Flexible foundations of abstract thought: A review and a theory

Abstract

Since the proposal of conceptual metaphors as the representational means for grounding abstract concepts in concrete sensorio-motor experiences, experimental research about this issue is on the rise. The present paper identifies the problem of flexibility as one of the key questions that remains to receive a satisfactory answer, and proposes a psycho logically plausible model that offers such an answer. The model is grounded on basic spatial cognition principles, working memory representations and attentional processes. This framework integrates prior results and licenses several new predictions. Direct test of some of these predictions is provided by two recent studies from our lab. Finally, we discuss the implications of this framework for the issues of the manifestation of conceptual metaphors in behaviour, the acquisition of conceptual metaphors, their cross-cultural variation, and the Symbol Grounding Problem.

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