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- Title
Vertical Head Movements Influence Memory Performance for Words With Emotional Content.
- Authors
Globig, Laura K.; Hartmann, Matthias; Martarelli, Corinna S.
- Abstract
Numerous studies have found an association between valence and the vertical dimension of space (good-up, bad-down). This association has also been linked to sensorimotor experiences (e.g., body movements). In this study, we investigated whether body movements along the vertical plane play an active role in the retrieval of positive and negative words (as well as words with a more explicit association with up and down). Twenty-five participants were presented with a list of nouns associated with space (e.g., satellite, underground) and a list of nouns associated with emotions (e.g., joy, war). Subsequently, they had to retrieve the words while performing vertical head movements. We found a vertical effect in that participants retrieved more positive words when moving their head upward and more negative words when moving the head downward. These results illustrate that overt body movements are indeed associated with emotional information and can thereby influence what we remember. We conclude that abstract concepts such as emotional representations are inherently linked to motor action and are grounded in space.
- Subjects
DEPENDENCY grammar; SENSORIMOTOR integration; BODY movement; MOTOR ability; METACOGNITION
- Publication
Frontiers in Psychology, 2019, pN.PAG
- ISSN
1664-1078
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00672