More is not necessarily better: How different aspects of sensorimotor experience affect recognition memory for words

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Linguistics

Background:

• Semantic richness theory posits that words with more distinct semantic representations enhance memory performance.
• Sensorimotor experience, encompassing bodily, communicative, food, and object interactions, is theorized to contribute to semantic richness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how different types of sensorimotor experience influence word recognition memory.
• To examine the role of object, food, communication, and body-related sensorimotor grounding in memory.
• To differentiate the effects of sensorimotor experience from pure imageability on memory.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of large-scale megastudy data using hierarchical linear regressions.
• Quantification of various sensorimotor experience aspects (body, communication, food, objects).
• Statistical modeling to isolate the impact of different grounding types and imageability.

Main Results:

• Object- and food-related sensorimotor grounding positively correlated with word recognition memory, supporting semantic richness.
• Communication-related experience did not show a facilitative effect on memory.
• Body-related sensorimotor experience impaired recognition memory by increasing false alarms.
• Pure imageability contributed to semantic richness effects but with a smaller effect size than previously reported after accounting for sensorimotor grounding.

Conclusions:

• Word recognition memory is not consistently facilitated by semantic richness; the type of sensorimotor experience matters.
• Distinct sensorimotor experiences have differential impacts on memory, with body-related grounding being detrimental.
• Future memory research should differentiate sensorimotor components rather than assuming additive benefits of semantic information.