How to change your memory of an object with a posture and a verb.

Abstract

According to grounded cognition, the format of representation of knowledge is sensorimotor. This means that long-term memory shares processing resources with the sensorimotor system. The main objective of this work is to provide new evidence in favour of two claims from the embodied cognition framework: (1) memory is grounded on the sensorimotor system, that is, memory shares processing resources with the sensorimotor system, and (2) memory serves at least in part to support action. For this purpose, the present experiment aimed to show that the action context modulates the motor simulation and, consequently, the memory of manipulable objects. Participants were presented with short phrases comprising the name of a manipulable object, and an action verb ("To take a cup") or an attentional verb ("To see a cup"). During this phase, they had to put their hands in front of them in the control condition, whereas they had to keep them behind their back in the interfering condition. A cued recall test followed after a short distractive letter-matching task, with the verbs serving as cues. Results showed that memory of the words denoting manipulable objects was impaired by the interfering posture when associated with an action verb, but not when associated with an attentional verb. This suggests that a context which does not favour action interferes with motor simulation and thus decreases the memory of manipulable objects. These results provide strong evidence for a grounded account of memory and language.