Understanding Text and Stories • 313a bicycle is propelled (by peddling) and the physical exertion involved in riding the
bicycle under different conditions (climbing hills, racing, coasting). This corresponds to
the idea, introduced in Chapter 9, that knowledge about a category goes beyond simply
identifying a typical object in that category; it also includes various properties of the
object, such as how the object is used, what it does, and
sometimes even emotional responses it elicits. This way of
looking at the reader’s response adds a richness to events in
a story that extends beyond simply understanding what is
going on (Barsalou, 2008; Fischer & Zwaan, 2008).The Physiology of Simulations How are these simula-
tions refl ected in activity in the brain? To answer this ques-
tion, let’s fi rst consider an experiment by Olaf Hauk and
coworkers (2004) in which participants’ brain activity was
measured using fMRI under two conditions: (1) as they
moved their right or left foot, left or right index fi nger, or
tongue; (2) as they read “action words” such as kick (foot
action), pick (fi nger or hand action), or lick (tongue action).
The results show areas of the cortex activated by the
actual movements (● Figure 11.13a) and by reading the
action words (Figure 11.13b). The activation is more exten-
sive for actual movements, but the activation caused by
reading the words occurs in approximately the same areas
of the brain. For example, leg words and leg movements
elicit activity near the brain’s center line, whereas arm
words and fi nger movements elicit activity further from the
center line. The conclusion from this study is that reading
about an action causes activity in the brain that is similar to
the activity that occurs when carrying out the action.●FIGURE 11.13 Hauk et al. (2004) results. Colored areas
indicate the area of the brain activated by (a) foot, fi nger, and
tongue movements; (b) leg, arm, and face words. (Source: O. Hauk,
I. Johnsrude, & F. Pulvermuller, “Somatotopic Representation of Action Words in
Human Motor and Premotor Cortex,” Neuron, 41, 301–307, 2004. Reprinted with
permission from Elsevier.)
Movements Action WordsBlue: Foot movements
Red: Finger Movements
Green: Tongue movements
Blue: Leg words
Red: Arm words
Green: Face words(a) (b)
●FIGURE 11.12 Horton and Rapp’s (2003) experiment. (a) In the blocked condition,
the story describes Melanie’s mother as being in front of the TV. (b) In the unblocked
condition, the story describes Melanie’s mother as being behind the TV. (c) The results
indicate that the reaction time to answer a question about something happening on
the screen is slower for the blocked condition.Blocked story Unblocked story
(a) (b)Time to answer question (ms)
Blocked Unblocked1,7001,5001,6000(c)Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.