Name Jelle van Dijk
Advisors Kees Overbeeke, Remko van der Lugt

The theory of embodied cognition states that cognition is grounded in our bodily affordances and situated in the structure of the environment. People are said to create couplings with the world while interacting with it. A big challenge is whether the theory can account for ‘cognitively challenging’ tasks, e.g. involving memory, planning, or conceptual reflection. By means of research-through-design this challenge is explored in the context of team-based brainstorm environments. Interactive prototypes are created that support embodied cognitive processes. Within this set-up, digital computation may take on a qualitatively new role. Results may inform both interaction design and cognitive theory.