Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Papafragou Uses New Technique to Study Connections Between Language and Thought
Does the language one speaks affect the way one thinks? Do people who speak different languages see the world differently? Professor Anna Papafragou has always been interested in these questions about the relationship between language and thought. An Assistant Professor of Psychology with a secondary appointment in Linguistics, Papafragou studies the relationship between linguistic and conceptual representations in both children and adults. She has gathered data in several countries – Mexico, Turkey, Korea, Greece and Germany, among others – using many different methods. Now, her work is taking another bold step, using sophisticated new eye-tracking techniques to collect data from young children in Greece.
Eye-tracking systems use special technology to allow researchers to monitor people’s eye movements, millisecond by millisecond, as people view scenes and events on a monitor screen. Researchers provide visual stimuli of dynamic events, such as images of people running, and watch the test subjects’ eye movements. “We want to see what happens with people whose language encodes motion differently, how their eye movements change,” says Professor Anna Papafragou.
Interestingly, results shift when language is introduced. If subjects are monitored without being required to speak, eye movements are similar regardless of what language is spoken. When people are asked to describe what they see, the eye-tracking patterns change. “This suggests that the way we perceive the world is the same, regardless of the language we speak, but when we prepare to speak, we attend to aspects of the world that are relevant for our native language,” Papafragou explains.
Papafragou began her eye-tracking studies a few years ago, working with adults; using the technique with children is a new development. She has already produced one research paper from this line of work (Papafragou, A., Hulbert, J., & Trueswell, J. (2008). Does language guide event perception? Evidence from eye movements. Cognition 108: 155-184), and more publications are under way. This summer, two members of Papafragou’s lab – a post-doctoral researcher and a graduate student who is a native speaker of Greek – will spend a month in Greece conducting research with children three- to five-years old. This will be the lab’s second foray to Greece for eye tracking data collection.
For this project, Papafragou is collaborating with John Trueswell, Director of the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science at the University of Pennsylvania, who pioneered the use of eye-tracking technology for the study of language comprehension in young children. < some text deleted > Professor Trueswell has contributed technical expertise and equipment to all phases of the project. Now, generous funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the University of Delaware will support the next phases of this interdisciplinary work (including the purchase of new eye tracking facilities for Papafragou’s lab).
Papafragou admits that challenges multiply when conducting research with children, especially abroad. “Everything takes longer,” she says. “Things are sometimes unpredictable.” Going to Greece means “planning must be impeccable – you have a very specific window to get the work done.” Thanks to collaborations established with Greek daycare centers, Papafragou’s team is well-prepared to handle the project’s logistical challenges.
Papafragou’s eye-tracking research has attracted talented post-doctoral researchers and graduate students eager to utilize this new technique. “This work does require some technical aptitude,” she notes. “Thanks to our mentoring program, post-docs help train the grad students in working with this technique.”
Understanding how language intersects with cognition is particularly important, Papafragou believes, given globalization trends. “This work contributes to understanding how people perceive the world, and talk about the world. With society changing and becoming more multi-lingual, more multi-cultural, this kind of research helps us understand diversity. My work fits in very well with the University’s priorities for global initiatives.”
Learn more about:
- Professor Anna Papagragou and her research
- the Graduate Program in Cognitive Psychology, including information about program requirements
For more on the Graduate Program in Cognitive Psychology, including information about program requirements, a list of faculty and current research initiatives, click here. <<link to Cognitive landing page>>
