The Agent is Right: When Motor Embodied Cognition is Space-Dependent
Author Information
Author(s): Gianelli Claudia, Farnè Alessandro, Salemme Romeo, Jeannerod Marc, Roy Alice C.
Primary Institution: CNRS FRE 3406, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, Bron, France
Hypothesis
Does the perspective from which sentences are processed affect motor behavior?
Conclusion
Shifting from a first-person to a third-person perspective prevents motor embodied mechanisms, but adding spatial information can restore these effects.
Supporting Evidence
- Participants responded faster to concrete sentences than abstract ones.
- The action-sentence compatibility effect was observed when participants took a first-person perspective.
- Adding a spatial anchor allowed participants to embody a third-person perspective effectively.
- Motor responses were influenced by the spatial position of the avatars in the task.
Takeaway
When we read sentences, how we think about who is doing the action can change how our body reacts, but we need to know where we are in space to really feel it.
Methodology
Participants performed a task involving movement in response to sentences while their perspective was manipulated.
Potential Biases
Participants may have been influenced by their understanding of the task rather than their actual motor responses.
Limitations
The study may not generalize to all types of sentences or actions.
Participant Demographics
Thirty-four students from Lyon University, all right-handed native French speakers.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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