Abstract
Physical movement that is meaningfully related to a cognitive task (embodiment) can enhance cognition. The current study investigates whether this effect decreases with age in childhood and young adulthood. In study 1, 7- and 9-year-olds performed a spatial 2-back task either while standing or while walking into the current stimulus field (embodied condition). Seven-year-olds profited from embodiment, while 9-year-olds did not, and boys profited more than girls. Study 2 did not detect an effect of embodiment in young adults in a spatial 3-back task. This indicates that cognitive enhancements induced by embodiment are stronger at younger ages.
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Acknowledgements
Study 1: I thank Manuel Zellhöfer for programming the experimental task, and Julius Verrel, Whitney Cole, Ulman Lindenberger, and Gianluca Amico for helpful discussions. I also would like to thank Gabriele Faust, Sascha Ketelhut, Antonia Kaiser, Elisabeth Klose, and Pina Keller for their help with data collection.
Study 2: I thank Corinna Lobensteiner and Anne-Kathrin Langner for their help with data collection and for helpful discussions, and Sascha Geidel for his help with the experimental set-up.
I thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
Funding
This work was supported by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and by Leipzig University.
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The first study was carried out at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and the second study at the Leipzig University.
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Schaefer, S. Embodiment Helps Children Solve a Spatial Working Memory Task: Interactions with Age and Gender. J Cogn Enhanc 3, 233–244 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-018-0081-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-018-0081-4