Commentary : the poverty of embodied cognition

(Fodor, 1975), and are carried by brain regions other than sensorimotor areas (Bechtel et al., 1998). Over the last few decades, this view has been questioned. Numerous researchers argue that cognitive processes are fundamentally rooted in sensorimotor activity and that the body both constrains and enables cognition (Wilson, 2002; Clark, 2009). Such a view is called "the embodied cognition" (EC) and it is widely applied in various fields of cognitive science, from linguistics to robotics. Recently, Goldinger et al. (2016), however, questioned its applicability. They emphasized that some assumptions of EC are unacceptable, and others proffer nothing new. Primarily, they claim that EC offers no useful insight into the classic problems of experimental psychology. Although, we agree with some theses presented in the article (e.g., radical embodiment that rejects the existence of mental representation is a blind alley), it appears the authors' methodological view on EC is inadequat

Mental Number Line and Simple Addition Task: Experimental Study with Native Russian Speakers

AbstractThis article presents the results of an experiment whose purpose was to investigate the mechanisms of simple addition among native speakers of Russian. The means of storage and retrieval of numerical data in and from the mind and the concrete mechanisms used to perform arithmetic operations are highly cultural specific, and to a great extent dependent on a concrete language, as has been shown in many works previously. The link between number concepts and some cultural features, like reading direction or educational methods, is now being researched intensively. Our experiment tested the hypothesis that the mechanism of simple addition is based on a mental number line, at least for Russian native speakers, so far as Russian is read from left to right and a number line is a widely used method to visualize number relationships in Russian schools. The results of the experiment showed that the proposed hypothesis was not correct, and that arithmetic processing is rather more complicated than linear. Many new questions have arisen because of this and possible directions for future investigations are discussed here

Counting on the mental number line to make a move: sensorimotor ('pen') control and numerical processing

Mathematics is often conducted with a writing implement. But is there a relationship between numerical processing and sensorimotor ‘pen’ control? We asked participants to move a stylus so it crossed an unmarked line at a location specified by a symbolic number (1–9), where number colour indicated whether the line ran left–right (‘normal’) or vice versa (‘reversed’). The task could be simplified through the use of a ‘mental number line’ (MNL). Many modern societies use number lines in mathematical education and the brain’s representation of number appears to follow a culturally determined spatial organisation (so better task performance is associated with this culturally normal orientation—the MNL effect). Participants (counter-balanced) completed two consistent blocks of trials, ‘normal’ and ‘reversed’, followed by a mixed block where line direction varied randomly. Experiment 1 established that the MNL effect was robust, and showed that the cognitive load associated with reversing the MNL not only affected response selection but also the actual movement execution (indexed by duration) within the mixed trials. Experiment 2 showed that an individual’s motor abilities predicted performance in the difficult (mixed) condition but not the easier blocks. These results suggest that numerical processing is not isolated from motor capabilities—a finding with applied consequences

Domain-General Factors Influencing Numerical and Arithmetic Processing

This special issue contains 18 articles that address the question how numerical processes interact with domain-general factors. We start the editorial with a discussion of how to define domain-general versus domain-specific factors and then discuss the contributions to this special issue grouped into two core numerical domains that are subject to domain-general influences (see Figure 1). The first group of contributions addresses the question how numbers interact with spatial factors. The second group of contributions is concerned with factors that determine and predict arithmetic understanding, performance and development. This special issue shows that domain-general (Table 1a) as well as domain-specific (Table 1b) abilities influence numerical and arithmetic performance virtually at all levels and make it clear that for the field of numerical cognition a sole focus on one or several domain-specific factors like the approximate number system or spatial-numerical associations is not sufficient. Vice versa, in most studies that included domain-general and domain-specific variables, domain-specific numerical variables predicted arithmetic performance above and beyond domain-general variables. Therefore, a sole focus on domain-general aspects such as, for example, working memory, to explain, predict and foster arithmetic learning is also not sufficient. Based on the articles in this special issue we conclude that both domain-general and domain-specific factors contribute to numerical cognition. But the how, why and when of their contribution still needs to be better understood. We hope that this special issue may be helpful to readers in constraining future theory and model building about the interplay of domain-specific and domain-general factors

Non-symbolic numerosities do not automatically activate spatial-numerical associations : Evidence from the SNARC effect

This research was funded by an Experimental Psychology Society small grant.Peer reviewedPostprin

No fingers, no SNARC? : neither the finger counting starting hand, nor its stability robustly affect the SNARC effect

The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect (i.e., faster left/right sided responses to small/large magnitude numbers, respectively) is considered to be strong evidence for the link between numbers and space. Studies have shown considerable variation in this effect. Among the factors determining individual differences in the SNARC effect is the hand an individual uses to start the finger counting sequence. Left-starters show a stronger and less variable SNARC effect than right-starters. This observation has been used as an argument for the embodied nature of the SNARC effect. For this to be the case, one must assume that the finger counting sequence (especially the starting hand) is stable over time. Subsequent studies challenged the view that the SNARC differs depending on the finger counting starting hand. At the same time, it has been pointed out that the temporal stability of the finger counting starting hand should not be taken for granted. Thus, in this preregistered study, we aimed to replicate the difference in the SNARC between left- and right-starters and explore the relationship between the self-reported temporal stability of the finger counting starting hand and the SNARC effect. In line with the embodied cognition account, left-starters who declare more temporarily stable finger counting habits should reveal a stronger SNARC effect. Results of the preregistered analysis did not show the difference between left- and right-starters. However, further exploratory analysis provided weak evidence that this might be the case. Lastly, we found no evidence for the relationship between finger counting starting hand stability and the SNARC effect. Overall, these results challenge the view on the embodied nature of the SNARC effect

Finger counting and its role in the development of math competence

Finger counting plays an important role in mathematical cognition, especially in the acquisition of the concept of number and elementary math competence. Fingers are spontaneously used to count because of their constant availability and easiness of manipulation. Stable counting order within hand facilitates the acquisition of ordinal as well as cardinal numbers. Additionally, using fi ngers to count alleviates working memory load and allows constant control of counting accuracy. Apart from the usefulness for counting practice, cognitive representations of fi ngers are strongly interconnected with representations of numbers. Finger gnosis (the quality of the brain representations of fi ngers) is a good predictor of current as well as future math achievement. There is also evidence that the training of fi nger differentiation leads to improvements in math achievement

Clock Walking and Gender: How Circular Movements Influence Arithmetic Calculations

Starting from a rich body of evidence on the strict bidirectional relationship between numerical cognition and action processes, the present study aims at deepening the existing knowledge of the influence of body movement on arithmetic calculation. Numerous studies have shown that moving the body along the vertical or the horizontal axis could facilitate calculations such as additions and subtractions. More specifically, results showed an effect of congruence between the type of operation (additions vs. subtractions) and the direction of the movement performed (up/right or down/left). While this congruence effect is present for both additions and subtractions when the axis of action is vertical, when the axis of action is horizontal, the effect appears only for additions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of circular motion, which has so far not been explored, on counting. Participants were asked to count by adding or subtracting “three,” while performing a circular motion (i.e., a clockwise or counterclockwise movement), in an active (i.e., walking) or passive mode (i.e., being pushed on a wheelchair). Results showed a congruence effect for additions calculated in the active modality and only for male participants. Implications of the results for theories of embodied cognition and for the debate on gender differences in mathematical skills are discussed in this paper

Summing up: A functional role of eye movements along the mental number line for arithmetic.

In Western cultures, small-left and large-right spatial-numerical associations are constantly found in various simple number processing tasks. It has recently been suggested that spatial associations are also involved in more complex number processing, for example that individuals make rightward or upward "mental" movements along the number line during addition, and leftward or downward movements during subtraction. In line with this, it has been shown that participants' spontaneous eye movements on a blank screen during upward and downward counting follow such associations. The present research investigated whether eye movements along the number line are simply an epiphenomenon of the recruitment of a spatial reference frame, or whether they play a functional role for the arithmetic computation. This question was addressed by using multi-step problems (e.g., 59 + 5 + 4 + 3) that show a larger proportion of computation (vs. retrieval) when compared to single-step problems (e.g., 59 + 5), as confirmed in Pretest 1. Moreover, the question was addressed only for addition problems and vertical eye movements, because spatial-arithmetic associations were not found in the other conditions (subtraction, horizontal eye movements) in Pretest 2. In the main experiment, participants (n = 29) solved addition problems while following a moving dot with their eyes (smooth pursuit) either in a congruent (upward) or incongruent (downward) direction, or while keeping their eyes fixated on to the center of the screen, or while moving their eyes freely on a blank screen. Arithmetic performance was faster in the congruent condition (upward eye movements) when compared to the other conditions (downward eye movements, central fixation, free viewing). These results suggest that vertical shifts in spatial attention along the mental number line are functionally involved in addition. The results support the view of shared mechanisms for directing spatial attention in external (visual) and representational (number space). Implications for embodied views of number processing are discussed

Embodied Cognition: il ruolo del corpo nella didattica

This work stems from a strong dialogue between psychology, neurosciences and physical and sport sciences in education, united by the enhancement of the multiperspective scientific paradigm of the Embodied Cognition (from now on EC) (Gallese, 2005). Some peculiar practical applications of this approach(Sousa, 2010) show, first of all, the relationship between body and enhancement of learning and memory; in addition, they show the importance of knowing brain development in evolutionary age in order to understand the behavior of children and adolescents; the particularity of the influence of thesocial environment and the cultural climate on learning, as well as the brain’s ability to create new neurons until old age, and its modifiability (concept of plasticity). Starting from the analysis of the body as a scientific mediator of the learning process at neurobiological (Rizzolatti, 2005) and neurophenomenological(Gallese, 2006) level, a fertile field of study focuses on scientific evidence (Margiotta, 2013) that EC, through its embodied actions (Gomez Paloma, 2013), can offer to the world of didactics (Borghi, Caruana 2013), and on how to develop methodologies that effectively meet students’ educational, andalso special, needs (Ianes, 2013).In this direction, the goal is to define and validate an “EC-Based model” (Gomez Paloma & Damiani 2015) to enhance corporeality as learning environment and context (setting). All this assuming that the key principles of the Embodied Cognition provide new opportunities for enhancing the differences in learning processes (Cottini, 2014) and implement didactic methodologies adapted to students ‘ needs.l presente lavoro nasce da un forte dialogo tra Psicologia, Neuroscienze e Scienze Motorie e Sportive in ambito educativo, accomunate dalla valorizzazione del paradigma scientifico multiprospettico dell’Embodied Cognition (da ora EC), (Gallese, 2005). Alcune peculiari applicazioni operative di tale approccio(Sousa, 2010), mostrano innanzitutto il rapporto tra movimento fisico e potenziamento dell’apprendimento e della memoria; inoltre l’importanza di conoscere lo sviluppo del cervello in età evolutiva per comprendere il comportamento di bambini ed adolescenti; la particolarità dell’influenza dell’ambiente sociale e il clima culturale sull’apprendimento, nonché la capacità del cervello di generare nuovi neuroni fino alla tarda età e la sua modificabilità (concetto di plasticità).Partendo dall’analisi del corpo come mediatore scientifico del processo di apprendimento a livello neurobiologico (Rizzolatti, 2005) e neurofenomenologico (Gallese, 2006), un fertile ambito di studio si focalizza sulle evidenze scientifiche (Margiotta, 2013) che l’EC, con i suoi atti incarnati (Gomez Paloma,2013), può offrire al mondo della didattica (Borghi, Caruana 2013) e su come costruire metodologie che rispondano efficacemente ai bisogni educativi, anche speciali, degli studenti (Ianes, 2013).In questa direzione, l’obiettivo del presente lavoro è quello di delineare e validare un modello “EC Based” (Gomez Paloma & Damiani 2015) per valorizzare la corporeità come ambiente di apprendimento e contestualizzazione(setting). Tutto ciò partendo dal presupposto che i principi chiave dell’Embodied Cognition offrono inedite opportunità di valorizzazione delle differenze dei processi di apprendimento (Cottini, 2015), rivelandosi estremamente funzionali a realizzare metodologie didattiche innovative