Encoding the world around us: motor-related processing influences verbal memory.
Standard
Encoding the world around us: motor-related processing influences verbal memory. / Madan, Christopher R.; Singhal, Anthony.
In: CONSCIOUS COGN, Vol. 21, No. 3, 3, 2012, p. 1563-1570.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Encoding the world around us: motor-related processing influences verbal memory.
AU - Madan, Christopher R.
AU - Singhal, Anthony
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - It is known that properties of words such as their imageability can influence our ability to remember those words. However, it is not known if other object-related properties can also influence our memory. In this study we asked whether a word representing a concrete object that can be functionally interacted with (i.e., high-manipulability word) would enhance the memory representations for that item compared to a word representing a less manipulable object (i.e., low-manipulability word). Here participants incidentally encoded high-manipulability (e.g., CAMERA) and low-manipulability words (e.g., TABLE) while making word judgments. Using a between-subjects design, we varied the depth-of-processing involved in the word judgment task: participants judged the words based on personal experience (deep/elaborative processing), word length (shallow), or functionality (intermediate). Participants were able to remember high-manipulability words better than low-manipulability words in both the personal experience and word length groups; thus presenting the first evidence that manipulability can influence memory. However, we observed better memory for low- than high-manipulability words in the functionality group. We explain this surprising interaction between manipulability and memory as being mediated by automatic vs. controlled motor-related cognition.
AB - It is known that properties of words such as their imageability can influence our ability to remember those words. However, it is not known if other object-related properties can also influence our memory. In this study we asked whether a word representing a concrete object that can be functionally interacted with (i.e., high-manipulability word) would enhance the memory representations for that item compared to a word representing a less manipulable object (i.e., low-manipulability word). Here participants incidentally encoded high-manipulability (e.g., CAMERA) and low-manipulability words (e.g., TABLE) while making word judgments. Using a between-subjects design, we varied the depth-of-processing involved in the word judgment task: participants judged the words based on personal experience (deep/elaborative processing), word length (shallow), or functionality (intermediate). Participants were able to remember high-manipulability words better than low-manipulability words in both the personal experience and word length groups; thus presenting the first evidence that manipulability can influence memory. However, we observed better memory for low- than high-manipulability words in the functionality group. We explain this surprising interaction between manipulability and memory as being mediated by automatic vs. controlled motor-related cognition.
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Female
KW - Young Adult
KW - Mental Recall
KW - Semantics
KW - Judgment
KW - Movement
KW - Language
KW - Memory
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Female
KW - Young Adult
KW - Mental Recall
KW - Semantics
KW - Judgment
KW - Movement
KW - Language
KW - Memory
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
VL - 21
SP - 1563
EP - 1570
JO - CONSCIOUS COGN
JF - CONSCIOUS COGN
SN - 1053-8100
IS - 3
M1 - 3
ER -
