Association for Behavior Analysis International

Arthur Glenberg is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a member of INICO at the Univeridad de Salamanca. He does basic research in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience with a focus on developing theories of embodied cognition in the areas of language, education, and social processes. In addition, he and his colleagues at ASU have developed an embodied reading comprehension intervention (EMBRACE) for English language learning children in the early elementary grades (see: http://resourcecenters2015.videohall.com/presentations/565.) His work has been funded by NIH, IES, and NSF. Dr. Glenberg has authored a textbook (in its third edition), an edited volume, and over 100 peer-reviewed articles. As of October 2018, these publications have been cited almost 20,000 times with an h-index of 61.

A basic principle of embodied cognition is that all cognitive processes depend on behavioral and neural systems of action (goal-directed behavior such as operant responding), perception, and emotion. I will illustrate this principle with demonstrations and data from fields of perception, developmental psychology, social psychology, and cognitive psychology. After developing the case for cognition being embodied, I will discuss applications in teaching reading comprehension, second language learning, physics, and mathematics. In each domain, substantial improvements in learning occur when the body is appropriately engaged.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.