Experience Of Embodiment Research Articles

Feminism, Femininity, and Negative Embodiment: A Contemporary Meta-Analytic Test

AbstractPrevious work has examined the relations between feminism, feminine gender roles, and body image concerns with inconclusive findings. The purpose of this study was to conduct an updated meta-analysis of the relation between feminist identity and negative embodiment, and to conduct new analyses to test how endorsement of femininity relates to negative embodiment. Through the technique of meta-analysis, we analyzed 80 studies (87 samples, N = 24,308) and 217 effect sizes to examine these associations. The predictor variables were measures of feminist identity and endorsement of femininity. The negative embodiment criterion variables were measures of body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, internalization of cultural body ideals, and disordered eating attitudes. Feminist identity was found to be negatively associated with negative embodiment, but only modestly, with small but significant effect sizes across most variables. Endorsement of femininity was found to be positively associated with negative embodiment, with mostly significant effect sizes ranging from small to large. These findings underscore the importance of considering the roles of feminist identity and traditional gender ideology in the etiology and prevention of women’s experiences of negative embodiment.

A Certain Kind of Freedom

Άφρικα: A Certain Kind of Freedom is pivoting on artistic exploration and re-interpretation of a 'difficult' recent past. In part soundwalk, in part performance art, in part punk archaeology, in part getting lost in the dark; the work is a nocturnal rumination bringing together historical bewilderedness with first-person embodied experience of a place. The artist leads a night walk towards and inwards Agios Achillios island in Small Prespa Lake in Greece – near the borders of Albania, and North Macedonia – and back. En route, the walking audience is exposed to wildlife sounds and animal vocalisations, to orchestrated drama, and to historical records directly or indirectly concerning the broader geographical area and its significance during the Greek civil war.

Development of Virtual Reality-Based Left Brain System

This paper proposes a virtual reality based Left Brain System named BrainUp World to improve left brain thinking. The left-brain system was employed with mobile virtual reality technology, hand motion tracking and haptic feedback system. The implementation of these systems is to enhance the experience and sense of embodiment. BrainUp World includes virtual reality-based brain training games to improve a person’s attention level, reasoning skill, auditory cognition, arithmetic skill, sequencing skill and memory. The hand tracking system was utilized with an IR camera to capture the hand orientation and return the gesture data to the VR application. A low-cost and lightweight haptic glove was invented which provides the sense of touch using vibrations while interacting with VR contents. An experimental study was conducted to assess the efficacy of BrainUp World compared to traditional PC-based training approaches. Participants were randomly assigned to either the VR-based or PC-based training group and underwent 6 different games to test a person’s attention level, reasoning skill, auditory cognition, arithmetic skill, sequencing skill, and memory. The results revealed a statistically significant improvement in left brain function in the VR-based training group compared to the PC-based group, with a T-score growth of 4.73. Analysis using ANOVA confirmed the significance of this difference (p-Value = 0.04). Notably, the study also identified age-related differences in thinking fluency, highlighting the importance of personalized cognitive training interventions. In conclusion, BrainUp World demonstrates the potential of VR technology in promoting left brain development, as evidenced by empirical findings from the conducted study. By offering immersive and interactive cognitive training experiences, VR-based systems hold promise for enhancing various aspects of cognitive function associated with left hemisphere dominance. Further research in this area is encouraged to explore the full potential of VR-based interventions for cognitive enhancement.

Adverse childhood experiences and profiles of healthy orthorexia versus orthorexia nervosa: towards an explanatory model of orthorexia as a multidimensional eating style

BackgroundOrthorexia is a complex phenomenon comprising distinct dimensions, including orthorexia nervosa (ON) and healthy orthorexia (HO). However, little is known about the factors influencing these dimensions, their disparities, and the psychological factors underlying orthorexia behaviours.ObjectivesThis study aims to explore ON versus HO dimensions and the predictive role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in a nationally representative sample of Polish individuals. In addition, we aim to investigate the mediating roles of alexithymia, embodiment, and experiential avoidance levels in this association.MethodsA representative sample of Polish adults (n = 3557) participated in this study. Dimensions of orthorexia (HO, ON) were assessed using the Teruel Orthorexia Scale, while ACEs were evaluated using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire. Levels of alexithymia were measured using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, experiential avoidance through the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, and embodiment intensity via the Experience of Embodiment Scale.ResultsCluster analysis identified two distinctive orthorexia profiles in the whole sample, i.e., HO (n = 469) and ON (n = 1217), alongside three intermediate HO/ON profiles (n = 1871). The number of ACEs predicted ON tendencies as opposed to HO behaviours in participants. The mediating role of alexithymia, experiential avoidance, and embodiment in the association between ACEs and ON was also observed.ConclusionsOur study suggests that orthorexia is a multidimensional eating style shaped by socio-cultural factors. Adverse childhood experiences may be related to ON behaviours by mediating psychological factors such as experiential avoidance, alexithymia, and embodiment. Effective education and collaborative support are necessary for addressing ON tendencies.

"I Can Feel It in My Spine": Indigenous Women's Embodied Experiences of Violence and Healing.

This article draws on the stories told by Indigenous women in the midwestern United States to explore embodied experiences of violence and how they conceptualize healing in the aftermath of violence. Two focus groups-conducted as talking circles-were completed with 16 Indigenous women. Findings highlight four salient themes: embodied impacts of violence; normalization of violence; (im)possibilities of healing; and strategies for healing. In particular, the women highlighted embodied practices like collective storytelling as a means of healing. This study deepens our understanding of violence against women by promoting Indigenous ways of knowing and uplifting the voices of Indigenous women.

Sense of Embodiment Supports Motor Learning and Adaptation in Tele-robotics

In this paper, we transition from the theoretical and experimental groundwork of manipulating and measuring Sense of Embodiment (SoE) to addressing a fundamental question: What is the purpose of optimizing the SoE in a teleoperation system? This exploration centers on investigating the potential positive effects of SoE on motor adaptation, the acceleration of motor learning, and the potential enhancement of task performance. The paper delves into this investigation by focusing on two critical research questions: 1) what is the effect of SoE on task performance in a perceptual-motor task? 2) What is the effect of SoE on the asymptote of the learning curve in a perceptual-motor task? Drawing insights from the existing literature, the hypothesis emerges that enhancing SoE yields positive effects, not only on task performance (H1) but also on the overall embodiment experience (H2). An additional layer of exploration is introduced through an exploratory research question: Are these results consistent across diverse scenarios and tasks? The study design encompasses two distinct user studies, each set in different applications and featuring various avatars, yet all anchored in similar tasks, specifically a modified peg-in-hole task: 1) in the first experiment, participants operated a robotic arm with a human-like hand as end-effector, and they were required to perform a classic peg-in-hole task; 2) in user study 2, the task is transformed into a variation that we called “peg-on-button”, wherein participants use a robotic arm with a gripper as the end-effector to press a lit button. In both studies, a consistent pattern emerges: a setup that fosters embodiment has a positive impact on motor learning and adaptation, resulting in improved task performance. A supportive setup also reduces the perception of the surrogate as a mere mediator between the operator and the remote environment, especially when contrasted with a setup that suppresses embodiment. The positive effects on motor learning and task performance advocate for the incorporation of embodiment-supportive designs in teleoperational setups. However, the nuanced relationship between SoE and long-term task performance prompts a call for further exploration and consideration of various factors influencing teleoperation outcomes across diverse scenarios and tasks.

Embodiment in the enfacement illusion is mediated by self-other overlap.

The enfacement illusion is a facial version of the rubber hand illusion, in which participants experience tactile stimulation of their own faces synchronously with the observation of the same stimulation applied to another's face. In previous studies, participants have reported experiencing an illusory embodiment of the other's face following synchronous compared to asynchronous stimulation. In a series of three experiments, we addressed the following three questions: (i) how does similarity between the self and the other, operationalized here as being of the same or different gender to the other, impact the experience of embodiment in the enfacement illusion; (ii) does the experience of embodiment result from alterations to the self-concept; and (iii) is susceptibility to the experience of embodiment associated with interoceptive processing, i.e. perception of the internal state of the body? Results indicate that embodiment is facilitated by the similarity between the self and the other and is mediated by the incorporation of the other into the self-concept, but sensitivity to one's own internal states does not impact upon embodiment within the enfacement illusion. This article is part of the theme issue 'Minds in movement: embodied cognition in the age of artificial intelligence'.

The Role of Image Schemas in Interpreting English Phrasal Verbs: A Philosophical and Linguistic Perspective

Phrasal verbs pose challenges for interpretation due to unpredictable meanings. This study examined how image schemas aid comprehension from linguistic and philosophical viewpoints. A literature review methodology integrated insights from cognitive linguistics, philosophy of language, and related fields to provide a comprehensive understanding. Linguistically, image schemas offer a cognitive framework for processing phrasal verbs by mapping meanings to embodied experiences. Philosophically, schemas reflect how language emerges from and shapes conceptualization. Comparative analysis showed linguistics emphasizes schemas' mental role in comprehension, while philosophy explores their existential significance. Results identified schemas like CONTAINER and PATH that extend metaphorically from physical interactions to abstract phrasal verb meanings. Linguistically, schemas provide a framework for analyzing structures and meanings. Philosophically, schemas reflect language's emergence from embodiment and influence on thought. Teaching implications were to connect phrasal verbs to familiar embodied experiences through schemas. Theoretical implications were that schemas are fundamental to thought and linguistic expressions. By synthesizing perspectives, this study enhanced understanding of the intricate cognitive mechanisms linking schemas to phrasal verbs. It highlighted implications for language education and advances in interdisciplinary inquiry into embodied cognition and communication.

Shopping through mobile augmented reality: The impacts of AR embedding and embodiment attributes on consumer-based brand equity

The execution of augmented reality (AR) has become a new method for companies to create a favorable shopping experience. This study investigates consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) in the mobile AR context, especially regarding high- vs. low-innovativeness consumers. We identify three key attributes to signify AR's embedding and embodiment experience—perceived augmentation, simulated physical control, and response time—and confirm their positive influences on overall brand equity through cognitive, affective, and sensory brand association dimensions. The findings also demonstrate that consumer innovativeness moderates the influences of these AR attributes on brand associations. The study provides valuable implications for researchers and managers.

The early career resilience experience of generation Z newly graduated registered nurses in standardized training in the emergency department: a qualitative study in Shanghai

BackgroundThe period of standardized training is a transitional stage when Generation Z newly graduated registered nurses (Gen Z NGRNs) change their role from student to nurse. Affected by the COVID-19, they lack clinical practice and practicum experience in emergency departments in their university studies. At the beginning of career, they are under great pressure. Resilience is one of the factors that reduce their stress level and increases endurance. It is of interest to understand how this representative group of nurses gained and played the experience of resilience early in their careers.ObjectiveTo explore Gen Z NGRNs’ experience and process of resilience, to provide a new perspective and theoretical basis for psychological rehabilitation or intervention of medical staff who experienced transition shock.MethodsThis study employed a qualitative design based on the phenomenological approach. 18 nurses from a third-level class-A hospital in Shanghai who participated in standardized training in emergency department were enrolled using purposive sampling. Data collection was through in-depth and semi-structured interviews and continued until reaching data saturation.ResultsThe investigation uncovered three themes and ten subthemes. Pressure and challenge contained high workload and high risk coexist, death’s stress response, more emergencies and high professional requirements. Coping and adaptation contained team help, psychological restructuring, peer support, transformational leadership. Reflection and planning contained enhance learning, appreciate life.ConclusionsOur study described the embodiment and coping experience of the physical and mental stress faced by Gen Z NGRNs during their standardized training in the emergency department. It is emphasized that nurse educators should pay attention to the character and actual needs of Gen Z NGRNs, explore and formulate strategies, so as to guide NGRNs to quickly adapt and grow in the new role. The ultimate goal is to increase nurse retention and improve the quality of nursing.

Navigating Physical and Digital Environments: Latin American Video Game Studies in Practice

This article reflects on developments in research into Latin American video games two decades after the first studies in the field. In particular, it fills a gap in research by reflecting on the pedagogical uses of video games, focusing both on their value in the undergraduate classroom and on the design of educational games for use by school children, asking to what extent games might afford their players impactful embodied experiences and ways of navigating complex systems of information and power. The case studies centre on the teaching of environmental humanities and digital literacy in a specifically Latin American context.

Babies in the Corporeal Turn: The Cognitive Embodiment of Early Motor Development and Exploration in the Brazilian Context of Early Childhood Education.

The corporeal turn in developmental psychology has rekindled interest regarding how early motor development contributes to and enhances cognitive development across the first years of life. By highlighting embodied perceptual-motor engagement with the world, embodied cognitive learning emphasizes the importance of experience and perceptual-motor mechanisms in modulating the development of person-environment systems. The field currently calls for research that combines such conceptual frameworks with the complex everyday material and sociocultural landscapes that resource infants' developmental trajectories. We, therefore, aim to connect the conceptual refinement of bodily-anchored exploration to the contextual reality of everyday settings of early childhood education (ECE)-here situated in the Brazilian context-as relevant social and cultural suppliers and modulators of the developmental trajectories of babies. Secondarily, we ponder on the premises of national pedagogical curricula and their role in mediating the quality of experiences and systems of person-environment relations more closely. Cultural-historical psychology, in dialogue with the principles of Ecological Psychology, constitutes the theoretical framework that underpins the microgenetic analyses conducted. By analyzing episodes of exploratory actions of a focal baby situated in the ECE context, we seek to apprehend motor-perceptual indicators of embodied cognitive processing by considering the modes of appropriation entailed in episodes of embodied exploration. We reflect on pedagogical implications considering official national documents of early childhood education. This work contributes by providing complementary insights into the nature of infants' everyday sociocultural embodied experiences and their development in pedagogically oriented settings.

Birth at Home – At Home With Birth

In Canada, homebirth and midwifery seem to be inseparable. Prior to regulation, women wanting homebirths sought midwives and women wanting midwifery care often gave birth at home. Choice of birthplace, including the option of homebirth became a central tenet of regulated midwifery across the country. In this paper, the experience of homebirth is explored. Women and midwives from four provinces, both before and after midwifery regulation, spoke of their experiences of homebirth. Using hermeneutic phenomenological analysis, themes related to experiences of time, space, relationships and embodiment were identified. While some of the women's stories include comparisons of their births at homeandhospital,theobjectiveistouncoverwhatitisliketogivebirthathome notwhatisbetterorsafer or more challenging than other birthplace choices.

Animating migration journeys from Colombia to Chile: expressing embodied experience through co-produced film

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the process of co-producing an animated film about the migration journeys of Colombian women resident in Antofagasta, Chile. It first establishes the relationship between feminist epistemologies and arts-based methodologies, which hinges on embodiment. It then turns to a detailed discussion of using film co-production as a research method for accessing and expressing embodied experiences of migration. This discussion highlights how moments of discomfort (Gokariksel, Hawkins, Neubert, and Smith, 2021) experienced by the researcher motivated the search for a more collaborative methodological approach that was better attuned to lived experience. This included striving towards more inclusive practices with respect to recruitment, anonymity, and confidentiality. Moments of discomfort also revealed how care and caring responsibilities are entangled with research, and how they gender possibilities of participation and production for community co-producers and artists, as well as for researchers. Finally, through discomfort, lessons were learned about the politics of representing experiences of migration, violence, and endurance, as well as joy. The paper concludes that, whilst by no means a panacea, collaborative arts-based research methods can offer an innovative toolset for exploring embodied experience and for navigating the relational and representational complexities attendant to research.

Phenomenology of Misfits

Practice as Research is a powerful tool that can be utilized by academic misfits to share and engage with research via varied embodied experiences that has a legitimate and valuable space in academic symposia. The inclusion of academic misfits contributes to the academy by providing distinctively nuanced perspectives and research inquiries and has the potential to provide wider accessibility to audiences, academics, and industry. This paper adds to the body of literature which denotes the benefits and possible limitations of the use of Practice as Research by situating this discussion in the context of a case study of a 2022 academic symposium that encouraged the use of Practice as Research.

"I felt like a little kind of jolt of energy in my chest": embodiment in learning in continuing professional development for general practitioners.

Learning in medical education encompasses a broad spectrum of learning theories, and an embodiment perspective has recently begun to emerge in continuing professional development (CPD) for health professionals. However, empirical research into the experience of embodiment in learning in CPD is sparse, particularly in the practice of general medicine. In this study, we aimed to explore general practitioners' (GPs') learning experiences during CPD from an embodiment perspective, studying the appearance of elements of embodiment-the body, actions, emotions, cognition, and interactions with the surroundings and others-to build an explanatory structure of embodiment in learning. We drew on the concepts of embodied affectivity and mutual incorporation to frame our understanding of embodiment. Four Danish and three Canadian GPs were interviewed to gain insight into specific learning experiences; the interviews and the analysis were inspired by micro-phenomenology, augmented with a complex adaptive systems approach. We constructed an explanatory structure of learning with two entrance points (disharmony and mundanity), an eight-component learning phase, and an ending phase with two exit points (harmony and continuing imbalance). All components of the learning phase-community, pride, validation, rehearsal, do-ability, mind-space, ambiance, and preparing for the future-shared features of embodied affectivity and mutual incorporation and interacted in multi-directional and non-linear ways. We discuss integrating the embodiment perspective into existing learning theories and argue that CPD for GPs would benefit from doing so.

Iconicity in Chinese Sign Language and Filipino Sign Language

Sign language is primarily used as a means of communication by the deaf and hard of hearing. Iconicity is considered as its typical feature. This paper makes a preliminary comparison on lexical items between Chinese Sign Language (CSL) and Filipino Sign Language (FSL) through examining the iconic devices used by the CSL and FSL signs. The study provides some valuable evidence that the iconicity is prevalent in CSL and FSL which always use similar iconic device for the same concept due to shared embodied experience though different iconic devices are occasionally used. These iconic devices include direct (1) presentation; (2) number representation; (3) shape representation; (4) movement representation (5) size representation; (6) part-for-whole representation; (7) metonymic/metaphorical representation. The findings of the research could help to reveal the relationship between language and cognition and make some contributions to the communications among the deaf and hard of hearing in both Chian and the Philippines.

The Screaming Thing: A Material Ecocritical Exploration of Trauma in Aleksandrs Pelēcis’s Poems

This article investigates the intersection of trauma studies and new materialism, offering a fresh perspective on human trauma through the prism of nonhuman forces. Drawing inspiration from material ecocriticism, a paradigm that evolved from materialist and posthumanist ideas and has not yet been brought into contact with trauma studies, the article underscores the significance of considering the embodiment of experience, thus arriving at an extended notion of trauma. This new theoretical framework is tested by examining the testimonial poetry of Latvian writer Aleksandrs Pelēcis, who was deported to Siberia by Soviet authorities in 1946. His poems employ inanimate objects and animals to create metonymical and metaphorical connections between human and nonhuman actors within the context of long exile. By illuminating a shared experiential space, Pelēcis manages to project and diffract traumatic feelings and memories, thus making them more comprehensible to his readers. This, in turn, places trauma studies on a trajectory away from the traditional conceptualisation of the inexpressible and the awkward.

‘Tele_Trust’ and ‘Touch My Touch’: co-creating social touch and trust experience through telematic platforms

ABSTRACT ‘Can telematic platforms be created to share embodied experience of social touch?’. This paper addresses the design of shared presence via telematic platforms, on the basis of shared embodied experience of touching and feeling touched, in empathic interplay. Two Artistic Social Labs platforms that re-orchestrate and merge visual, haptic and facial input, supported by telematic platforms, are discussed and analysed. The hybrid platform ‘Tele_Trust’ (2009) makes use of smart textiles with touch sensors, and mobile phone app and urban screen technologies. The online platform ‘Touch My Touch’ (2021) is based on streaming, face-recognition and portrait merging technologies. The CITYO model ‘Can I Touch You Online?’ (Lancel 2023) is used to analyse and evaluate the effects of design choices on the experience of social touch. The results show that a sense of reciprocal influence (characteristic to social touch) can be established via telematic platforms, through sensory and social design for co-creation. Additional results provide insights for the future design of shared presence, through experience of social touch in reciprocal empathic interplay, via telematic platforms.

The Guli: A Shrine of Fluctuating Agencies. Materiality, Spirits and Psychosomatic Experience in the Afro-Amerindian Religion of Dugu

The present article explores how the construction of a guli, the spirits’ shrine and the central ritual space par excellence in the Afro-Amerindian religion of Dugu, reveals a material-spiritual dialectic between the spirits of the dead and spirit mediums. I argue that the anthropomorphizing of the guli occurs not only through intense, repetitive ritual activity but also through the potent association of embodiment and uncomfortable psychosomatic experiences. Contrary to simply attributing humanity to the guli for representation of the divine, my ethnography shows that the shrine also transforms into a material extension of the practitioner, creating a triadic configuration of materials, bodies, and spirits. In this manner, the Garifuna shrine gives rise to two ontological possibilities of animation: being ritually “ensouled” with human substances and invisible forces and becoming animated when it manifests in the medium’s body.