EDITOR
Allison Druin
allisond@umiacs.umd.edu
Embodied Child
Computer Interaction:
Why Embodiment Matters
Alissa N. Antle
School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University | aantle@sfu.ca
When I first read Paul Dourish, I was intrigued
and compelled to learn more about the nature of
embodied cognition. I was also interested in finding
ways to apply embodied cognition to my research
in child-computer interaction—where goals often
involve the facilitation of engaged and playful
learning rather than supporting adult work practices. After reading several more books, numerous
articles, and having many conversations with colleagues, I came to that familiar place in human
computer interaction research where I asked,
but how do I apply these ideas? I was reminded
of a paper on physical affordances entitled, “But
How, Donald, Tell Us How?” [ 1]. Only this time, it
was “But how, Paul, tell us how to use ideas about
embodiment in interaction design for children?”
The first answer to this question came up in
cases in which embodied cognition was used as
an analytic lens to view users’ interactions with
existing products and systems. Consideration was
given to a larger unit of analysis than a single
mind; the social and physical environment, both
computational and noncomputational, were scrutinized. However, I was not satisfied. I wanted to
understand what embodied cognition meant for
me as a designer and a design researcher. What
were the consequences for design? This article
presents some of my ideas on how embodiment
matters to those who design children’s interactive technologies.
perspective on human cognition foregrounds the
role of the body, physical activity, and lived experience in cognition. Put simply, embodied cognition emphasizes how the particulars of human
bodies acting in complex physical, social, and
cultural environments determine perceptual and
cognitive structures, processes, and operations.
In contrast to traditional views of cognition, an
embodied approach suggests that humans should
be considered first and foremost as active agents
rather than as disembodied symbol processors.
This shift is an extremely important development, one that has been underappreciated in
human computer interaction research in general
and in child-computer interaction research in particular. Yet a wealth of developmental psychology
and media-studies literature provides evidence
for the importance of understanding the role of
action and the environment in the development
of children’s thinking skills. Jean Piaget began a
long tradition when he suggested that cognitive
structuring through schemata accommodation
and assimilation requires both physical and mental actions [ 2]. More recently, social scientist Jane
Healy argues for the importance of physicality in
childhood. She suggests that children’s increased
access to TV and video games reduces the amount
of time they spend in physical, sensorial, and
perceptual activities that foster awareness of
relationships in the world, awareness that is crucial to their cognitive development [ 3]. Designers
of digital media for children can benefit from
understanding and supporting the ways in which
physicality influences cognitive development.
Whether interacting with computation through a
mouse and keyboard, a tangible user interface, or
a handheld device, an embodied perspective on
cognition both broadens and changes the focus
[ 1] Djajadiningrat, T.,
K. Overbeeke, and S.
Wensveen. “But how,
Donald, tell us how? On
the creation of meaning
in interaction design
through feedforward
and inherent feedback.”
Proceedings of DIS ’02,
285-291. New York:
ACM Press, 2002.
[ 2] Piaget, J. The
Origins of Intelligence
in Children. New York:
University Press, 1952.
[ 3] Healy, J. M. Failure
to Connect: How
Computers Affect Our
Children’s Minds. New
York: Simon & Schuster,
1998.
Embodied Cognition and Children
There has been a rethinking of the nature of cognition for more than 50 years in philosophy and
about 15 in human computer interaction research.
Embodiment means how the nature of a living
entity’s cognition is shaped by the form of its
physical manifestation in the world. An embodied
