Embodied cognitive restructuring: The impact of posture and movement on changing dysfunctional attitudes

Previous theoretical and empirical work has pointed to the important role of the body in emotion generation and emotion regulation. In the present study, we wanted to investigate if the performance of certain body postures and movement could facilitate cognitive restructuring of dysfunctional cognitive attitudes more effectively than traditional, verbal-only methods.

In total, 130 participants were randomized to one of two groups. One group was subjected to cognitive restructuring (i.e., restructure only group; CR-only), verbally exploring a dysfunctional attitude from a curious, strong, and courageous perspective. The other group received the same verbal instructions but in addition to this, was asked to perform different bodily exercises (i.e., motor-enhanced restructuring group; M-CR) supposed to enhance experience of the different perspectives from which cognitive restructuring was employed.

Results confirmed the primary hypothesis, showing that the M-CR-group showed a larger decline in belief in dysfunctional attitudes compared with the CR-only group (F = 4.2, p = 0.041, d = 0.25). No differences on secondary outcomes were observed between the two groups.

Future research should explore the effects of motor-enhanced CR both more long-term (e.g., durability over weeks) and in clinical samples (e.g., anxiety and depression).

Should the findings be replicated in clinical samples, it is encouraging that simple bodily exercises can enhance the effect of one of the most central skills of cognitive therapy.