Abstract

This paper raises the question whether analogical mapping is embodied in real and/or simulated actions. An experiment is designed in which participants have to verify analogies between pairs of sentences. In half of the pairs the arguments are spatially (vertically) aligned and in the other half the arguments are spatially misaligned. Our assumption is that if mapping is embodied the participants will have to mentally simulate a spatial re-arrangement of the arguments during the mapping process. To test this prediction a moving dot was presented on the screen during the analogy verification task which should impede the eye movements needed for the mental simulation of spatial manipulation of the arguments. In half of the cases the dot was moving horizontally and in the other half – vertically. It turns out that the horizontally moving dot impedes to a greater extent the spatially misaligned analogical mappings than the aligned ones, supporting the hypothesis that in these cases people do simulate spatial re-arrangement.

Citations