On the nature of hand-action representations evoked during written sentence comprehension.

Time course of action representations evoked during sentence comprehension.

The nature of hand-action representations evoked during language comprehension was investigated using a variant of the visual-world paradigm in which eye fixations were monitored while subjects viewed a screen displaying four hand postures and listened to sentences describing an actor using or lifting a manipulable object. Displayed postures were related to either a functional (using) or volume...

Dynamic evocation of hand action representations during sentence comprehension.

When listening to a sentence describing an interaction with a manipulable object, understanding the actor's intentions is shown to have a striking influence on action representations evoked during comprehension. Subjects performed a cued reach and grasp response while listening to a context sentence. Responses were primed when they were consistent with the proximal intention of an actor ("John ...

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General Dynamic Evocation of Hand Action Representations During Sentence Comprehension

The Role of Emotioncy in Cognitive Load and Sentence Comprehension of Language Learners

Emotion and cognition are both considered influential factors in language learning. In this study, the role of "emotioncy" (which is a combination of emotion and frequency) in the cognitive load and sentence comprehension of a group of language learners was examined. Emotioncy includes emotions that are evoked by the senses. To this aim, 200 English as a foreign language (EFL) learners were ask...

Kicking calculators: Contribution of embodied representations to sentence comprehension

Evocation of motor representations during sentence comprehension was examined by training subjects to make a hand action in response to a visual cue while listening to a sentence. Sentences referred to manipulable objects that were either related or unrelated to the cued action. Related actions pertained either to the function of the object or to its volumetric properties (e.g., shape). The res...