Thomas Laura E, Lleras Alejandro
Psychology Department, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
Cognition. 2009 May;111(2):168-74. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2009.01.005. Epub 2009 Feb 26.
Previous research shows that directed actions can unconsciously influence higher-order cognitive processing, helping learners to retain knowledge and guiding problem solvers to useful insights (e.g. Cook, S. W., Mitchell, Z., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2008). Gesturing makes learning last. Cognition, 106, 1047-1058; Thomas, L. E., & Lleras, A. (2007). Moving eyes and moving thought: on the spatial compatibility between eye movements and cognition. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 14, 663-668). We examined whether overt physical movement is necessary for these embodied effects on cognition, or whether covert shifts of attention are sufficient to influence cognition. We asked participants to try to solve Duncker's radiation problem while occasionally directing them, via an unrelated digit-tracking task, to shift their attention (while keeping their eyes fixed) in a pattern related to the problem's solution, to move their eyes in this pattern, or to keep their eyes and their attention fixed in the center of the display. Although they reported being unaware of any relationship between the digit-tracking task and the radiation problem, participants in both the eye-movement and attention-shift groups were more likely to solve the problem than were participants who maintained fixation. Our results show that by shifting attention in a pattern compatible with a problem's solution, we can aid participants' insight even in the absence of overt physical movements.
先前的研究表明，定向动作能够在无意识层面影响高阶认知加工，帮助学习者巩固知识，并引导问题解决者获得有用的见解（例如，库克，S. W.，米切尔，Z.，&戈尔丁 - 梅多，S.（2008年）。手势使学习更持久。《认知》，106，1047 - 1058；托马斯，L. E.，&耶拉斯，A.（2007年）。眼睛移动与思维移动：关于眼睛运动与认知之间的空间兼容性。《心理onomic通报与评论》，14，663 - 668）。我们探究了对于这些认知的具身效应而言，明显的身体动作是否必要，或者注意力的隐蔽转移是否足以影响认知。我们要求参与者尝试解决邓克尔辐射问题，同时偶尔通过一项不相关的数字追踪任务引导他们，使其注意力（眼睛保持不动）以一种与问题解决方案相关的模式转移，以这种模式移动眼睛，或者将眼睛和注意力保持固定在显示屏中心。尽管参与者报告未意识到数字追踪任务与辐射问题之间存在任何关联，但眼动组和注意力转移组的参与者比保持固定状态的参与者更有可能解决问题。我们的研究结果表明，通过以与问题解决方案相兼容的模式转移注意力，即使在没有明显身体动作的情况下，我们也能够帮助参与者获得洞察力。
