Unconstraining theories of embodied cognition

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.11.001Get rights and content

Abstract

The approach/avoidance effect refers to the finding that valenced stimuli trigger approach and avoidance actions. Markman and Brendl [Markman, A. B., & Brendl, M. (2005). Constraining theories of embodied cognition. Psychological Science, 16, 6–16] argued that this effect is not a truly embodied phenomenon, but depends on participants’ symbolic representation of the self.

In their study, participants moved valenced words toward or away from their own name on the computer screen. This would induce participants to form a ‘disembodied’ self-representation at the location of their name, outside of the body. Approach/avoidance effects occurred with respect to the participant’s name, rather than with respect to the body.

In three experiments, we demonstrate that similar effects are found when the name is replaced by a positive word, a negative word or even when no word is presented at all. This suggests that the ‘disembodied self’ explanation of Markman and Brendl is incorrect, and that their findings do not necessarily constrain embodied theories of cognition.

Section snippets

Participants

Thirty-seven students from the Erasmus University Rotterdam participated in the experiment, in return for course credit or a small monetary fee (€ 5,-). One participant, with an error rate higher than 30%, was excluded from the analysis. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two instructions.

Stimulus materials and apparatus

Thirty-two positive and 22 negative words were selected from a normed list. The words on this list had been rated on a 7-point scale (1 = extremely negative, 7 = extremely positive) by 29

Experiment 2

Experiment 2 tested the hypothesis that participants perform the task more easily when the valence of the central word matches the items that have to be moved toward the central word. Thus, when the central word is a negative word (i.e., Hate), participants are expected to be slower in the Positive toward condition than in the Negative toward condition (i.e., the opposite pattern of Experiment 1 is predicted).

Discussion

The categorization hypothesis predicts that the categorization of words is facilitated when the valence of the central word is congruent with the valence of the words that have to be moved toward it. Most participants regard their own name as a strongly positive word (reflecting a healthy positive self-image). According to the categorization hypothesis, they should therefore respond faster when they move positive words toward their name than when they move negative words toward it. The same

Participants

Seventy-six students from the Erasmus University Rotterdam participated in the experiment, in return for course credit or a small monetary fee (€ 5,-). Five participants were excluded because their error rate was above 30%, leaving a total of 71 participants.

Materials and procedure

Experiment 3 followed the same procedure as the previous experiments, but an empty block was presented in the middle of the screen. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two instructions. Those in the Positive toward condition

General discussion

An important issue in cognitive science regards the question to which degree sensorimotor processes are involved in cognition. In recent years, the embodied cognition view is gaining momentum, which suggests that cognition is strongly intertwined with the systems of perception and action, using representations that are directly derived from these systems (e.g., Barsalou, 1999, Glenberg, 1997, Pulvermüller, 1999). Proponents of this view often refer to the growing number of studies that

References (29)

  • A.G. Greenwald et al.

    Using the implicit association test to measure self-esteem and self-concept

    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

    (2000)
  • A.F.de.C. Hamilton et al.

    The motor hierarchy: From kinematics to intentions

  • S.L. Koole et al.

    What’s in a name: Implicit self-esteem and the automatic self

    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

    (2001)
  • A.B. Markman et al.

    Constraining theories of embodied cognition

    Psychological Science

    (2005)
  • Cited by (37)

    • A new look at sensorimotor aspects in approach/avoidance tendencies: The role of visual whole-body movement information

      2018, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
      Citation Excerpt :

      To reassess the importance of sensorimotor aspects in the study of approach/avoidance, we reconsidered how people typically behave and what they perceive while doing so. In other words, we relied on the fundamental idea that cognition (here the cognitive processes involved in approach/avoidance) is grounded (e.g., Barsalou, 1999; van Dantzig et al., 2009; Versace et al., 2014). Therefore, we believe that a grounded cognition framework provides the best explanation for our results.

    • A model of within person variation in leadership: Emotion regulation and scripts as predictors of situationally appropriate leadership

      2015, Leadership Quarterly
      Citation Excerpt :

      Of particular importance to our arguments are the concepts of online and offline embodied cognition (Wilson, 2002). Online embodied cognition has been linked to situated cognition, that is, cognition that emerges during a situation (Van Dantzig, Zeelenberg, & Pecher, 2009). From this point of view, it is particularly relevant to our theorizing which deals with a leader's responses to situations.

    • Approach-avoidance actions or categorization? A matching account of reference valence effects in affective S-R compatibility

      2012, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiments 1 and 2 with written words, excluding the possibility that the difference in results from those of van Dantzig et al. (2009) was due to reference format (word vs. picture). The results are counter to van Dantzig et al.'s (2009) conclusion that affective qualities of the referent do not matter but consistent with the categorization hypothesis that motivated their experiments. Inspired by that hypothesis, we proposed the matching account: When a valenced referent is provided, the affective compatibility effect depends on the match between the stimulus and its referent.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text