Effect of gender matching and attentional focus on the link between action observation and action verb processing

Several studies have demonstrated the existence of a link between action observation (AO) and language. However, the optimizing parameters for this link have not been explored until now. To answer this question, the present study proposed two experiments for assessing the role of motor repertory and attentional focus. Sixty participants performed a priming task in which they had to decide if a verb was or was not an action verb after they saw a point-light display (PLD) representing an action. Only one difference distinguished the experiments. In experiment one, the PLD was either in accordance or not with the gender kinematics of the observer, whereas in the second experiment, the PLD either focused on or was unfocused on the main limbs implied in the action. The results show that motor repertory affects the link between action observation and action verb processing, whereas attentional focus does not. Implications of these results are highlighted in the discussion, notably to better understand the mechanisms that explain the link between action observation and action verb processing.