Embodiment Research Research Articles

Multimodal Embodiment Research of Oral Music Traditions: Electromyography in Oud Performance and Education Research of Persian Art Music

With the recent advent of research focusing on the body’s significance in music, the integration of physiological sensors in the context of empirical methodologies for music has also gained momentum. Given the recognition of covert muscular activity as a strong indicator of musical intentionality and the previously ascertained link between physical effort and various musical aspects, electromyography (EMG)—signals representing muscle activity—has also experienced a noticeable surge. While EMG technologies appear to hold good promise for sensing, capturing, and interpreting the dynamic properties of movement in music, which are considered innately linked to artistic expressive power, they also come with certain challenges, misconceptions, and predispositions. The paper engages in a critical examination regarding the utilisation of muscle force values from EMG sensors as indicators of physical effort and musical activity, particularly focusing on (the intuitively expected link to) sound levels. For this, it resides upon empirical work, namely practical insights drawn from a case study of music performance (Persian instrumental music) in the context of a music class. The findings indicate that muscle force can be explained by a small set of (six) statistically significant acoustic and movement features, the latter captured by a state-of-the-art (full-body inertial) motion capture system. However, no straightforward link to sound levels is evident.

The Body of the Artist, in the Body of Christ: Toward a Theology of the Embodied Arts

One insight at the heart of embodiment research is that the particular, material human body is the nexus of two loci: as an integration of sensory apparatuses, the body is the receptive locus of the world; at the same time, the body is the locus of responsive engagement with the world. Working from the framework of embodiment, this essay is a theological exploration of the arts, with particular attention given to the artist. The first half details two controlling ideas about the nature of embodiment and the arts: (i) the arts are necessarily embodied, and (ii) the Christian artist is in Christ’s body. Here I examine how the artwork and the artist are necessarily embodied—the body is the horizon on which the arts are possible. With these two controlling ideas in hand, the second half of the essay considers three implications: (i) the artist works in and for the church; (ii) the arts are a gift of the Holy Spirit; and (iii) the arts are a place where the church experiences the Spirit’s working. These implications yield, among other insights, the finding that Christ’s body is the horizon on which the Christian arts are possible.

Students’ Mathematical Thinking in Movement

AbstractMathematics education research is increasingly focused on how students’ movement interacts with their cognition. Although usually characterized as embodiment research, movement research often theorizes the body in diverse ways. Ingold (Making: Anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture, 2013) proposes that thinking and knowing emerge from the entwined, dynamic flows of human and non-human materials in a process called making and, following Sheets-Johnstone (The primacy of movement (Vol. 82), 2011), contends that humans think in movement. The study that this paper draws on employs Ingold’s making to study students’ movement during mathematical problem solving. In this paper I also recruit Laban’s movement elements (Laban & Ullmann, 1966/2011) as a framework to describe and analyse how the body moves in space and time and to incorporate the often-forgotten dynamic qualities of movement. This paper investigates the movement of a small group of tertiary students as they engage with a mathematical prompt (a task in Abstract Algebra), using thick description, to answer the questions: (1) How do students think mathematically in movement? (2) How do Laban’s elements help inform research into students’ movement? Through the lens of Laban’s movement elements, my analysis demonstrates that students think mathematically in movement. These findings suggest that mathematics educators may be overlooking valuable instances of students’ mathematical thinking and knowing: the thinking and knowing in movement which may not be available through verbalizations or artefacts. Although thinking in movement does not fit a traditional conceptualization of undergraduate mathematics, which privileges written communication heavily reliant on notation, to understand students’ mathematical cognition more comprehensively, mathematics educators need to reconsider and appreciate students’ mathematical thinking in movement.

“I tried to appreciate it in a different way”: Older lesbian, bisexual, and queer women’s body image and embodiment across the life course

We examined the life histories of older lesbian, bisexual, and queer women, focusing on the stories they told about their bodies and sexuality from early to later life. Guided by a narrative constructionist approach, a series of two life history interviews were conducted with 17 lesbian, bisexual, and queer women aged 65–86. Two themes were constructed through a narrative thematic analysis: Queering the Corset: Negotiating Gender Expression and (Aspirational) Aging Body Acceptance. Participants experienced body-related freedom through ‘tomboy’ expressions of physicality as children. This body autonomy was constrained in adolescence and adulthood due to heterosexist messages surrounding idealized femininity relayed by family and (heterosexual) men, which disrupted self-care yet catalyzed attuned, queer desire and positive embodiment. Women worked to accept their bodies as they aged; they experienced some body dissatisfaction in relation to age-related body changes, yet gratitude and pride in their older queer identities. The findings highlight concurrent positive and negative body image, and breadth of body-related experiences ranging from attunement and agency to discomfort and disruption throughout the life course. This work contributes to body image and embodiment research by moving beyond dominant (youthful) heteronormative perspectives by illuminating how ageism and heterosexism can shape body-related experiences.

Jennifer Frank Tantia, The Art and Science of Embodied Research Design: Concepts, Methods and Cases, (New York: Routledge, 2021). pp. 248. $112.00 Hardback, $34.26 Softback

Jennifer Frank Tantia, The Art and Science of Embodied Research Design: Concepts, Methods and Cases, (New York: Routledge, 2021). pp. 248. $112.00 Hardback, $34.26 Softback

Failure of motor function-A Developmental Embodiment Research perspective on the systemic effects of stress.

Humans are capable to skillfully perform a huge variety of complex movements seemingly effortless and to flexibly adjust movement execution to ever-changing environmental conditions, often without apparent differences in the movement outcome. This impressive ability has sparked scientific interest in the mechanisms underlying movement execution for decades. In this perspective article, we argue that investigating the processes and mechanisms leading to failure of motor functions is a fruitful approach to advance the field of human motor neuroscience and beyond. The study of failure of motor function in specific populations (patient groups, skilled experts) has already provided tremendous insight in the systemic characteristics and multi-level functional dependencies of movement execution. However, particularly the transient failure of function in everyday motor actions remains a blind spot. Coming from the perspective of Developmental Embodiment Research, we argue that the integration of a developmental embodiment and lifespan perspective with existing systemic and multi-level methodological approaches of failure of function analyses provides an integrative, interdisciplinary framework, which will allow us to overcome this shortcoming. We further suggest that stress-induced failure of motor function situations might represent a promising starting point for this endeavor. Identifying the involved cross-level functional dependencies of acute and chronic stress on transient and persistent motor functioning would further advance our knowledge on the mechanisms underlying movement execution, and would allow to identify targets for intervention and prevention across the whole spectrum of motor function and failure.

Solving Rubik’s Cube and Ph.D. journey: A multi-faceted endeavor

The purpose of this study was to provide a basic understanding of the Rubik’s Cube and its application to pursuing a Ph.D. degree from the aspects of the process, development, and characteristics, as well as creating a vision for the learning. This study followed a narrative research design that focused on the researcher’s personal experiences as a method of embodiment research of solving the Rubik’s Cube and its application in pursuing a Ph.D. degree. Solving Rubik’s cube and the author’s Ph.D. journey is a multi-faceted endeavor. For procedural in nature: “No one can reach the peak of the ladder without stepping on the first”, is a physiological endeavor. Commitment to success: “Nothing really matters than your will to succeed” is an emotional endeavor. Rewarding Experience: “Rewards may not always be in the form of candy or fancy little things, there are a lot more” is a social endeavor. Acceptance of flaws and limitations: “Acceptance of Flaws and Limitations is a state of the mind. Mind over matter” is a mental endeavor.

A trickle-down model of organizational embodiment and the impact of supervisor neuroticism

AbstractThe majority of supervisor organizational embodiment (SOE) research has focused on its role as an important boundary condition in the context of leadership and management studies. In a multi-source field study, we seek to extend this research stream by examining an antecedent and outcome of SOE. Specifically, we leverage social cognitive theory to develop and test a trickle-down model of organizational embodiment across three organizational levels (i.e., upper-level managers, middle-level supervisors, and lower-level employees). Subsequently, we propose and demonstrate that manager organizational embodiment (MOE) trickles down and positively impacts SOE. In turn, SOE trickles down and positively impacts employee organizational embodiment. Furthermore, supervisor neuroticism strengthens the relationship between MOE and SOE when supervisor neuroticism is relatively high compared to relatively low. The findings provide evidence for a trickle-down model of organizational embodiment. Theoretical contributions, practical implications, and future research are discussed.

"The Eye, The Finger, and the Foot": Methodological Sententiae for Embodied Research Creation

"The Eye, The Finger, and the Foot": Methodological Sententiae for Embodied Research Creation

A Thin Line Between Helpful and Harmful Internet Usage: Embodied Research on Internet Experiences Among Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to expand upon findings from a prior Delphi study of adolescent and young adults' (AYAs') preferences for cancer resources. Utilizing an embodied approach, this study intended to elucidate a deeper and nuanced understanding of the expressed benefits and risks of engaging in cancer-related online interactions. Methods: Using Gale et al.'s framework method for qualitative, multidisciplinary health research and Thanem and Knights's embodied research methods for the social sciences, an investigative team of embodied researchers (AYA cancer patients turned researchers) conducted semistructured in-depth interviews with AYA cancer patients (n = 10) diagnosed between ages 15 and 39 years. To generate themes, researchers identified commonalities and differences within the qualitative data, and indexed codes according to the agreed analytic framework. Furthermore, by fully engaging with personal reflexivity, bracketing, and analytic memos across data collection and analysis, the investigative team elucidated benefits and risks of embodied research. Results: Findings impart evidence on AYAs' needs for internet-based content at the time of cancer diagnosis, use of the internet to fulfill cancer-related needs, perception of gaps in online cancer resources, and advice to other AYA cancer patients accessing internet-based information and support. Content analysis of interview data on participants' descriptions of personal engagement with the internet revealed beneficial themes of empowerment and harmful themes of fear-inducing consequences. Conclusions: In our rapidly evolving context of postpandemic internet reliance, developers of online cancer content should prioritize and respond to the nuanced vulnerabilities of AYAs. Future research must include socioeconomically disadvantaged participants to better understand practical challenges and promote health equity.

A social exchange examination of upper-level management and supervisor organizational embodiment: the roles of supervisor psychological contract fulfillment and conscientiousness

ABSTRACT In effort to extend supervisor organizational embodiment (SOE) research, we integrate social exchange and psychological contract theories to examine and explain how upper-level management impacts SOE. We propose that when upper-level managers demonstrate ethical leadership, middle-level supervisors are likely to reciprocate positively by acting as organizational agents who embody the key attributes of their organizations. Conversely, when upper-level managers demonstrate abusive management, middle-level supervisors are likely to reciprocate negatively by acting as independent agents who reject the key attributes of their organizations. We also position and find support that supervisor psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) mediates the relationships between (1) upper-level managerial ethical leadership and SOE and (2) upper-level abusive management and SOE. Additionally, high levels of supervisor conscientiousness strengthened these relationships. In summary, results from a multi-source field study support our proposed first-stage moderated-mediation model. Implications, limitations, and future research are noted.

A self-administered virtual reality intervention increases COVID-19 vaccination intention

Effective interventions for increasing people’s intention to get vaccinated are crucial for global health, especially considering COVID-19. We devised a novel intervention using virtual reality (VR) consisting of a consultation with a general practitioner for communicating the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination and, in turn, increasing the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19.We conducted a preregistered online experiment with a 2×2 between-participant design. People with eligible VR headsets were invited to install our experimental application and complete the ten minute virtual consultation study at their own discretion. Participants were randomly assigned across two age conditions (young or old self-body) and two communication conditions (with provision of personal benefit of vaccination only, or collective and personal benefit). The primary outcome was vaccination intention (score range 1–100) measured three times: immediately before and after the study, as well as one week later.Five-hundred-and-seven adults not vaccinated against COVID-19 were recruited. Among the 282 participants with imperfect vaccination intentions (<100), the VR intervention increased pre-to-post vaccination intentions across intervention conditions (mean difference 8.6, 95% CI 6.1 to 11.1,p<0.0001). The pre-to-post difference significantly correlated with the vaccination intention one week later, ρ=0.20,p<0.0001.The VR intervention was effective in increasing COVID-19 vaccination intentions both when only personal benefits and personal and collective benefits of vaccination were communicated, with significant retention one week after the intervention. Utilizing recent evidence from health psychology and embodiment research to develop immersive environments with customized and salient communication efforts could therefore be an effective tool to complement public health campaigns.

Opinion: Advancing Embodiment Research From a Developmental Point of View.

Opinion: Advancing Embodiment Research From a Developmental Point of View.

A Developmental Framework for Embodiment Research: The Next Step Toward Integrating Concepts and Methods.

Embodiment research is at a turning point. There is an increasing amount of data and studies investigating embodiment phenomena and their role in mental processing and functions from across a wide range of disciplines and theoretical schools within the life sciences. However, the integration of behavioral data with data from different biological levels is challenging for the involved research fields such as movement psychology, social and developmental neuroscience, computational psychosomatics, social and behavioral epigenetics, human-centered robotics, and many more. This highlights the need for an interdisciplinary framework of embodiment research. In addition, there is a growing need for a cross-disciplinary consensus on level-specific criteria of embodiment. We propose that a developmental perspective on embodiment is able to provide a framework for overcoming such pressing issues, providing analytical tools to link timescales and levels of embodiment specific to the function under study, uncovering the underlying developmental processes, clarifying level-specific embodiment criteria, and providing a matrix and platform to bridge disciplinary boundaries among the involved research fields.

Embodiment and Social Distancing: Editorial

We are at a point in history in which bodies are linked in truly unprecedented ways. There are new types of limitations, new opportunities, and also new kinds of violence taking place through these connections. It is a lot to take in and very challenging to grasp as it unfolds. In this editorial video essay, the editors of the Journal of Embodied Research’s special issue on “embodiment and social distancing” introduce the fifteen video essays that follow.

Should I Represent You? Abusive Management and Supervisor Organizational Embodiment

In effort to extend supervisor organizational embodiment (SOE) research, we integrate social exchange and psychological detachment theories to examine and explain how abusive management impacts SOE. Consistent with social exchange theory, we propose that when supervisors experience abusive management (i.e., middle-level supervisors being abused by upper-level managers), they reciprocate in kind negatively with an unfavorable desire to embody the organization. We also position and find support that supervisor feelings of violation (FOV) mediates the relationship between abusive management and SOE. Additionally, supervisor turnover intentions, which are an indicator of supervisors’ psychological detachment from the organization, are considered as a moderator of the influence of FOV on SOE such that high turnover intentions strengthen the negative relationship. Results from a multi-source field study support our proposed second-stage moderated-mediation model. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Embodied Insights: Broadening the Scope of Management Research with a Bodily Lens

This panel symposium is designed to advance critical dialogue about the theoretical and methodological application of embodiment inquiry in organizational studies. Embodiment inquiry refers to research into organizational phenomena that foregrounds the inextricable links between the body, its senses, and actions, as well as cognition and its related processes. Congruent with the conference theme, Broadening Our Sight, the panel symposium will address opportunities embodiment research provides for addressing “dichotomies that stand in the way of producing actionable knowledge to address[ing] monumental challenges…that have emerged over time” (Aguinas, Academy of Management, 2019). Specifically, we aim to focus on two epistemological dichotomies: (1) a long tradition of Cartesian dualism (i.e. the primary identification of the individual with the mind as separate from the body) in scientific inquiry (including the social sciences), psychology and organizational studies (Hindmarsh & Pilnick, 2007; Michel, 2015), and (2) the bifurcation of cognition and emotion in traditional organizational behavior and psychology research (Lazarus, 1982 & 1984; Leventhal & Scherer, 1987). We note that the above epistemological stances ground both theoretical and methodological choices made by researchers who study phenomena in organizations.

The reverse Napoleon effect: The brand appreciation of looking up by tall people

AbstractIntegrating the embodied cognition framework with research on the self, this study shows that head canting (the vertical tilt of the head to look up vs. down) interacts with a viewer's physical height to influence perceived brand power and behavioral intentions. Three studies use a variety of brand cues in both laboratory and field contexts to test the effect of head canting on brand power evaluations, the role of a person's physical height as a moderator and boundary condition, and the mediating role of consumer–brand identification. Study 1, an experiment, showed that tall, but not short individuals, evaluate a brand as more powerful when looking up (rather than down) at a brand story from a standing position, with differences in brand power impacting brand attitudes and choice. Study 2 replicates these findings with 30 brands, consumers positioned in a seated position, and brand logos. Both studies rule out the construal level as a process mediator. Study 3 further examines the process and demonstrates that the interaction of head canting with a person's height impacts consumer–brand identification, which mediates brand evaluations. These findings add a brand management and physical‐self perspective to previous embodiment research by specifically examining the effects of sensorimotor experiences.

Book Review: Embodied Research Methods by Torkild Thanem and David Knights

Book Review: <i>Embodied Research Methods</i> by Torkild Thanem and David Knights

Multiplicity of stigma: the experiences, fears and knowledge of young trafficked women in Nepal

We undertook a reproductive health study on young formerly trafficked women in Nepal using a new research method – the Clay Embodiment Research Method – designed with their vulnerability and the cultural context in mind. Following a two-month period of participant observation, six formerly trafficked women participated in a series of seven themed (clay embodiment/three-dimensional body mapping) workshops and, afterward, a group interview using photoethnography. We discovered that these women are subject to cultural stigmas other than those related to sex trafficking, such as menstrual stigma, stigma related to pre-marital sex, stigma related to pregnancy before marriage and stigma for having a female child. These can have a deep impact across the entire reproductive lives of women. As a cultural force, the stigmatisation is generated by both men and women, and has roots that lie in Hinduism and the patriarchal value system in Nepal. Nepal is attempting to address some of these issues and we recommend a public health campaign to eliminate the practice of the menstruation and other stigmatising traditions.