Barsalou’s (1999, 2003) perceptual symbol systems hypothesis describes how semantic knowledge is grounded in sensorimotor experience. According to the theory, knowledge is acquired through sensorimotor simulations. This challenges the classical view supported by the disembodied cognition hypothesis, which generally favours an abstract and symbolic system. We propose a unified perspective, in wh...

The hypothesis that the enlarged brain size of the primates was selected for by social, rather than purely ecological, factors has been strongly influential in studies of primate cognition and behaviour over the past two decades. However, the Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis, also known as the social brain hypothesis, tends to emphasize certain traits and behaviours, like exploitation and ...

In the recent twenty-year retrospective issue of Animal Behavior and Cognition, Povinelli Henley (2020) argue that a host comparative studies into “complex cognition” suffer, fatally, from theoretical confusion. To rectify problem, they following challenge: alongside specifications higher-order capacity to be tested, provide hypotheses mechanism(s) necessary implement it. They spearhead this ef...

Based on Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis, this study explored the effects of task complexity on the lexical complexity of Iranian EFL students’ argumentative writing.This study was designed to explore the manipulation of cognitive task complexity along +/-single task dimension (a resource dispersing dimension in Robinson’s triadic framework) on Iranian EFL learners’ production in term of lexica...

The social intelligence hypothesis suggests that living in large social networks was the primary selective pressure for the evolution of complex cognition in primates. This hypothesis is supported by comparative studies demonstrating a positive relationship between social group size and relative brain size across primates. However, the relationship between brain size and cognition remains equiv...

Recently tasks, as the basic units of syllabi, and the cognitive complexity, as the criterion for sequencing them, have caught many second language researchers’ attention. This study sought to explore the effect of utilizing the cognitively simple and complex tasks on high- and low-proficient EFL Iranian writers’ linguistic performance, i.e., fluency, accuracy, lexical complexity, and structura...

Objective: Depression and Anxiety literature in Iran is short of cultural/indigenous studies, especially with regard to Azeri ethnic group. This study was carried out in order to identify depression and anxiety aspects in Azeri ethnic group. Methods: In a cross sectional qualitative design, 32 Azeri informants (14 patients, 13 lay people, and 5 professionals) recruited in the study using pur...