This new line of research explores the impact of the extensive use of an oral device since infancy (pacifier) on acquisition and processing of concrete, abstract and emotional concepts. While recent evidence showed a negative relation between pacifier overuse and children's emotional competence, the possible interaction between use of pacifier and processing of emotional and abstract language has not been investigated. According to recent theories, while all concepts are grounded in sensorimotor experience, abstract concepts activate linguistic and social information more than concrete ones. Since the pacifier affects facial mimicry forcing mouth muscles into a static position, we hypothesize its possible interference on acquisition/consolidation of abstract and emotional concepts, which are mainly conveyed during social and linguistic interactions, than of concrete concepts.
Publications on this topic:
Barca, L., Mazzuca, C., Borghi, A.M. (2025). Impact of pacifier use and parenting characteristics on toddlers’ vocabulary development. Frontiers in Psychology, 16:1599801, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1599801
Barca, L., De Livio, C., Rossi, V., Borghi, A.M. (2024). Utilizzo del ciuccio ed elaborazione di frasi astratte, concrete e metaforiche in bambini di classe elementare. Sistemi Intelligenti, 1-21. DOI: 10.1422/109011
Barca, L., Diana, S.M., Coutino Duarte, D., Porciello, G., & Borghi, A. M. (2024, July 26.). Interoceptive grounding of conceptual knowledge: new insight from an interoceptive-exteroceptive categorization task of concepts. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/hvznt
Barca, L., Mazzuca, C., Borghi, A. (2020). Overusing the pacifier sets a footprint on abstract words processing. Journal of Child Language, 1-16. doi:10.1017/S0305000920000070
Barca, L. (2019, November 19). Toward a speech-motor account of the effect of Age of Pacifier Withdrawal. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/whmp3
Borghi, A. M., Barca, L., Binkofski, F., & Tummolini, L. (2018). Abstract concepts, language and sociality: from acquisition to inner speech. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 20170134. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0134
Borghi, A. M., Barca, L., Binkofski, F., & Tummolini, L. (2018). Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 20170121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0121
Barca, L., Mazzuca, C., Borghi, A. (2018). Pacifier modulates conceptual relationships of abstract and emotional concepts. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2014, 1-19. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02014
Barca, L., Mazzuca, C., Borghi, A. (preprint). Pacifier overuse interferes with children’s abstract concept processing. http://dx.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/P7A9U
Mazzuca, C., Barca, A., Borghi, A. (2017). The particularity of emotional words: a grounded approach. Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia, 8 (2), 124-133.
Pezzulo, G., Barca, L., D'Ausilio, A. (2014). The sensorimotor and social sides of the architecture of speech. Behavioral and Brain Sciences Commentary Invitation, 37(6), 569-570