Does motor preparation influence word processing? Investigating the bidirectionality of action-language compatibility effects

According to theories of embodied cognition, people mentally simulate the described objects and events during comprehension. Most studies have shown an influence of linguistic processes on non-linguistic tasks. For example, people respond faster to words referring to objects usually found in an upper or lower location when referent location and response direction match. In six experiments, we investigated the reverse direction. We tested lexical decision times to up-/down-words while participants prepared an upward or downward movement of the arm. We did not find a compatibility effect in any of the experiments, even though participants did indeed prepare responses. Pre-activation of a response toward an upper or lower location thus does not necessarily facilitate responses in a lexical decision task with words referring to objects usually found in these positions. These findings suggest that any influence of movement preparation on lexical-semantic processing is substantially weaker or less robust than the converse influence of language processing on action, placing important constraints on strong embodied accounts.