When do language comprehenders mentally simulate locations?

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nian Liu ◽  
Benjamin Bergen
Keyword(s):  
Compatibility Effect ◽  
Mental Simulation ◽  
Language Understanding ◽  
Grammatical Form ◽  
Grammatical Aspect ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Mixed Action ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Action Sentence

AbstractEmbodied approaches to comprehension propose that understanding language entails performing mental simulations of its content. The evidence, however, is mixed. Action-sentence Compatibility Effect studies (Glenberg and Kaschak 2002) report mental simulation of motor actions during processing of motion language. But the same studies find no evidence that language comprehenders perform spatial simulations of the corresponding locations. This challenges simulation-based approaches. If locations are not represented in simulation, but are still understood, then simulation may be unnecessary for understanding. We conducted a Location-sentence Compatibility experiment, to determine whether understanders mentally simulate locations. People did indeed simulate locations, but only when sentences used progressive (and not perfect) grammatical aspect. Moreover, mental simulations of locations differed for language about concrete versus abstract events. These findings substantiate the role of mental simulation in language understanding, while highlighting the importance of the grammatical form of utterances as well as their content.

scholarly journals The Action-Sentence Compatibility Effect in ASL: the role of semantics vs. perception

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
KRISTEN SECORA ◽  
KAREN EMMOREY
Keyword(s):  
Compatibility Effect ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Verb Semantics ◽  
Semantic Judgment ◽  
Sensorimotor Systems ◽  
Action Sentence

abstractEmbodied theories of cognition propose that humans use sensorimotor systems in processing language. The Action-Sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE) refers to the finding that motor responses are facilitated after comprehending sentences that imply movement in the same direction. In sign languages there is a potential conflict between sensorimotor systems and linguistic semantics: movement away from the signer is perceived as motion toward the comprehender. We examined whether perceptual processing of sign movement or verb semantics modulate the ACE. Deaf ASL signers performed a semantic judgment task while viewing signed sentences expressing toward or away motion. We found a significant congruency effect relative to the verb’s semantics rather than to the perceived motion. This result indicates that (a) the motor system is involved in the comprehension of a visual–manual language, and (b) motor simulations for sign language are modulated by verb semantics rather than by the perceived visual motion of the hands.

scholarly journals A pre-registered, multi-lab non-replication of the action-sentence compatibility effect (ACE)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D. Morey ◽  
Michael P. Kaschak ◽  
Antonio M. Díez-Álamo ◽  
Arthur M. Glenberg ◽  
Rolf A. Zwaan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Activity ◽  
Compatibility Effect ◽  
The Body ◽  
Analytic Estimate ◽  
Action Sentence

AbstractThe Action-sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE) is a well-known demonstration of the role of motor activity in the comprehension of language. Participants are asked to make sensibility judgments on sentences by producing movements toward the body or away from the body. The ACE is the finding that movements are faster when the direction of the movement (e.g., toward) matches the direction of the action in the to-be-judged sentence (e.g., Art gave you the pen describes action toward you). We report on a pre-registered, multi-lab replication of one version of the ACE. The results show that none of the 18 labs involved in the study observed a reliable ACE, and that the meta-analytic estimate of the size of the ACE was essentially zero.

Match, mismatch, and envisioning transfer events

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-268
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Gould ◽  
Laura A. Michaelis
Keyword(s):  
Compatibility Effect ◽  
Motor Simulation ◽  
Class Membership ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Transfer Verbs ◽  
Action Sentence

Abstract Prior studies suggest that language users perform motoric simulations when construing action sentences and that verbs and constructions each contribute to simulation-based representation (Glenberg & Kaschak 2002; Richardson et al. 2003; Bergen et al. 2007; Bergen & Wheeler 2010). This raises the possibility that motorically grounded verb and construction meanings can interact during sentence understanding. In this experiment, we use the action-sentence compatibility effect methodology to investigate how a verb’s lexical-class membership, constructional context, and constructional bias modulate motor simulation effects. Stimuli represent two classes of transfer verbs and two constructions that encode transfer events, Ditransitive and Oblique Goal (Goldberg 1995). Findings reveal two kinds of verb-construction interactions. First, verbs in their preferred construction generate stronger simulation effects overall than those in their dispreferred construction. Second, verbs that entail change of possession generate strong motor-simulation effects irrespective of constructional context, while those entailing causation of motion exert such effects only when enriched up to change-of-possession verbs in the semantically mismatched Ditransitive context. We conclude that simulation effects are not isolable to either verbs or constructions but instead arise from the interplay of verb and construction meaning.

scholarly journals Spatial and Motor Aspects in the “Action-Sentence Compatibility Effect”

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Greco
Keyword(s):  
Compatibility Effect ◽  
Spatial Representation ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Surprising Effect ◽  
Motor Component ◽  
Embodiment Theory ◽  
Motor Representations ◽  
Action Sentence ◽  
Opposite Motion

The Action-sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE) is often taken as supporting the fundamental role of the motor system in understanding sentences that describe actions. This effect would be related to an internal “simulation,” i.e., the reactivation of past perceptual and motor experiences. However, it is not easy to establish whether this simulation predominantly involves spatial imagery or motor anticipation. In the classical ACE experiments, where a real motor response is required, the direction and motor representations are mixed. In order to disentangle spatial and motor aspects involved in the ACE, we performed six experiments in different conditions, where the motor component was always reduced, asking participants to judge the sensibility of sentences by moving a mouse, thus requiring a purely spatial representation, compatible with nonmotor interpretations. In addition, our experiments had the purpose of taking into account the possible confusion of effects of practice and of compatibility (i.e., differences in reaction times simultaneously coming from block order and opposite motion conditions). Also, in contrast to the usual paradigm, we included no-transfer filler sentences in the analysis. The ACE was not found in any experiment, a result that failed to support the idea that the ACE could be related to a simulation where spatial aspects rather than motor ones prevail. Strong practice effects were always found and were carved out from results. A surprising effect was that no-transfer sentences were processed much slower than others, perhaps revealing a sort of participants’ awareness of the structure of stimuli, i.e., their finding that some of them involved motion and others did not. The relevance of these outcomes for the embodiment theory is discussed.

scholarly journals Free will and neurosurgical resections of the supplementary motor area: a critical review

2021 ◽  
Vol 163 (5) ◽  
pp. 1229-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rickard L Sjöberg
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Corticospinal Tract ◽  
Supplementary Motor Area ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Motor Area ◽  
Simple Motor ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Intense Debate

Abstract Background Research suggests that unconscious activity in the supplementary motor area (SMA) precedes not only certain simple motor actions but also the point at which we become aware of our intention to perform such actions. The extent to which these findings have implications for our understanding of the concepts of free will and personal responsibility has been subject of intense debate during the latest four decades. Methods This research is discussed in relation to effects of neurosurgical removal of the SMA in a narrative review. Results Removal of the SMA typically causes a transient inability to perform non-stimulus-driven, voluntary actions. This condition, known as the SMA syndrome, does not appear to be associated with a loss of sense of volition but with a profound disruption of executive function/cognitive control. Conclusions The role of the SMA may be to serve as a gateway between the corticospinal tract and systems for executive function. Such systems are typically seen as tools for conscious decisions. What is known about effects of SMA resections would thus seem to suggest a view that is compatible with concepts of personal responsibility. However, the philosophical question whether free will exists cannot be definitely resolved on the basis of these observations.

scholarly journals Expression of FoxP2 in the basal ganglia regulates vocal motor sequences in the adult songbird

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Xiao ◽  
Devin P. Merullo ◽  
Therese M. I. Koch ◽  
Mou Cao ◽  
Marissa Co ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Dopamine Receptor ◽  
Speech Disorders ◽  
Receptor Expression ◽  
Vocal Development ◽  
Motor Actions

AbstractDisruption of the transcription factor FoxP2, which is enriched in the basal ganglia, impairs vocal development in humans and songbirds. The basal ganglia are important for the selection and sequencing of motor actions, but the circuit mechanisms governing accurate sequencing of learned vocalizations are unknown. Here, we show that expression of FoxP2 in the basal ganglia is vital for the fluent initiation and termination of birdsong, as well as the maintenance of song syllable sequencing in adulthood. Knockdown of FoxP2 imbalances dopamine receptor expression across striatal direct-like and indirect-like pathways, suggesting a role of dopaminergic signaling in regulating vocal motor sequencing. Confirming this prediction, we show that phasic dopamine activation, and not inhibition, during singing drives repetition of song syllables, thus also impairing fluent initiation and termination of birdsong. These findings demonstrate discrete circuit origins for the dysfluent repetition of vocal elements in songbirds, with implications for speech disorders.

scholarly journals Using Imagination to Overcome Fear: How Mental Simulation Nudges Consumers’ Purchase Intentions for Upcycled Food

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1130
Author(s):  
Xiaoke Yang ◽  
Yuanhao Huang ◽  
Xiaoying Cai ◽  
Yijing Song ◽  
Hui Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Product Evaluation ◽  
Mental Simulation ◽  
Purchase Intentions ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Simulation Group ◽  
Future Self

Upcycled food, a new kind of food, provides an effective solution to reduce the food waste from the source on the premise of food security for human beings. However, the commercial success of upcycled food and its contribution to environmental sustainability are determined by consumers’ purchase intentions. In order to overcome consumers’ unfamiliarity with upcycled food and fear of new technology, based on the cue utility theory, we adopted scenario simulation through online questionnaires in three experiments to explore how mental simulation can improve consumers’ product evaluation and purchase intentions for upcycled food. Through ANOVA, the t-test, and the Bootstrap methods, the results showed that, compared with the control group, consumers’ product evaluation and purchase intentions for upcycled food in the mental simulation group significantly increased. Among them, consumers’ inspiration played a mediation role. The consumers’ future self-continuity could moderate the effect of mental simulation on consumers’ purchase intentions for upcycled food. The higher the consumers’ future self-continuity, the stronger the effect of mental simulation. Based on the above results, in the marketing promotion of upcycled food, promotional methods, such as slogans and posters, could be used to stimulate consumers, especially the mental simulation thinking mode of consumer groups with high future self-continuity, thus improving consumers’ purchase intentions for upcycled food.

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