The influence of body motion on random number generation

Knowledge and thinking are constrained by sensory-motor processes. This increasingly influential view has been termed the “embodiment theory” and proposes that bodily actions directly impact the quality of mental representations. The present study specifically aimed to investigate the influence of passive whole-body movement on numerical cognition. Two recent studies (Loetscher, et al., 2008; Hartmann, et al. 2011) indeed indicate that head or body movements can induce a shift of the attention on the mental number line. More precisely, leftward movements seemed to enhance small number generation while rightward movements led to larger number generation. The current study investigated this effect by using a non-motorized rotating chair. Concretely, while seated, participants were cyclically rotated 40 times for a movement amplitude of 90° from left to right and vice versa at an average frequency of 0.3 Hz. During each 90° movement segment they had to randomly produce numbers ranging between 1 and 30, but for methodological reasons the six extreme numbers were excluded from the analysis. The results indicate that the average number produced during leftward movement was smaller than the average number produced during rightward movement. These findings confirm the impact of passive whole-body movement on the production of numerical stimuli, indicating that rotation-movements of the body can displace attention on the mental number line.