직원의 브랜딩을 통한 차별화 전략을 모색하기 위한 실무적 시사점을 제공한다.

Distinguishing familiarity from fluency for the compound word pair effect in associative recognition.

We examined whether processing fluency contributes to associative recognition of unitized pre-experimental associations. In Experiments 1A and 1B, we minimized perceptual fluency by presenting each word of pairs on separate screens at both study and test, yet the compound word (CW) effect (i.e., hit and false-alarm rates greater for CW pairs with no difference in discrimination) did not reduce. In Experiments 2A and 2B, conceptual fluency was examined by comparing transparent (e.g., hand bag) and opaque (e.g., rag time) CW pairs in lexical decision and associative recognition tasks. Lexical decision was faster for transparent CWs (Experiment 2A) but in associative recognition, the CW effect did not differ by CW pair type (Experiment 2B). In Experiments 3A and 3B, we examined whether priming that increases processing fluency would influence the CW effect. In Experiment 3A, CW and non-compound word pairs were preceded with matched and mismatched primes at test in an associative recognition task. In Experiment 3B, only transparent and opaque CW pairs were presented. Results showed that presenting matched versus mismatched primes at test did not influence the CW effect. The CW effect in yes-no associative recognition is due to reliance on enhanced familiarity of unitized CW pairs.

Package color saturation and food healthfulness perceptions

Vivid, highly saturated colors are often perceived as exciting and arousing, making them popular in branding and package design. However, are foods packaged in vivid colors also perceived as unhealthful? Across four experiments, we demonstrate that consumers appear to perceive foods in vivid, highly color-saturated food packaging as less healthful than foods in muted, less color-saturated packaging. Further, we demonstrate that conceptual fluency mediates the effect, subjective nutrition knowledge weakens the effect, and restrained eating behavior strengthens the effect. We contribute to the color literature that explores the distinct effects of different color elements on consumer perceptions. We also advance the food well-being literature by identifying a new heuristic that affects food well-being, and in doing so, join other researchers who have connected learned color associations to substantive consumer outcomes. Finally, we offer food marketers new insights into consumers' evaluations of their products.

Comparative Price and the Design of Effective Product Communications

The authors propose a model relating a product's comparative price to the construal level of its associated communications and show how perceived expensiveness shapes consumers’ response to the wording of marketing communications. A series of six studies shows that for both absolute low- and high-cost product categories, comparatively expensive (inexpensive) products are preferred when accompanied by high-construal (low-construal) messages, due to the conceptual fluency of the “match” between price-induced psychological distance and construal level. The model provides novel implications for designing effective marketing communications: comparatively expensive versions of objectively low-priced products (e.g., an expensive chocolate truffle) are best promoted through more abstract slogans, whereas comparatively affordable versions of objectively high-priced products (e.g., an inexpensive diamond pendant) are best promoted using more concrete slogans. By emphasizing the link between comparative price and the matching level of construal, the authors contribute to a richer view of the interplay between price and product communication in marketing.

Culturally Loaded Conceptual Metaphors in Korean and Implications for L2 Learning

Metaphor use is identified by conceptual variation that can be explained in relation to culture-specific discourse traditions. Through the cultural linguistic analysis, this study examines Korean culture-specific conceptual metaphors and argues that the Korean language use embodies the underlying culturally loaded conceptualizations. By providing three Korean culture-specific conceptual bodily organ metaphors such as heart, face, and liver, this study discusses the importance of cultural conceptualizations behind linguistic expression in both L1 acquisition and L2 learning. The emphasis is placed on the fact that the Korean bodily organ metaphors are culturally loaded and conceptualized, therefore, can be differently understood among the speakers across cultures and languages. This study demonstrates the cultural relativity which puts in doubt traditional assumptions about metaphor use and argues that L2 learning is likely to involve confronting new systems of cultural conceptualization. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of intercultural conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence of L2 learning within the framework of cultural linguistics.

Separating Event-related Potential Effects for Conceptual Fluency and Episodic Familiarity.

ERP old/new effects have been associated with different subprocesses of episodic recognition memory. The notion that recollection is reflected in the left parietal old/new effect seems to be uncontested. However, an association between episodic familiarity and the mid-frontal old/new effect is not uncontroversial. It has been argued that the mid-frontal old/new effect is functionally equivalent to the N400 and hence merely reflects differences in conceptual fluency between old and new items. Therefore, it is related to episodic familiarity only in situations in which conceptual fluency covaries with familiarity. Alternatively, the old/new effect in this time window reflects an interaction of episodic familiarity and conceptual processing with each making a unique functional contribution. To test this latter account, we manipulated conceptual fluency and episodic familiarity orthogonally in an incidental recognition test: Visually presented old and new words were preceded by either conceptually related or unrelated auditory prime words. If the mid-frontal old/new effect is functionally distinguishable from conceptual priming effects, an ERP contrast reflecting pure priming (correct rejections in the related vs. unrelated condition) and a contrast reflecting priming plus familiarity (hits in the related vs. correct rejections in the unrelated condition) should differ in scalp distribution. As predicted, the pure priming contrast had a right-parietal distribution, as typically observed for the N400 effect, whereas the priming plus familiarity contrast was significantly more frontally accentuated. These findings implicate that old/new effects in this time window are driven by unique functional contributions of episodic familiarity and conceptual processing.

TYPICALITY EFFECTS IN LUXURY BRAND ADVERTISEMENTS

Consumers’ perception of advertisements can affect brand attitudes, brand trust, and brand image (Meenaghan, 1995; Sheinin, Varki, & Ashley, 2011). Therefore, strategic selection of elements in advertisements becomes important, especially for luxury brands. Luxury brands tend to position themselves as artisans of a particular category or a product and highlight exclusivity (Fionda & Moore, 2008). When a luxury brand is known for a specific product, a less-known product of the brand in an advertisement would be perceived differently. The present study focused on exploring the different effects of iconic products and less-associated products of a luxury brand in the context of advertisements. Categorization theory, typicality effects, and conceptual fluency provided theoretical foundation in understanding the relationships.Typicality effects, simply put, occur when members in a category are graded, “with members ranging from very good (typical) members of a category to very poor (atypical) members of a category” (Loken, Barsalou, & Joiner, 2008, p. 153). In consumer studies, typicality had been examined in various dimensions and showed to effect consumer attitude (Goedertier, Dawar, Geuens, & Weijters, 2015; Loken & Ward, 1990; Ward & Loken, 1988). However, to our knowledge, the subject had not been covered in the luxury brand advertisement context.To test the effects of typicality, the study examined whether typical products in luxury advertising have a higher level of advertisement liking, pleasantness, and novelty than atypical products (H1), whether consumers’ advertisement attitude from luxury advertising have a positive effect on brand attitude (H2), and whether consumers’ product involvement moderated the relationship between product typicality and advertisement attitude.Before the main test, two pretests were performed; the first to select the luxury brand and products to be used in the main test; the second to ensure the brand-product association of the advertisements. A total of 123 undergraduate students participated in the experiment, a (typical vs. atypical) between-subjects design. Participants were exposed to one of the two experimental conditions and were asked to complete a questionnaire. They were provided with questions measuring advertisement liking, pleasantness, novelty, brand attitude, demographical questions, and manipulation checks. All questions, apart from the demographics and certain questions in the manipulation checks, were measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Reliability analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis were used in hypothesis testing.Results of the study revealed that typical brand products in luxury brand advertisements have a higher level of advertisement liking, pleasantness, and novelty. Additionally, advertisement liking and novelty have a positive effect on brand attitude but pleasantness had no effect. Finally, product involvement did not moderate the effects of product typicality on advertisement attitude.The study shows significance in that it supports the typicality effect in categorization theory by showing that there are certain products that consumers link with brands, and the closer the link, the more positive advertisement attitude becomes. Based on the results, it is recommended that luxury brands take caution in product placement and include iconic products in advertisements. There should also be focus on which products are in the advertisement, not the individual consumer’s involvement in a product.For future research, experiments exploring whether presenting typical products with atypical products in advertisements would strengthen the relationships between brands and atypical products is suggested. Also, studies on how luxury brands can elevate the status of atypical products to typical products by educating consumers would provide practical strategies for luxury brand marketers.

Electrophysiological signals associated with fluency of different levels of processing reveal multiple contributions to recognition memory.

Processing fluency appears to influence recognition memory judgements, and the manipulation of fluency, if misattributed to an effect of prior exposure, can result in illusory memory. Although it is well established that fluency induced by masked repetition priming leads to increased familiarity, manipulations of conceptual fluency have produced conflicting results, variously affecting familiarity or recollection. Some recent studies have found that masked conceptual priming increases correct recollection (Taylor & Henson, 2012), and the magnitude of this behavioural effect correlates with analogous fMRI BOLD priming effects in brain regions associated with recollection (Taylor, Buratto, & Henson, 2013). However, the neural correlates and time-courses of masked repetition and conceptual priming were not compared directly in previous studies. The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to identify and compare the electrophysiological correlates of masked repetition and conceptual priming and investigate how they contribute to recognition memory. Behavioural results were consistent with previous studies: Repetition primes increased familiarity, whereas conceptual primes increased correct recollection. Masked repetition and conceptual priming also decreased the latency of late parietal component (LPC). Masked repetition priming was associated with an early P200 effect and a later parietal maximum N400 effect, whereas masked conceptual priming was only associated with a central-parietal maximum N400 effect. In addition, the topographic distributions of the N400 repetition priming and conceptual priming effects were different. These results suggest that fluency at different levels of processing is associated with different ERP components, and contributes differentially to subjective recognition memory experiences.

Classroom Data Analysis with the Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency

ABSTRACTQualitative classroom data from video recordings and students' written work can play important roles in improving mathematics instruction. In order to take full advantage of these data sources, it is helpful to have a strong analytic lens to orient one's reflections on the data. One promising analytic lens is the National Research Council's five stands of mathematical proficiency framework. It prompts teachers to examine the extent to which their students have attained conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and productive dispositions. This article describes how a pair of prospective teachers used the five strands to analyze and reflect upon qualitative classroom data from a series of lessons they taught. The insights gained during the process can help others anticipate dynamics involved in using the five strands framework during practitioner research and reflection on classroom data.

The informative value of type of repetition: Perceptual and conceptual fluency influences on judgments of truth

We contrast the effects of conceptual and perceptual fluency resulting from repetition in the truth effect. In Experiment 1, participants judged either verbatim or paraphrased repetitions, which reduce perceptual similarity to original statements. Judgments were made either immediately after the first exposure to the statements or after one week. Illusions of truth emerged for both types of repetition, with delay reducing both effects. In Experiment 2, participants judged verbatim and paraphrased repetitions with either the same or a contradictory meaning of original statements. In immediate judgments, illusions of truth emerged for repetitions with the same meaning and illusions of falseness for contradictory repetitions. In the delayed session, the illusion of falseness disappeared for contradictory statements. Results are discussed in terms of the contributions of recollection of stimulus details and of perceptual and conceptual fluency to illusions of truth at different time intervals and judgmental context conditions.