“Changing” physics through virtual reality
I distinguish between three different forms of “Embodied Cognition”: First, the evolutionary perspective: What sensory abilities do we have? For example, we have two eyes with which we can sense light, which enables us to see. However, unlike many species such as bees or birds, we have no sensory cells for ultraviolet light waves. The same is true for magnetic fields, which we cannot sense. So this is about our disposition, which determines how we process tasks. Second, I believe that we embody knowledge through experience. As children, we learn that there is a bang when we drop a building block on the floor. This is our sensorimotor interpretation based on our learning experience. And as a third perspective in this theory, I consider situated knowledge, which changes from moment to moment. In a recent experiment, for example, we found that people perceive stimuli in their right visual field more quickly when they have just inhaled. Although we have been studying how attention works for decades, no one had noticed this so far. This third level strongly determines how we solve a task. With every challenge, we are therefore governed by evolution, our individual learning history, and our physical condition at a particular moment.
In our department, we want to test existing theories. For this, we need very specific conditions. So far, virtual reality is the only feasible way for us – because it is cheap – to “change” physics but also our own physical conditions. I would like to test existing studies on the influence of the body on cognition in virtual reality, together with our new doctoral student, Jaime Riascos. For example, test subjects are asked to build a tower in VR, but from top to bottom. The more blocks you add at the bottom, the “higher” the tower gets until it finally falls over to the top. Here I am also counting on the VR lab that will be built in the new building 32 in Golm.
More basic research
If we could, we would not only do such tests visually but put the entire body in an almost weightless condition. We developed an experiment to investigate the influence of body orientation in space on spatial cognition. Is it easier to remember previously practiced words such as shoes, roots, or earth when you are floating in a spaceship with your head “up”? How easy is it for us to remember words such as sky, cloud, or God when our head is “down”? We submitted the proposal for the study to the German Aerospace Center (DLR), but unfortunately it was rejected. Not only do these experiments have to be reproducible, they are also very expensive, which is why only a few proposals are successful. Every kilogram that is shot into space costs about 30,000 euros.
If I had more financial and human resources, I would do more basic research. The findings can be applied in a wide range of fields, for example to better understand our relationship to artificial agents. How does it affect interactions between humans and robots if both have a body temperature of 37°C? What does it do to our sense of numbers if our avatar has only three fingers on each hand? Axel Wiepke, who is doing his doctorate with me and Prof. Ulrike Lucke, is already working on the virtual classroom. Many trainee teachers feel nauseous when they put on a VR headset. We want to solve this problem. I am happy when researchers from different disciplines at the university want to collaborate with me on projects to find out more about how the body and cognition are connected.
Martin Fischer has been Professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of Potsdam since 2011.
Embodied Cognition is an approach in cognitive science according to which physical experiences, gestures, and interactions with the environment influence the cognitive system.
This text (in german language) was published in the university magazine Portal - Zwei 2024 „Europa“ (PDF).