# The Way We Prompt: Conceptual Blending, Neural Dynamics, and Prompt-Induced Transitions in LLMs

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.10948 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.10948/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 20 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 16 May 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Locating and Editing Factual Associations in GPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.05262/) (2022)
- [What Does BERT Look At? An Analysis of BERT's Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.04341/) (2019)
- [Are Sixteen Heads Really Better than One?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.10650/) (2019)
- [Exploiting Language Models as a Source of Knowledge for Cognitive Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.06846/) (2023)
- [Waking Up an AI: A Quantitative Framework for Prompt-Induced Phase Transition in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.21012/) (2025)
- [Triggering Hallucinations in LLMs: A Quantitative Study of Prompt-Induced Hallucination in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.00557/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models (LLMs), inspired by neuroscience, exhibit behaviors that often evoke a sense of personality and intelligence-yet the mechanisms behind these effects remain elusive. Here, we operationalize Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT) as an experimental framework, using prompt-based methods to reveal how LLMs blend and compress meaning. By systematically investigating Prompt-Induced Transitions (PIT) and Prompt-Induced Hallucinations (PIH), we uncover structural parallels and divergences between artificial and biological cognition. Our approach bridges linguistics, neuroscience, and empirical AI research, demonstrating that human-AI collaboration can serve as a living prototype for the future of cognitive science. This work proposes prompt engineering not just as a technical tool, but as a scientific method for probing the deep structure of meaning itself.