Embodied cognition and cognitive ergonomics: designing for mind and body

There have been a number of experimental studies providing evidence for the weakest (and most trivial, according to Wilson) version of embodied cognition theory, the one stipulating that states of the body can affect our behavior and social judgements (these body states being themselves influenced by factors in the external environment, such as temperature or texture).

The most influential of these studies were conducted by John Bargh and his team. In the coffee cup experiment, they found that participants were more likely to attribute positive character traits to an unknown individual if they were previously holding a warm cup of coffee as opposed to an iced cup of coffee. In an another study, they found that the type of chair participants were sitting on (hard, and cushion-less vs. soft and comfortable) could influence their willingness to compromise in price negotiations. In a related experiment involving the sense of touch and its influence on how we make social judgements, participants were asked to solve a jigsaw puzzle prior to reading and evaluating a passage describing a social interaction. The participants who were given a puzzle containing rough pieces were more likely to perceive the interaction as difficult and adversarial compared to participants who were in the ‘soft puzzle‘ condition. The results of these experiments suggest that basic tactile sensations resulting from our interactions with objects can play an important role in the shaping of higher social cognitive processing.

I was interested to find out about the practical implications of these findings in relation to current trends in design and ergonomics. Indeed, such a view of embodied cognition seems to have captured the attention of designers and could be contributing in a big way to how they conceive and develop new products. According to Seth Snyder, an ‘experience designer’, “This research proves that designers can use a knowledge of embodied cognition to re-investigate and invent new, more successful physical tools and interactions for a variety of applications”.

Thanks to the emergence of embodied cognition, the field of design is seeing a shift from the simple application of principles from traditional ergonomics to an approach based on ‘cognitive ergonomics’. Snyder explains that “designers could perhaps think beyond traditional ergonomics in the sense that we design things that fit the human form, that feel good to hold, to consider “cognitive ergonomics”, designing things that fit the human mind, that feel good to think about, or that make us think “nice” thoughts. Armed with a greater understanding for human inclination to embody emotion with physical metaphor and the ability of physical things to affect human perception and emotion, designers could take on the challenge of cognitive ergonomics. To figure out how to design for the mind, not just the body.”

For Snyder’s full article, click here.

For an interesting paper about the relationship between cognitive ergonomics, embodied cognition and the extended mind, click here.