Gauche, G. (2024). Container schemata in pollution-related concepts: the proposal of Mary Douglas. Poster presentation. University of Murcia, “Dimensions of Radical Embodiment” June 19-21, 2024.
Abstract:
Certain accounts describe an embodied schema of “contamination” that would arise from 1) our conceiving our bodies as containers (objects with a boundary distinguishing inside and outside) and 2) the sense of disgust elicited by the violation of bodily boundaries. This contamination schema would ground the perception of abstract or metaphorical instances of contamination (e.g., in morality). However, such accounts lack a comprehensive account of what contamination is, how it’s schematically represented, and what cognitive value this representation adds. The work of anthropologist Mary Douglas, frequently (albeit superficially) cited within the field, offers, I propose, a valuable alternative explanation. For Douglas, each culture adopts a particular classification system, the categories of which may be conceived in terms of container schemata. The human body, as any other bounded structure, “affords” being schematically represented as a container or a system of containers, and so can effectively symbolically stand for a category or for the classification system itself. The failure to uphold cherished distinctions between categories would be expressed through concepts denoting boundary violation: e.g., contamination, pollution, or dirt. Bodily contamination, albeit of particular affective significance, would be only one among many possible representations of category violation. A mille-feuille of schemata and metaphors remains that may seem overcomplicated. I argue, however, that it’s worth serious consideration since it’s precise, emphasizes the (often overlooked) social contingency of cognition, and is compatible with the complexity and the late development of disgust, relative to other basic emotions.
Gauche, G., & Pfeiffer Flores, E. (2022). The role of inferences in reading comprehension: a critical analysis. Theory & Psychology, 32(2), 326-343. https://doi.org/10.1177%252F09593543211043805
Abstract:
The central role attributed to inferences in reading comprehension can be traced back to the Construction-Integration (CI) model, and many of its theoretical assumptions are still shared by current models. This article analyses recent research in terms of how inferences have been conceived, how they relate to comprehension, and how the CI model’s theoretical legacy has been articulated. The main issues found are that the way inferences are currently conceived doesn’t satisfactorily distinguish them from ordinary comprehension and that a series of assumptions which plausibly apply to computational models have been often mistakenly attributed to interpersonal processes. This, added to the widespread usage of lab-created texts in experiments, hinders the faithful capturing of personal comprehension processes. Finally, we propose recommendations for future research based on conceptual clarity, metatheoretical awareness, and a meaning-based approach on language, so as to improve interresearcher communication, theoretical consistency, and ecological validity.
Gauche, G., & Pfeiffer Flores, E. (2021). A beautiful mind? A critical analysis of how the Construction-Integration Model makes sense of readers’ aesthetic experiences. Presentation at the 17th Conference of the International Society for the Empirical Study of Literature, University of Liverpool [online].
Abstract:
Research rooted in Kintsch’s (1988) Construction-Integration (CI) Model traditionally restricts itself to informative texts, so that aesthetic and emotional features, hallmarks of literary reading, have been mostly left out of psychological approaches on comprehension. The present work discusses the few ways how these features have made their way into models of comprehension stemming from the CI Model. We question the centrality of mental representations for reading comprehension, highlighting the social practices peculiar to different text genres. Finally, we discuss current research trends, calling for paradigm changes in the assessment of literary comprehension, as well as increased interdisciplinary collaboration.
da Nóbrega Rogoski, B., Pfeiffer Flores, E., Gauche, G., Freire Coêlho, R., et al. (2017). Compreensão após leitura dialógica: efeitos de dicas, sondas e reforçamento diferencial baseados em funções narrativas. Perspectivas em Análise do Comportamento, 6(1), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.18761/pac.2015.6.1.a04
Abstract:
Shared reading is considered an important strategy for language development. Dialogic reading is a type of shared reading in which the adult reads out loud while asking questions and offering feedback about illustrations and text. This study assessed the effects of dialogic reading on comprehension of a children’s novel by two boys, aged 9 and 10. Data collected in a previous study with the same subjects showed little effects of interventions and served as baseline for changes implemented in the present investigation which consisted in improving scaffolding by providing prompts based on important narrative functions and following answers with feedback in accordance with the child’s performance. Both showed gains in story comprehension in comparison to baseline data. Results are discussed in light of the importance, for boosting comprehension, of planning prompts, probes and consequences based on relevant thematic dimensions of the story, an aspect seldom underlined in studies on the effects of dialogic reading.
