Research Project:
Relationships Between Language & Cognition
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Signers exhibit enhanced
mental imagery and
face processing abilities
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The distinct biological basis of sign language results in a unique interface between vision and language and between action systems and language production. This project investigates the possible effects of experience with a visual-spatial language or the effects of auditory deprivation from birth on non-language visual perception and on spatial cognition. Specifically, we are addressing the following questions:
- Does the language you use affect the way you think?
- Does knowing a visual-spatial language affect visual-spatial cognition?
- Does face processing differ between signers and non-signers?
- Why does short term memory span differ for speech and sign?
- Do theories of action perception and production apply to sign language perception/production?
Funding:
This research is supported by the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01 DC101977) and by the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD13249).
Selected Publications:
- Pyers, J., Shusterman, A., Senghas, A., Spelke, E., & Emmorey, K. (2010). Evidence from an emerging sign language reveals that language supports spatial cognition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(27), 12116-12120.
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- Wilson, M., Lancaster, J., & Emmorey, K. (2010). Representational momentum for the human body: biomechanical knowledge matters, but learned movement patterns may not. Cognition, 116, 242-250.
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- Wilson, M. & Emmorey, K. (2006). Comparing sign language and speech
reveals a universal limit on short-term memory capacity.
Psychological Science, 17(8), 682-83. Click to request PDF
- Emmorey, K., & Wilson, M. (2004). The puzzle of working memory for sign language. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(12), 521-523. Click to request PDF
- Wilson, M., & Emmorey, K. (2003). The effect of irrelevant visual input on working memory for sign language. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 8(2), 97-103. Click to request PDF
- Emmorey, K., Klima, E., & Hickok, G. (1998). Mental rotation within linguistic and nonlinguistic domains in users of American Sign Language. Cognition, 68, 221-246. Click to request PDF
- McCullough, S., & Emmorey, K. (1997). Face processing by deaf ASL signers: Evidence for expertise in distinguishing local features. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 2(4), 212 - 222.
- Emmorey, K., Kosslyn, S. M., & Bellugi, U. (1993). Visual imagery and visual-spatial language: Enhanced imagery abilities in deaf and hearing ASL signers, Cognition, 46, 139 - 181. Click to request PDF
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