Front in the mouth, front in the word: The driving mechanisms of the in-out effect.

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Ira Theresa Maschmann
  • Anita Körner
  • Lea Boecker
  • Sascha Topolinski

Words for which the consonantal articulation spots wander from the front to the back of the mouth (inward) elicit more positive attitudes than words with the reversed order (outward). The present article questions the common theoretical explanation of this effect, namely an association between articulation movements and oral movements during ingestion and expectoration (inward resembles eating which is positive; outward resembles spitting which is negative). In 4 experiments (total N = 468), we consistently replicated the basic in-out effect; but no evidence was found supporting an eating-related underlying mechanism. The in-out effect was not modulated by disgust inductions (Experiments 1, 2, 4, and 10) or food deprivation (Experiment 3). In 6 further experiments (total N = 1,067), we explored a novel alternative explanation, namely that the in-out effect is simply a position-specific preference for front consonants over back consonants. In these experiments, we found in-out-like preference effects for fragments that lacked an actual front-to-back movement but featured only starting (e.g., B _ _ _ _) or ending (e.g., _ _ _ K) consonants (Experiments 6-8). Consonants that are articulated in the front of the mouth were generally preferred over those articulated in the back of the mouth, and this basic preference was stronger at the beginning of a word-like stimulus (Experiments 6-10), thus explaining the preference pattern of the in-out effect. The present evidence speaks against an eating-related (embodied) explanation and suggests a simple word-morphologic explanation of the in-out effect.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Personality and Social Psychology
Volume119
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)792-807
Number of pages16
ISSN0022-3514
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10.2020

    Research areas

  • Psychology
  • Articulation, Language, Preference

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Kevin Drews

Prizes

  1. Lehrpreis

Publications

  1. To settle or protect? A global analysis of net primary production in parks and urban areas
  2. Rating Player Actions in Soccer
  3. Concept Maps in der Hochschullehre
  4. Comparative study of microstructure and texture of cast and homogenized TX32 magnesium alloy after hot deformation
  5. The Impact of Scale on Children’s Spatial Thought
  6. Das AGG in der Beratungspraxis
  7. New prototype of the two-legged robot centaurob
  8. Simulations in Science Education - Status Quo
  9. Gamen
  10. Competition between honey bees and wild bees and the role of nesting resources in a nature reserve
  11. Artificial Creativity
  12. Attachment disorder and attachment theory – Two sides of one medal or two different coins?
  13. Current overview of research on priority effects and its relevance to restoration
  14. Towards more effective and transferable transition experiments
  15. Exercise of members' rights
  16. Replik
  17. Alignment of the life cycle initiative’s “principles for the application of life cycle sustainability assessment” with the LCSA practice
  18. Stand up for the champion
  19. Focus: Computational history and philosophy of science
  20. Leveraging the macro-level environment to balance work and life
  21. Gemeinsam lernen mit Selbstlernprogrammen
  22. Diversity lost
  23. Advancing science on the multiple connections between biodiversity, ecosystems and people
  24. Editorial
  25. Water and soil towards sustainable land use
  26. Series foreword of Series Editors
  27. Consumer Preferences for Local Food: Testing an Extended Norm Taxonomy
  28. A Performance Motivator in one Country, A Non-Motivator in Another?
  29. Brain Drain
  30. Assessment of age-correlated occupational strain as a prerequisite for age-appropriate work organization
  31. Citizen Action in the Time of the Network
  32. Resisting alignment
  33. Digital identity building:
  34. Depoliticising EU migration policies