Body movements affect Counting

Airn of the present study is to investigate whether and to what extent movements performed with the whole body can influente calculation processes. Participants were askcd to perform additions or subtractions while executing an ascending or dcscending movement in a passive (i.e., by taking the elevator) or active (i.e., by taking the stairs) mode. Results revealed a congruency dieci between the type of calculation made and the direction of the movement perfonned, but only when participants experienced it through a passive mode. Our data are in line with studies providing evidence of a strict link between numerical and spatial representations, and between motor actions and number magnitude processing (motor-to-semantic etTect). Implications of the results for the embodied and grounded nature of numerica! cognition will be considered and discusseci.