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Treating thoughts as material objects can increase or decrease their impact on evaluation
Pablo Briñol1, Margarita Gascó, Richard E Petty
1Department of Psychology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Cantoblanco, Carretera de Colmenar Km. 15, Madrid, Spain. pablo.brinnol@uam.es
Psychological Science
|November 28, 2012
Summary
Physically manipulating representations of thoughts influences their mental impact. Discarding thought records reduces their use in judgments, while keeping them increases reliance.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Embodied Cognition
Background:
- Western dualistic philosophy posits a strict separation between mind and matter.
- Metaphorical language often treats thoughts as tangible entities.
- Previous research has not empirically investigated the impact of physical objectification on thought utilization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether objectifying thoughts influences their subsequent use in evaluations.
- To explore the role of physical actions in mediating the relationship between thought objectification and judgment formation.
- To determine if physical enactment amplifies the effects of thought objectification compared to imagination.
Main Methods:
- Participants engaged in thought-related writing tasks (e.g., about body image).
- Physical manipulation of thought representations (e.g., discarding vs. retaining written thoughts) was implemented.
- Subsequent judgments and evaluations were measured to assess thought utilization.
Main Results:
- Physically discarding written thoughts led to reduced reliance on those thoughts in subsequent judgments.
- Retaining and safeguarding written thoughts increased their influence on evaluations.
- Physical actions (vs. imagined actions) produced stronger effects on thought utilization.
Conclusions:
- Physical actions that objectify thoughts can alter their mental accessibility and impact on cognition.
- Embodied cognition principles suggest that physical interactions with thought representations shape subjective experience.
- The findings challenge strict mind-body dualism by demonstrating the influence of physical manipulation on mental processes.
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