Emotion
Can specific body movements change how you feel?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Moving your body with specific qualities, like lightness for happiness or suddenness for anger, can directly evoke or enhance those corresponding emotions.
Key findings
The results showed that 20 out of the 29 coded movement elements significantly predicted specific feelings. For instance, happiness was predicted by light, free, and rhythmic movements, while sadness was predicted by passive weight, sinking, and looking down. The findings show that a person does not need to perform every movement characteristic to trigger an emotion, as just a few key elements can be enough.
Methodology
The researchers recruited 80 movement professionals and students trained in Laban Movement Analysis to perform specialized movement sequences. These participants executed 40 different movement motifs developed from expert analyses of emotional video clips. After moving, participants rated which emotion they felt and measured its intensity on a scale of 1-5.
Limitations
This study does not demonstrate how untrained, everyday people would respond to these movements, as all 80 participants had formal movement training. Additionally, because the motifs were designed from short clips of actors portraying exaggerated emotions, it does not show how subtle or spontaneous daily movements affect feelings. Finally, the design cannot prove how long these emotional changes last or if they can successfully help clinical patients.
How this study connects
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