What is Embodied Cognition?

Embodied Cognition is a mental model used for better thinking and decision-making.

How do you apply Embodied Cognition?

To apply Embodied Cognition, identify situations where this framework is relevant, then use it as a lens to evaluate your options and decisions. The model is most useful when combined with other complementary mental models.

What category does Embodied Cognition fall under?

Embodied Cognition falls under the Psychology & Behavior category of mental models. Other models in this category can be found on the Psychology & Behavior hub page.

Why is Embodied Cognition important?

Embodied Cognition is important because it provides a structured way to think about problems that would otherwise be approached with intuition alone. Understanding this model helps you avoid common reasoning errors and make better decisions.

Where does Embodied Cognition come from?

Embodied Cognition is discussed in the tradition of Lakoff & Johnson.

Embodied Cognition Mental Model…

Lakoff and Johnson's framework: thought is shaped by the body. We "grasp" ideas, "warm" to people, give "cold" shoulders. The language is not decorative. It reveals the sensorimotor foundations of abstract cognition. Concepts are grounded in physical experience — the brain did not evolve separate systems for physical sensation and social judgment. It repurposed the same circuitry. Physical warmth and social warmth feel similar because they are processed by the same neural substrate. You cannot fully separate mind from body. Environment design affects outcomes.

Amy Cuddy's power poses — expansive posture increasing confidence — were disputed. The replication attempts failed. But the broader principle holds: physical posture affects cognitive state. Standing desks change how you think. Walking meetings improve creativity. Steve Jobs held walking meetings because he understood that movement and conversation produced different ideas than sitting across a table. The body in motion is not the same cognitive system as the body at rest.

Amazon's "two-pizza teams" — physical proximity and team size affect cognition. Small teams that fit in a room can think together. Large teams fragment. The constraint was not arbitrary. It reflected a bet that the embodied conditions of collaboration — who you can see, who you can reach, who shares your physical space — shape the quality of collective thinking. The insight: you cannot optimise cognitive output without considering the physical environment in which cognition occurs.

Embodied Cognition

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