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This paper is a critical review of recent studies demonstrating the mechanism of sensorimotor simulation in different cognitive domains. Empirical studies that specify conditions under which embodiment occurs in different domains will be discussed and evaluated. Examples of relevant domains are language comprehension (Tucker and Ellis, 1998), autobiographical memory (Dijkstra et al., 2007), gestures (Alibali et al., 2014), facial mimicry (Stel and Vonk, 2010), and problem solving (Wiemers et al., 2014). The focus of the review is on supporting claims regarding sensorimotor simulation as well as on factors that modulate dynamic relationships between sensorimotor components in action and cognitive domains, such as expertise (Boschker et al., 2002). This discussion takes place within the context of currently debated issues, specifically the need to specify the underlying mechanisms of embodied representations (Zwaan, 2014; Körner et al., 2015).

This study examined whether simultaneously observing and making gestures while studying animations would lighten cognitive load and facilitate the acquisition of grammatical rules. In contrast to our hypothesis, results showed that children in the gesturing condition performed worse on the posttest than children in the non-gesturing, control condition. A more detailed analysis of the data revealed an expertise reversal effect, indicating that this negative effect on posttest performance materialized for children with lower levels of general language skills, but not for children with higher levels of general language skills. The finding that for children with lower language ability, cognitive load did not decrease as they saw more animations provided additional support for this expertise reversal effect. These findings suggest that the combination of observing and making gestures may have imposed extraneous cognitive load on the lower ability children, which they could not accommodate together with the relatively high intrinsic load imposed by the learning task. Acknowledgement. This research was funded by the Netherlands Organization for ScientificResearch (NWO; project number 411-10-907). We thank Bonnie van Huik and Jacqueline de Nooijer for their assistance during preparation of stimulus material. Gestures while Studying Language Animations 2 AbstractThis study examined whether simultaneously observing and making gestures while studying animations would lighten cognitive load and facilitate the acquisition of grammatical rules. In contrast to our hypothesis, results showed that children in the gesturing condition performed worse on the posttest than children in the non-gesturing, control condition. A more detailed analysis of the data revealed an expertise reversal effect, indicating that this negative effect on posttest performance materialized for children with lower levels of general language skills, but not for children with higher levels of general language skills. The finding that for children with lower language ability, cognitive load did not decrease as they saw more animations provided additional support for this expertise reversal effect. These findings suggest that the combination of observing and making gestures may have imposed extraneous cognitive load on the lower ability children, which they could not accommodate together with the relatively high intrinsic load imposed by the learning task.