Perceptual simulation of vertical object movements in short narratives: Picture verification data from children aged 5 to 11 and adults

With this investigation, we tried to establish if children and adults (N = 190) perceptually simulate vertical object movements during listening to short narratives. For this purpose, we employed a picture verification task: Participants listened to a narrative that ended with something moving up or down. After this, an animated picture was presented with the animation proceeding from the top or bottom to the center of the screen. Participants had to determine as quickly and accurately as possible whether the object was part of the narrative. Each participant completed 24 experimental trials, half of them were compatible (the movement featured in the narrative matched that implied by the narrative) the other half incompatible (they did not match). Shorter response times to compatible compared with incompatible trials were seen as an indicator of perceptual simulation. We further included a between-participant variation of modality: Participants in the auditory conditon merely listened to the narratives. In the audiovisual condition, the narratives were illustrated with colored hand-drawings.