Abstract
Recent research has shown that objects near the hands receive preferential visual processing. However, it is not known whether proximity to the hands can affect executive functions. Here we show, using two popular paradigms, that people exhibit enhanced cognitive control for stimuli that are near their hands: We observed reduced interference from incongruent flankers in a visual attention task, and reduced costs when switching to an alternative task in a task-switching paradigm. The results reveal a remarkable influence of posture on cognitive function and have implications for assessing the potential benefits of working on handheld devices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 462-469 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Psychonomic Bulletin and Review |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2014 |
Keywords
- Cognitive control
- Embodied cognition
- Hand posture
- Task switching
- Visual attention