Effects of motor involvement on memory performance for pictorial and 3D objects

Abstract

Recent research indicates that memory for real objects is superior to memory for matched pictures (Snow, Skiba, Coleman, & Berryhill, 2014). Although there are several possible explanations for this memory difference, this study was specifically interested in assessing the role of motor involvement. Since real objects offer affordances for action, they may unconsciously engage the motor system when they are viewed. If the motor involvement explanation is correct, I hypothesized that fully engaging the motor system by having individuals interact with the objects should further enhance memory for objects but not for pictures. The study used a 2 (stimuli: object vs picture) x 2 (task: motor vs non-motor) between-subjects design. Thirty participants were randomly assigned to each of the four conditions. Participants engaged in a simple judgment task which involved making a decision by grasping the stimuli (motor) or writing the decision on paper (non-motor). Following the task, recall and recognition scores were assessed. As hypothesized, recall for objects was further enhanced in the motor condition relative to the non-motor condition, and no such improvements were found across the picture conditions. The results of this study suggest that motor system involvement facilitates enhanced memory for objects.