The embodied self: Effects of making a fist on the implicit and explicit self-concept of men and women

T.K. Schubert, S.L. Koole

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    In line with recent theories of embodied cognition, the authors propose that the self-concept may be embodied in sensory-motor representations. To test this notion, two studies investigated the effects of bodily feedback from a gesture associated with power (making a fist) on the self-concept. As expected, making a fist led male participants to perceive themselves as more assertive and esteemed (Study 1) and to display stronger associations between the self-concept and power (Study 2), while these effects were absent among female participants. The gender difference may reflect that men are more prone to use physical force to gain social influence. The results indicate that people's conceptions of themselves are partly grounded in bodily experiences. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)828-834
    JournalJournal of Experimental Social Psychology
    Volume45
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2009

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