Ontological, Topological, Kinetic, Dimensional and Kinaesthetic Features Characterizing the Mental Images of Dragging, Pushing, and Launching

The paper presents an explorative study that analyzes the mental images associated with the verbs “trascinare” (to drag), “spingere” (to push) and “dare una spinta” (to launch), which refer to three basic structures of causality studied by Michotte (1954). Three questionnaires were used to investigate the ontological (e.g., animate/inanimate nature of the involved entities), topological (e.g., reciprocal position of the entities; presence/absence of contact between them), kinetic (e.g., direction of motion; speed of motion) dimensional (e.g., size; weight), and kinaesthetic aspects (e.g., effort, friction and resistance) of the entities present in the mental images evoked by the three verbs. The results confirmed that intersubjectively invariant features characterize the structure of the three classes of mental images. A comparison between the structural conditions for the perception of lancement and entraînement individuated by Michotte (1954) and the characteristics of the mental structures investigated here is discussed.