Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Actor-Observer Effect

Actor-Observer Effect

The actor-observer effect, a cognitive bias closely linked to the fundamental attribution error, refers to the tendency for individuals to attribute their behavior to external, situational factors while explaining others’ behavior in terms of internal, dispositional traits. This asymmetry in attribution significantly influences social perception and judgment.Cognitive Mechanisms Behind the EffectTwo primary psychological mechanisms contribute to the actor-observer effect: differences in visual...

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...

Stereotype Content Model

Stereotype Content Model

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence categorization, a person will feel...

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who are...

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

Automatic processing refers to the cognitive operations that occur without conscious intent or awareness, playing a fundamental role in shaping social cognition and behavior. These processes enable individuals to navigate complex social environments efficiently by relying on mental shortcuts and pre-existing knowledge structures known as schemas. One of the most influential mechanisms underlying automatic processing is priming, which subtly activates mental representations through exposure to...

Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development

Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development

Social-emotional experiences and cultural influences play significant roles in shaping gender development. During middle childhood, from ages 6 to 11, peer groups become dominant in reinforcing gender norms. Children in this age group often align with same-gender peer groups, which actively encourage behaviors that conform to traditional gender roles. For instance, boys may be discouraged from engaging in activities perceived as feminine, reinforcing culturally dictated norms about masculinity...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Implicit imagery tasks facilitate learning in declarative memory: Congruence between imagery modality and verb type enhances recognition.

Memory & cognition·2026

Same author

When less humanity is more: A single target compensation phenomenon between human nature and human uniqueness.

Cognition·2026

Same author

Unhealthy food bias in food addiction: behavioral evidence from a probabilistic image choice task.

Journal of eating disorders·2026

Same author

Fast or slow: How linguistic context modulates action verb perception and production?

Acta psychologica·2026

Same author

First Evidences of the Point-Light Display Observation Methodology in Multi-Pathology Care: A Retrospective Analysis.

Health science reports·2026

Same author

The added value of point-light display observation combined to physical practice in learning a functional strength training movement for experienced athletes.

Human movement science·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

Gender in action: Stereotype effects in the action observation-verb processing link.

Christel Bidet-Ildei¹, Theodore Alexopoulos², Leila Selimbegovic³

¹Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage, Université de Poitiers, Université de Tours, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR7295, France; Institut Universitaire de France, France.

Acta Psychologica

|June 1, 2026

Summary

Gender stereotypes impact how we process action language, weakening the link between observing and understanding actions, especially for women. This suggests social context actively shapes embodied cognition.

Keywords:

Action observation Action verb processing Embodied cognition Gender stereotypes Predictive processing Social context

More Related Videos

A Naturalistic Setup for Presenting Real People and Live Actions in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Studies

A Naturalistic Setup for Presenting Real People and Live Actions in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Studies

Published on: August 4, 2023

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

A Naturalistic Setup for Presenting Real People and Live Actions in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Studies

A Naturalistic Setup for Presenting Real People and Live Actions in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Studies

Published on: August 4, 2023

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Social Psychology
Embodied Cognition

Background:

Embodied cognition research highlights a strong connection between action verb processing and action observation, often explained by shared sensorimotor systems.
The influence of social context, specifically gender stereotypes, on this action-language coupling remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether gender stereotypes modulate the interaction between action observation and language processing.
To examine the role of stereotype-consistent and stereotype-inconsistent actions in influencing action-language coupling.

Main Methods:

Two experiments utilized a primed action-language task.
Participants viewed images of stereotype-consistent or inconsistent actions preceding action verbs.
Response times were measured to assess facilitation effects.

Main Results:

Experiment 1 showed that stereotype-consistent primes weakened action-language facilitation for female participants.
Experiment 2 replicated this modulation across both genders in a larger online sample.
The congruence effect between action observation and language processing was significantly altered by gender stereotypes.

Conclusions:

Socially shared gender stereotypes actively moderate embodied action-language interactions.
These modulations may occur via attentional, predictive mechanisms, or activation of supra-categorical semantic representations.
Findings underscore the dynamic interplay between social cognition and sensorimotor processes in language comprehension.