Oral kinematics: examining the role of edibility and valence in the in-out effect

Abstract

Previous research has revealed a stable preference for words with inward consonantal-articulation patterns (from the front to the back of the mouth; e.g., BENOKA), over outward-words (from the back to the front; e.g., KENOBA). Following the oral approach-avoidance account suggesting that the in-out effect is due to the resemblance between consonantal-articulations patterns and ingestion/expectoration, recent findings have shown that when judging inward-outward names for objects with particular oral functions, valence did not modulate the effect while the oral function did. To replicate and examine further the role of edibility and valence in shaping the in-out effect, we asked participants (N = 545) to rate inward and outward names for edible and non-edible products while controlling for valence. Results revealed that the motor-to-affect link was only observed for edible products, regardless of valence.