Speaker Biography
Li Heng holds dual doctorates in Literature and Philosophy. He is a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at Sichuan International Studies University. He has published over 140 research articles as sole author or first author in journals indexed in the SSCI and CSSCI databases. He currently serves as an editor for seven SSCI journals (Incoming Editor-in-Chief of Gesture, General Editor of Language & Cognition, and Associate Editor of Cognitive Linguistics, British Journal of Social Psychology, Current Psychology, Psychological Reports, and Social Cognition). He is also Associate Editor of the Cambridge University Press book series Cambridge Elements in Cognitive Linguistics. Additionally, he serves on the editorial boards of 15 SSCI journals, including Cognitive Science, Review of Cognitive Linguistics, and Pragmatics & Cognition. He is a member of the Expert Editorial Board of the Chinese Journal of Speech-Language and Hearing Rehabilitation and has served as a member of the Academic Committee for the 15th–17th International Cognitive Linguistics Conferences.
Lecture Time & Venue
Time: November 13, 18:30–21:30
Venue: Lecture Hall 103, Teaching Building No. 5, Songjiang Campus
Lecture Title
From Laboratory to Marketplace: Cognitive Science Research on Individual and Cultural Differences in Deictic Gestures
Lecture Abstract
Deictic gestures not only serve as an important linguistic device in everyday communication but also offer a valuable opportunity for interdisciplinary research spanning psychology, linguistics, and biology. This lecture attempts to share insights from rigorous laboratory research alongside real-world observations of lived experience, demonstrating how these two approaches can complement each other and provide important inspiration for cognitive science research on deictic gestures. By analyzing the distinct preferences and usage patterns of gestures among the Yupno people of Papua New Guinea, Chinese farmers and animal caretakers, as well as introverted and extroverted groups, the lecture explores how cultural background, economic activities, and lifestyle shape language and cognition. This body of research reveals that deictic gestures are not only an integral component of the human communication system but also offer rich, grounded examples that bring cognitive science research closer to everyday life.
