具身模拟程度和具体性对词语效价表征的影响

采用词性判断和启动加工任务考察具身模拟程度和具体性对词语效价具身表征的影响。结果发现,在具身模拟程度低的空间表征中,只有敏感的负性词出现了效价和远近距离的相容效应;在模拟程度高的趋避表征中,正性词和负性词都与趋避动作产生了相容效应,并且具体词的效价和趋避表征之间的联结强于抽象词。

The impact of Simulation Degree and Concreteness on the representation of Word Valence

The development of Embodied Philosophy and Embodied Cognition has evoked a new conception which emphasizes the importance of individual experience in language comprehension. This conception, named Views of Embodied Language Comprehension argues that language is built upon perception and action and the process of language comprehension is a simulation of the scenario described by language.Word is the basic unit of language, and emotional words are different from neutral words for they have different emotional valences. Emotions are closely related to the evolution of mankind. Negative emotions remind people stay away from stimulus while positive emotions can push people toward stimulus. Can the perceptive experience which approach advantages and avoid disadvantages be reflected in cognitive process of word valence? Research shows that word valence and pull-push reaction have congruent effect. For positive word, pull reaction time is significantly shorter than push reaction time; however, for negative word, push reaction time is significantly shorter than pull reaction time. Therefore, the “approach-advantage and avoid-disadvantage” has a psychological reality.On the basis of previous studies, this research continues to investigate the impact of simulation degree and concreteness on emotional words ’embodied representation. Experiment 1 adopted valence decision task to explore the emotional words ’ space representation and the impact of concreteness on this characterization. The result showed that there was an interaction between valence and body-respond button distance, but congruent effect was just found in sensitive negative words, and the concreteness had no impact of this interaction. Experiment 2 used prime processing task to explore the emotional words’ approach-avoid action representation and the impact of concreteness of this characterization. It was found that there was some interaction between word’s valence and pull-push action speed. Words concreteness affected the congruent effect and concrete words’ congruent effect was greater than abstract words.In conclusion, the result of the experiment results shows that both simulation degree and concreteness could affect the embodied representation of word’s valence.