Remember Hard But Think Softly: Metaphorical Effects of Hardness/Softness on Cognitive Functions.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies have found that bodily stimulation, such as hardness biases social judgment and evaluation via metaphorical association; however, it remains unclear whether bodily stimulation also affects cognitive functions, such as memory and creativity. The current study used metaphorical associations between "hard" and "rigid" and between "soft" and "flexible" in Chinese, to investigate whether the experience of hardness affects cognitive functions whose performance depends prospectively on rigidity (memory) and flexibility (creativity). In Experiment 1, we found that Chinese-speaking participants performed better at recalling previously memorized words while sitting on a hard-surface stool (the hard condition) than a cushioned one (the soft condition). In Experiment 2, participants s

SUBMITTER: Xie J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5018472 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature