title: Perceptual simulation in developing language comprehension.
abstract: We tested an embodied account of language proposing that comprehenders create perceptual simulations of the events they hear and read about. In Experiment 1, children (ages 7-13years) performed a picture verification task. Each picture was preceded by a prerecorded spoken sentence describing an entity whose shape or orientation matched or mismatched the depicted object. Responses were faster for matching pictures, suggesting that participants had formed perceptual-like situation models of the sentences. The advantage for matching pictures did not increase with age. Experiment 2 extended these findings to the domain of written language. Participants (ages 7-10years) of high and low word reading ability verified pictures after reading sentences aloud. The results suggest that even when reading is effortful, children construct a perceptual simulation of the described events. We propose that perceptual simulation plays a more central role in developing language comprehension than was previously thought.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. engelen@fsw.eur.nl
authors.forename: Jan A A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Engelen
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouwmeester
authors.forename: Anique B H
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: de Bruin
authors.forename: Rolf A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Zwaan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011932:Reading