Moretti Stefania, Greco Alberto
Lab. of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, COGNILAB-DISFOR, University of Genova, Italy.
Acta Psychol (Amst). 2018 Apr;185:203-218. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.02.010. Epub 2018 Mar 16.
Studies from the embodiment perspective on language processing have shown facilitation or interference effects depending on the compatibility between verbal contents, concrete or abstract, and the motion of various parts of the body. The aim of the present study was to test whether such compatibility effects can be found when a higher cognitive process like truth evaluation is accomplished with head movements. Since nodding is a vertical head gesture typically performed with positive and affirmative responses, and shaking is a horizontal head gesture associated with negative and dissenting contents, faster response times can be expected when true information is evaluated by making a vertical head movement and false information by making a horizontal head movement. Three experiments were designed in order to test this motor compatibility effect. In the first experiment a series of very simple sentences were asked to be evaluated as true or false by dragging them vertically and horizontally with the head. It resulted that truth-value was assessed faster when it was compatible with the direction of the head movement, compared to when it was incompatible. In the second experiment participants were asked to evaluate the same sentences as the first experiment but by moving them with the mouse. In the third experiment, a non-evaluative classification task was given, where sentences concerning animals or objects were to be dragged by vertical and horizontal head movements. In the second and third experiment no compatibility effect was observed. Overall results support the hypothesis of an embodiment effect between the abstract processing of truth evaluation and the direction of the two head movements of nodding and shaking. Cultural aspects, cognitive implications, and the limits of these findings are discussed.
从具身认知角度对语言加工进行的研究表明，根据言语内容（具体或抽象）与身体各部位动作之间的兼容性，会产生促进或干扰效应。本研究的目的是测试当通过头部动作完成像真值评估这样的高级认知过程时，是否能发现这种兼容性效应。由于点头是一种通常与肯定和赞同反应相关的垂直头部姿势，而摇头是一种与否定和反对内容相关的水平头部姿势，因此当通过垂直头部动作评估真实信息、通过水平头部动作评估虚假信息时，可以预期更快的反应时间。设计了三个实验来测试这种运动兼容性效应。在第一个实验中，要求通过用头部垂直和水平拖动一系列非常简单的句子来评估其真假。结果发现，与不兼容时相比，当真值与头部运动方向兼容时，评估速度更快。在第二个实验中，要求参与者像在第一个实验中那样评估相同的句子，但通过用鼠标移动它们。在第三个实验中，给出了一个非评估性分类任务，其中关于动物或物体的句子要通过垂直和水平头部动作来拖动。在第二个和第三个实验中未观察到兼容性效应。总体结果支持真值评估的抽象加工与点头和摇头这两种头部运动方向之间存在具身效应的假设。讨论了文化方面、认知含义以及这些发现的局限性。
