van Elk M, van Schie H T, Bekkering H
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Cognition. 2009 Apr;111(1):72-83. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2008.12.002. Epub 2009 Feb 23.
In the present study, we investigated whether the preparation of an unusual action with an object (e.g. bringing a cup towards the eye) could selectively overrule long-term semantic representations. In the first experiment it was found that unusual action intentions activated short-term semantic goal representations, rather than long-term conceptual associations. In a second experiment the reversal of long-term priming effects was replicated, while reducing the need for internal verbalization as a possible strategy to accomplish the task. Priming effects in the first two experiments were found to involve the selection of object knowledge at a semantic level, rather than reflecting a general effect of action preparation on word processing (Experiment 3). Finally, in a fourth experiment short-term priming effects were shown to extend beyond a lexical level by showing faster responses to pictures representing the short-term action goal. Together, the present findings extend the 'selection-for-action' principle previously used in visual attention to a semantic level, by showing that semantic information is selectively activated in line with the short-term goal of the actor.
