Action-sentence compatibility: The role of action effects and timing
Research on embodied approaches to language comprehension suggests that we understand linguistic descriptions of actions by mentally simulating these actions. Evidence is provided by the action-sentence compatibility effect (ACE) which shows that sensibility judgments for sentences are faster when t...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2013-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00272/full |
| _version_ | 1818905804212797440 |
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| author | Christiane eDiefenbach Christiane eDiefenbach Martina eRieger Martina eRieger Cristina eMassen Cristina eMassen Wolfgang ePrinz |
| author_facet | Christiane eDiefenbach Christiane eDiefenbach Martina eRieger Martina eRieger Cristina eMassen Cristina eMassen Wolfgang ePrinz |
| author_sort | Christiane eDiefenbach |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research on embodied approaches to language comprehension suggests that we understand linguistic descriptions of actions by mentally simulating these actions. Evidence is provided by the action-sentence compatibility effect (ACE) which shows that sensibility judgments for sentences are faster when the direction of the described action matches the response direction. In two experiments, we investigated whether the ACE relies on actions or on intended action effects. Participants gave sensibility judgments of auditorily presented sentences by producing an action effect on a screen at a location near the body or far from the body. These action effects were achieved by pressing a response button that was located in either the same spatial direction as the action effect, or in the opposite direction. We used a go/no-go task in which the direction of the to-be-produced action effect was either cued at the onset of each sentence (Experiment 1) or at different points in time before and after sentence onset (Experiment 2). Overall, results showed a relationship between the direction of the described action and the direction of the action effect. Furthermore, Experiment 2 indicated that depending on the timing between cue presentation and sentence onset, participants responded either faster when the direction of the described action matched the direction of the action effect (positive ACE), or slower (negative ACE). These results provide evidence that the comprehension of action sentences involves the activation of representations of action effects. Concurrently activated representations in sentence comprehension and action planning can lead to both priming and interference, which is discussed in the context of the theory of event coding. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T21:29:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ca2fa7e71b5946939a9f90a00e7b1eab |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T21:29:09Z |
| publishDate | 2013-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-ca2fa7e71b5946939a9f90a00e7b1eab2022-12-21T20:05:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782013-05-01410.3389/fpsyg.2013.0027249770Action-sentence compatibility: The role of action effects and timingChristiane eDiefenbach0Christiane eDiefenbach1Martina eRieger2Martina eRieger3Cristina eMassen4Cristina eMassen5Wolfgang ePrinz6Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesGraduate Program: Function of Attention in Cognition, University of LeipzigMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesUMIT - University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and TechnologyMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human FactorsMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesResearch on embodied approaches to language comprehension suggests that we understand linguistic descriptions of actions by mentally simulating these actions. Evidence is provided by the action-sentence compatibility effect (ACE) which shows that sensibility judgments for sentences are faster when the direction of the described action matches the response direction. In two experiments, we investigated whether the ACE relies on actions or on intended action effects. Participants gave sensibility judgments of auditorily presented sentences by producing an action effect on a screen at a location near the body or far from the body. These action effects were achieved by pressing a response button that was located in either the same spatial direction as the action effect, or in the opposite direction. We used a go/no-go task in which the direction of the to-be-produced action effect was either cued at the onset of each sentence (Experiment 1) or at different points in time before and after sentence onset (Experiment 2). Overall, results showed a relationship between the direction of the described action and the direction of the action effect. Furthermore, Experiment 2 indicated that depending on the timing between cue presentation and sentence onset, participants responded either faster when the direction of the described action matched the direction of the action effect (positive ACE), or slower (negative ACE). These results provide evidence that the comprehension of action sentences involves the activation of representations of action effects. Concurrently activated representations in sentence comprehension and action planning can lead to both priming and interference, which is discussed in the context of the theory of event coding.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00272/fullMotor SimulationembodimentLanguage comprehensionaction simulationaction-sentence compatibility |
| spellingShingle | Christiane eDiefenbach Christiane eDiefenbach Martina eRieger Martina eRieger Cristina eMassen Cristina eMassen Wolfgang ePrinz Action-sentence compatibility: The role of action effects and timing Frontiers in Psychology Motor Simulation embodiment Language comprehension action simulation action-sentence compatibility |
| title | Action-sentence compatibility: The role of action effects and timing |
| title_full | Action-sentence compatibility: The role of action effects and timing |
| title_fullStr | Action-sentence compatibility: The role of action effects and timing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Action-sentence compatibility: The role of action effects and timing |
| title_short | Action-sentence compatibility: The role of action effects and timing |
| title_sort | action sentence compatibility the role of action effects and timing |
| topic | Motor Simulation embodiment Language comprehension action simulation action-sentence compatibility |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00272/full |
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