Individual Differences in Language Processing: An Embodied Approach

The embodied approach to language processing proposes that sentence comprehension requires constructing simulations of the depicted objects or events. Two experiments explored individual differences in the processing of sentences with mental verbs. In Experiment 1, participants engaged in arm movements while reading sentences about mental events. In Experiment 2, participants read sentences about arm movements along with sentences about mental events. Both experiments manipulated the compatibility between depicted mental events and actual/depicted arm movements. Findings of both experiments showed that individuals who were different in terms of tendencies of self-reflection or levels of self-insight responded very differently to the compatibility manipulation. Some demonstrated the compatibility effect, while others showed a reversed pattern.