Séminaire ayant lieu dans le cadre du Doctorat en informatique cognitive, en collaboration avec le centre de recherche CRIA              

TITRE : Embodied contributions to word meaning

Agata DYMARSKA

Jeudi le 26 novembre 2026 à 10h30

Local PK-5115 (Il est possible d'y assister en virtuel en vous inscrivant ici)                 

RÉSUMÉ

Our perceptual and motor experience with the world shapes the way we process and understand language. Depending on concept type, different aspects of sensorimotor experience are at play, as evidenced by facilitation of lexical decision and word recognition performance. However, at times, a rich sensorimotor representation can be detrimental to correct word recognition. This talk will focus on research findings from lexical decision and word recognition memory tasks. These studies show which forms of sensorimotor experience are activated when viewing different words. They reveal when that activation helps identify and maintain accurate conceptual representations, and when it actually harms performance. Evidence from non-native English speakers who draw on sensorimotor information differently shows how the pattern of sensorimotor grounding can change with language experience.

BIOGRAPHIE

Agata DYMARSKA is a researcher at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. She completed her PhD at Lancaster University, UK, in the Embodied Cognition Lab, examining the interplay of language and sensorimotor information in word recognition and memory. Her research interests include sensorimotor activation in second language users and the contribution of sensorimotor information to emotional word processing.

RÉFÉRENCES 

Dymarska, A. (2025). Frequency Over Semantic Richness: word recognition in non-native English speakers. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition. doi:10.1017/S1366728925000239

 Dymarska A., & Connell, L. (2025). Sensorimotor Effects in Surprise Word Memory – a Registered Report. Cortex. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2025.03.010

Dymarska, A., Connell, L., & Banks, B. (2023a). More is Not Necessarily Better – How Different Aspects of Sensorimotor Experience Affect Recognition Memory for Words. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 49 (10), 1572–1587. doi:10.1037/xlm0001265 

Lynott, D., Connell, L., Brysbaert, M., Brand, J., & Carney, J. (2020). The Lancaster Sensorimotor Norms: multidimensional measures of perceptual and action strength for 40,000 English words. Behavior research methods, 52(3), 1271-1291. doi:10.3758/s13428-019-01316-z 

Yap, M. J., Tan, S. E., Pexman, P. M., & Hargreaves, I. S. (2011). Is more always better? Effects of semantic richness on lexical decision, speeded pronunciation, and semantic classification. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 18(4), 742–750. doi:10.3758/s13423-011-0092-y