The role of movement and object in action memory: a comparative study between blind, blindfolded and sighted subjects

Two experiments systematically compared four SPT conditions involving real/imaginary movement and real/imaginary object with one VT condition involving no enactment and no object. To test the effect of visual information on SPT memory, sighted subjects were compared with blindfolded subjects (in Experiment 1) and blind subjects (in Experiment 2). All subjects learned all SPTs and VTs. Free recall data showed no difference between the SPT conditions and between the groups of subjects; only blind subjects were found to be limited in the use of visualization strategy. All SPTs were recalled better than VTs, indicating that the enactment effect is not determined by either movement or object alone, rather both have an effective role and are equally involved for obtaining the enactment effect. The results provide no support for the motor encoding and multimodality views of SPTs, but are in line with the episodic integration view which assumes that neither movement nor object are of special importance, rather both have contribution in the enactment effect.