We examined the effect of spatial iconicity (a perceptual simulation of canonical locations of objects) and word-order frequency on language processing and episodic memory of orientation. Participants made speeded relatedness judgements to pairs of words presented in locations typical of their real-world arrangements (e.g., ceiling on top and floor on bottom). They then engaged in a surprise orientation recognition task for the word pairs. We replicated Louwerse's (2008) finding that word-order frequency has a stronger effect on semantic relatedness judgements than does spatial iconicity. This is consistent with recent suggestions that linguistic representations have a stronger impact on immediate decisions about verbal materials than do perceptual simulations. In contrast, spatial iconicity enhanced episodic memory of orientation to a greater extent than word-order frequency did. This new finding indicates that perceptual simulations have an important role in episodic memory. Results are discussed with respect to theories of perceptual representation and linguistic processing.
BalotaD. A.YapM. J. (2006). Attentional control and flexible lexical processing: Explorations of the magic moment of word recognition.From inkmarks to ideas: current issues in lexical processing. AndrewsS.Hove, UK: Psychology Press229–258.
2.
BalotaD. A.YapM. J.CorteseM. J.HutchisonK. A.KesslerB.LoftisB. (2007). The English Lexicon Project.Behavior Research Methods39, 445–459.
3.
BarsalouL. W. (2008). Grounded cognition.Annual Review of Psychology59, 617–645.
4.
BarsalouL. W.SantosA.SimmonsW. K.WilsonC. D. (2008). Language and simulation in conceptual processing.Symbols and embodiment: Debates on meaning and cognition. De VegaM.GlenbergA. M.GraesserA. C.Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press245–283.
5.
BrantsT.FranzA. (2006). Web 1T 5-gram Version 1 [computer software].Philadelphia: Linguistic Data Consortium.
6.
EstesZ.VergesM.BarsalouL. W. (2008). Head up, foot down: Object words orient attention to the object's typical location.Psychological Science19, 93–97.
7.
GlenbergA. M.KaschakM. P. (2002). Grounding language in action.Psychological Bulletin & Review9, 558–565.
8.
HuntR. R.WorthenJ. B. (2006). Distinctiveness and memory. HuntR. R.WorthenJ. B.New York: Oxford University Press.
9.
LandauerT. K.DumaisS. T. (1997a). A solution to Plato's problem: The latent semantic analysis theory of acquisition, induction and representation of knowledge.Psychological Review104, 211–240.
10.
LandauerT. K.DumaisS. T. (1997b). Latent Semantic Analysis @ CU Boulder Retrieved from http://lsa.colorado.edu.
11.
LorchR. F.MyersJ. L. (1990). Regression analyses of repeated measures data in cognitive research.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition16, 149–157.
12.
LouwerseM. M. (2008). Embodied representations are encoded in language.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review15, 838–844.
13.
LouwerseM. M.JeuniauxP. (2008). Language comprehension is both embodied and symbolic.Symbols and embodiment: Debates on meaning and cognition. de VegaM.GlenbergA.GraesserA. C.Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
14.
LouwerseM. M.ZwaanR. A. (2009). Language encodes geographical information.Cognitive Science33, 51–73.
15.
Naveh-BenjaminM.CraikF. I. M.GuezJ.DoriH. (1998). Effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory: Further support for an asymmetry.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition24, 1091–1104.
16.
NelsonD. L.McEvoyC. L.SchreiberT. A. (2004). The University of South Florida free association, rhyme, and word fragment norms.Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers36, 402–407.
17.
PecherD.van DantzigS.ZwaanR. A.ZeelenbergR. (2009). Language comprehenders retain implied shape and orientation of objects.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology62, 1108–1114.
PecherD.ZeelenbergR.BarsalouL. W. (2003). Verifying properties from different modalities for concepts produces switching costs.Psychological Science14, 119–124.
20.
PecherD.ZeelenbergR.BarsalouL. W. (2004). Sensorimotor simulations underlie conceptual representations: Modality-specific effects of prior activation.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review11, 164–167.
21.
RoedigerH. L. (1990). Implicit memory: Retention without remembering.American Psychologist45, 1043–1056.
22.
SeticM.DomijanD. (2007). The influence of vertical spatial orientation on property verification.Language and Cognitive Processes22, 297–312.
23.
StanfieldR. A.ZwaanR. A. (2001). The effect of implied orientation derived from verbal context on picture recognition.Psychological Science12, 153–156.
24.
YapM. J.BalotaD. A.TseC.-S.BesnerD. (2008). On the additive effects of stimulus quality and word frequency in lexical decision: Evidence for opposing interactive influences revealed by RT distributional analyses.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition34, 495–513.
25.
ZwaanR. A. (2004). The immersed experiencer: Toward an embodied theory of language comprehension.The psychology of learning and motivation. RossB. H.New York: Academic Press4, 35–62.
26.
ZwaanR. A.TaylorL. J. (2006). Seeing, acting, understanding: Motor resonance in language comprehension.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General135, 1–11.
