Action verbs and demonstrative pronouns affect volumetric affordance activation

Abstract

Whereas the influence of visual information on the activation of perceived affordances is well documented, far less attention has been given to the specific role of language in modulating affordance activation. Furthermore, while several studies have demonstrated that nouns and verbs denoting grasping actions and graspable objects may potentiate affordances, there is little-to-no research exploring similar properties of other word classes, particularly those specifically marking spatial relations - the so-called demonstrative pronouns. Demonstratives (e.g., this, that) denote the object's position in space relative to the interlocutors (proximal or distal), therefore indicating its availability for action, which, in turn, predicts their potential involvement in modulating action affordances. To test this hypothesis, we used a stimulus-response compatibility paradigm with auditory stimuli to examine the impact of verbs and demonstratives on affordance activation. Participants were in a semantic judgement task presented with linguistic primes comprising a verb (action/observation) and a demonstrative (proximal/distal), followed by a target word denoting a manipulable object. First, our data confirmed the potential of action verbs to activate manual affordances, evident as expedited response times for object-verb congruent trials. Second, and most important, our data showed that proximal demonstratives had a similar capacity, particularly when paired with an action verb. These findings have significant implications for theories of language comprehension, supporting the view that language processing is deeply intertwined with sensorimotor systems and that demonstratives are integral components of spatial cognition, modulating the perceived affordances of objects.

Keywords: Demonstrative pronouns; Ecological psychology; Embodied cognition; Volumetric affordances.