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The Role of Language Context in Mental Imagery: A Cross-Linguistic Investigation

Backman, Tove LU and Jansson, Noora Mareena LU (2025) PSYP01 20251
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Mental Imagery (MI) allows us to simulate real-life experiences and visualise events we have never witnessed, but what happens when we change the language of the narrative? This study investigated how language context (L1 vs. L2) influences the vividness of mental imagery and the emotional intensity associated with that imagery during narrative comprehension. A total of 58 sequential bilinguals from two nationalities – Swedish and Finnish – listened to narratives in both their L1 and L2, which were designed to evoke either emotionally salient or motor-based mental imagery and provided ratings of imagery vividness and emotional intensity during listening. Results from linear mixed-effects models showed that MI vividness was significantly... (More)
Mental Imagery (MI) allows us to simulate real-life experiences and visualise events we have never witnessed, but what happens when we change the language of the narrative? This study investigated how language context (L1 vs. L2) influences the vividness of mental imagery and the emotional intensity associated with that imagery during narrative comprehension. A total of 58 sequential bilinguals from two nationalities – Swedish and Finnish – listened to narratives in both their L1 and L2, which were designed to evoke either emotionally salient or motor-based mental imagery and provided ratings of imagery vividness and emotional intensity during listening. Results from linear mixed-effects models showed that MI vividness was significantly lower in the L2 condition, particularly for participants with lower L2 proficiency. Exploratory analyses suggested that this effect was most prominent in the Finnish group, indicating that structural differences between L1 and L2 may impact the vividness of MI when language proficiency is relatively low. No difference in vividness was observed between narrative types. Emotional intensity ratings were not significantly different in the L2 context overall; however, an interaction between language context, second language proficiency and narrative type suggested that emotional intensity is modulated by L2 proficiency. Nationality was not a significant predictor of emotional intensity, suggesting that emotional responses to imagery may be relatively stable across languages despite structural differences between L1 and L2. These findings provide support for embodied cognition accounts of MI and contribute novel insights into how language shapes MI experiences. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Backman, Tove LU and Jansson, Noora Mareena LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSYP01 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
mental imagery (MI), language context, vividness, emotional intensity, language proficiency
language
English
id
9204027
date added to LUP
2025-06-23 10:17:46
date last changed
2025-06-23 10:17:46
@misc{9204027,
  abstract     = {{Mental Imagery (MI) allows us to simulate real-life experiences and visualise events we have never witnessed, but what happens when we change the language of the narrative? This study investigated how language context (L1 vs. L2) influences the vividness of mental imagery and the emotional intensity associated with that imagery during narrative comprehension. A total of 58 sequential bilinguals from two nationalities – Swedish and Finnish – listened to narratives in both their L1 and L2, which were designed to evoke either emotionally salient or motor-based mental imagery and provided ratings of imagery vividness and emotional intensity during listening. Results from linear mixed-effects models showed that MI vividness was significantly lower in the L2 condition, particularly for participants with lower L2 proficiency. Exploratory analyses suggested that this effect was most prominent in the Finnish group, indicating that structural differences between L1 and L2 may impact the vividness of MI when language proficiency is relatively low. No difference in vividness was observed between narrative types. Emotional intensity ratings were not significantly different in the L2 context overall; however, an interaction between language context, second language proficiency and narrative type suggested that emotional intensity is modulated by L2 proficiency. Nationality was not a significant predictor of emotional intensity, suggesting that emotional responses to imagery may be relatively stable across languages despite structural differences between L1 and L2. These findings provide support for embodied cognition accounts of MI and contribute novel insights into how language shapes MI experiences.}},
  author       = {{Backman, Tove and Jansson, Noora Mareena}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Role of Language Context in Mental Imagery: A Cross-Linguistic Investigation}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}