Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Cognitive Processing https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-018-0860-y SHORT COMMUNICATION Mere ownership of memory: motor manipulation during encoding afects memory for words Jaclynn V. Sullivan 1  · Jenna M. Potvin 1  · Stephen D. Christman 1 Received: 20 June 2017 / Accepted: 21 March 2018 © Marta Olivetti Belardinelli and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Involving the body in learning increases the impact information has on memory (Johnson-Glenberg et al. in Front Psychol 7(1819):1–22, 2016), especially when that information is self-relevant (Truong et al. in J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 42(3):375–385, 2016). Yet, prior research has only examined the efect of self-relevant movement (i.e., toward the self or away from the self) on memory through passive joystick fexion or extension (Oakes and Onyper in Cognit Process 18:325–333, 2017). Therefore, the current research sought to replicate the “toward: remember” and “away: forget” motor-induced self- reference efects on memory with actual body movement. Participants in two experiments took notes on a word list and either pushed notes away, pulled notes toward them, moved notes laterally, or wrote the words in a list. Results showed that participants who pulled hand-written notes toward them had better recall than those who pushed notes away from them or moved them laterally. Results suggest implicitly taking ownership of material in an embodied manner may infuence how much is recalled. Keywords Movement · Embodied cognition · Motor manipulation · Memory · Self-reference Introduction There is growing interest in how motor movement infu- ences what we think, feel, and remember. As researchers depart from seeing the mind as a computer, with symbolic data being input in order to yield a symbolic output, a view of the mind as inextricably linked to the body has emerged in embodied cognition. Embodied cognition explains that living with a human sensory and motor system infuences how we think and experience emotions (Davis and Markman 2012). One meaningful application of embodied cognition theory concerns how the mind–body connection infuences learning and education (Evans et al. 2009; Stolz 2015). Research concerning the body and its central role in learning has shown that as students’ bodies become more involved in their learning, they remember more of the material they were taught (Lindgren and Johnson-Glenberg 2013; John- son-Glenberg et al. 2016). Movement afords students with information that infuences their processing and enhances their memory. (For review, see Madan and Singhal 2012.) While the research in embodied cognition suggests that movement infuences the thought process and can increase memory, there is little specifcation about the type of move- ment required to infuence memory. If memory is enhanced through movement, the movement itself should not be arbi- trary. Instead, the movement should be directly tied to the material. Recent research by Truong and colleagues (2016) suggests that memory can be enhanced by engaging in fex- ion (i.e., pulling) movements. They suggest that fexion movements induce a sense of ownership—such that peo- ple who pull items toward themselves feel as though the items then belong to them. The researchers explored whether “owned” items would maintain their importance to the par- ticipant after engaging in motor movement. Prior work has shown that owned items are seen as more valuable (More- wedge and Giblin 2015) and are more likely to be remem- bered (Cunningham et al. 2008) if the items were extended away from the body (i.e., pushed) compared to being pulled toward the self. The participants who pulled owned items Handling editor: Martin H. Fischer (University of Potsdam); Reviewers: Alex Miklashevsky (University of Potsdam) and two anonymous reviewers. * Jaclynn V. Sullivan sullivan.jaclynn@gmail.com 1 Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, 2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo, OH 43615, USA