The semantic representation of food is shaped by cultural experience

Bibliographic Data

ID21819657
AuthorsClaudia Mazzuca (0000-0002-8369-5789, Sapienza University of Rome, corresponding author), A Majid (0000-0003-0132-216X, University of Oxford)
Year2023
Volume15
Issue4
Pages651-669
Publication date2023-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguage and Cognition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1866-9808 • E-ISSN: 1866-9859
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/langcog.2023.4
OpenAlexW4323360946
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited56

While eating is universally salient, food habits vary greatly even across similar western cultural groups. Italians, for example, are renowned pasta consumers whereas this habit is less pervasive in other western cultures. This variability might shape the conceptualization of food of different cultural groups. Against this backdrop, it has been proposed the semantic representation of food is universally organized along two main axes, with natural food (e.g., vegetables, fruit ) relying more on sensory properties and manufactured food (e.g., pasta ) relying more on functional properties. In this exploratory study, we compared the semantic representation of pasta, vegetables, and fruit across Italian and English-speaking participants with a free-listing task. We find the representation of pasta is not restricted to functional properties. Moreover, Italian and English speakers differed both quantitatively and qualitatively in their representation of pasta. Italians produced more exemplars of pasta than English-speaking participants, and their conceptual organization of pasta also included fine-grained distinctions (e.g., egg-based vs. flour-and-water pasta), whereas English-speaking participants mostly focused on perceptual components (e.g., long) – even when accounting for differential consumption, cooking, and preparation experience of pasta. Our results suggest that culture-specific experiences can shape the conceptualization of food

Cognitive psychology · Conceptualization · Habit · Linguistics · Perception · Salient · Semantic differential · Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques · Computer Science · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Psychology · Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods · Social Psychology · Artificial Intelligence

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