Psychologists are increasingly interested in embodiment based on the assumption that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are grounded in bodily interaction with the environment. We examine how embodiment is used in social psychology, and we explore the ways in which embodied approaches enrich traditional theories. Although research in this area is burgeoning, much of it has been more descriptive ...

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of physical embodiment in human–agent interaction. Experiment 1 (N 1⁄4 32) shows positive effects of physical embodiment on the feeling of an agent’s social presence, the evaluation of the agent, the assessment of public evaluation of the agent, and the evaluation of the interaction with the agent. A path analysis reveals that the feelin...

The nervous system is operationally closed. It operates only in contact to itself. This astonishing claim has been made by Heinz von Foerster, one of the founders of radical constructivism. This work explores the consequences of his claim in the context of linear signal theory, embodiment and the creation of artifacts. In linear signal theory all transfer functions can be directly associated wi...

One of the most fundamental and important aspects of motivation is the urge to approach, which is manifest in its most basic form by moving toward (Harmon-Jones, Harmon-Jones, & Price, in press). Although much research has examined cognitive influences on approach motivation, less research has examined bodily influences. In this chapter (talk), we will present the results of a program of resear...