Motor Actions in Retrieval of Valenced Information: A Motor Congruence Effect

To study the influence of overt behavior on the generation of valenced information participants were induced to perform either approach (arm flexion) or avoidance (arm extension) behaviors while generating the names of celebrities towards whom they had positive, negative, or neutral attitudes. Participants performing arm flexion generated more names of positively evaluated persons while participants performing arm extension tended to generate more names of negatively evaluated persons. Both self-perception and mood are discussed as potential bases for the obtained effect. In the light of our previous results, we suggest an alternative mechanism of compatibility between motor actions and information which implies that fewer cognitive resources are needed for “compatibility” than for “incompatibility.”