Abstract
Embodied cognition has emphasised the importance of sensorimotor processes for concept formation. According to this theory, image schemas are suggested to be a cognitive representation of certain basic spatial relationships. At the same time, the shape of objects is essential for categorisation and understanding. While information on both shapes and image schemas are primarily obtained through visual perception, their cognitive nature differs. Shape is an attribute of an object, whereas an image schema is a basic spatial relationship between (several) objects in a particular environment and context.We here discuss interdependencies between these two modes of perception with regard to their roles in concept formation.