Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Italy.
Brain Cogn. 2020 Jul;142:105581. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105581. Epub 2020 May 19.
It is debated whether only concrete but also abstract, figurative sentences, e.g.: "She grasps the cup" vs. "She grasps the concept", are grounded in the sensorimotor system. Importantly, studies on sentences with action verbs and motor system activation have been conducted so far only with WEIRD samples (Western cultures, in North American and European countries). The aim of our work is to investigate the relationship between language and motor responses using both concrete and abstract sentences in Italian and Persian languages. In the present study, Italian and Persian participants were asked to read the sentences on the screen. The sentences referred either literally or metaphorically to motor actions. They were accompanied by a video displaying a movement that could be congruent or incongruent with the one described in the sentence. Participants were asked to re-execute the movement observed and subsequently they had to perform the task evaluating whether the sentence made sense or not. In the Italian sample a strong effect of concreteness was present, especially in the congruent but also in the incongruent condition. In the Persian sample, instead, there was an inhibition effect of congruent trials, particularly with concrete sentences, and in the incongruent trials no difference in RTs between abstract and concrete sentences was present. Results indicate that cross-cultural differences have to be taken into account when investigating the relationship between language and action.
人们对于具象和抽象的句子是否都建立在感觉运动系统上存在争议，例如：“她抓住杯子”和“她抓住概念”。重要的是，迄今为止，关于带有动作动词和运动系统激活的句子的研究仅在 WEIRD 样本（西方文化，在北美和欧洲国家）中进行过。我们的工作旨在使用意大利语和波斯语的具象和抽象句子来研究语言和运动反应之间的关系。在本研究中，意大利语和波斯语的参与者被要求在屏幕上阅读句子。这些句子要么是字面意义上的，要么是隐喻性的与运动动作有关。它们伴随着一个视频，显示一个可以与句子中描述的动作一致或不一致的动作。参与者被要求重新执行观察到的动作，然后他们必须执行任务，评估句子是否有意义。在意大利语样本中，具象性的影响很强，尤其是在一致的情况下，即使在不一致的情况下也是如此。而在波斯语样本中，一致条件下出现了抑制效应，尤其是在具象句子中，而在不一致条件下，抽象句子和具象句子之间的 RT 差异不明显。结果表明，在研究语言和动作之间的关系时，必须考虑跨文化差异。
