Open AccessLearning Is Better with the Hands Free: The Role of Posture in the Memory of Manipulable Objects
Author(s) -
Léo Dutriaux,
Valérie Gyselinck
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0159108
Subject(s) - memorization , recall , cognitive psychology , task (project management) , free recall , long term memory , object (grammar) , psychology , action (physics) , computer science , cognition , representation (politics) , interference theory , stylus , communication , working memory , artificial intelligence , computer vision , neuroscience , physics , management , quantum mechanics , politics , political science , law , economics
Grounded cognition proposes that memory shares processing resources with sensorimotor systems. The aim of the present study was to show that motor simulation participates in the conceptual representation of manipulable objects in long-term memory. In two experiments, lists of manipulable and nonmanipulable objects were presented. Participants were instructed to memorize the items while adopting different postures. In the control condition, they had to keep their hands at rest in front of them. In the interference condition, participants had to keep their hands crossed behind their back to make their hands less free for action. After each list, participants had to perform first a distractive task, and then an oral free recall. The results showed that the interfering posture produced a specific decrease in the recall of manipulable objects, but not of nonmanipulable ones. This decrease was similar when the items were presented as pictures (Experiment 1) or as words (Experiment 2), thus excluding a purely visual effect. These results provide strong evidence that the motor simulation plays a role in the memory trace of the object.