研究概念的表征问题对理解概念的本质非常重要,传统认知和具身认知视角下的概念表征理论争议的焦点在于感觉运动信息在表征中的作用。传统认知视角下的离身认知认为感知觉运动信息会转化成抽象的符号,概念表征不包含感知觉运动信息。概念表征的具身观点认为感知觉运动信息是概念表征的基础。对感知运动信息在概念表征中起作用这一命题已经达成共识。未来研究应该关注感知运动信息起作用的机制,以及抽象概念表征等问题,进一步完善发展概念表征理论。
The conceptual representation studies are very important for understanding the nature of the concepts. The disembodied cognition and embodied cognition both propose different opinions on the representation of concepts. On the disembodied cognition view, conceptual representations are abstract symbols. These symbols are extracted from the sensorimotor information. The conceptual representations don't contain sensorimotor information any more. On the embodied cognition opinion, the sensorimotor information underlies the conceptual representations. Cognition is essentially embodied and the body plays a essential role in the cognitive processes.The role of sensorimotor information in conceptual representation is the focus in dispute. The previous studies have provided a growing body of evidence for the role of sensorimotor information. The sensorimotor information is involved in concrete concepts and abstract concepts processing, and lots of neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have found that the sensorimotor information are activated in concept processing. Furthermore, the phenomena of perceptual processing are found in concept processing, such as modality switching effect and haptic disadvantage effect. Previous studies have shown that switching from one modality to another during perceptual processing results in a processing cost. If sensorimotor information underlies conceptual processing, the processing of concepts should exhibit a switching cost. Most of the researchers agree that the sensorimotor information is involved in conceptual representation, and the perceptual and conceptual systems share the common representation resources. Although it reaches a consensus that the sensorimotor information are involved in conceptual representation, little is known about the mechanism of the information. In the future, researchers should pay attention to the following questions, such as that “in which cases sensory and motor information play a role?” and “how much impact it will have?” According to