Amplified movements
an enactive approach to sound in interaction design
pp. 114-117
in: Roy Ascott, Gerald Bast, Wolfgang Fiel, Margarete Jahrmann, Ruth Schnell (eds), New realities, Berlin, Springer, 2009Abstract
Sensorimotor knowledge is acquired through physical interaction with our surroundings. Activities such as drinking or biking must be learned through the body. Once this knowledge is acquired, such activities appear as intuitive, natural and automatic (Bargh 1999). Swiss philosopher and psychologist jean Piaget argued that sensorimotor learning is important for the early stages of child development (0–24 months) (Piaget 1954). In contrast to Piaget, Jerome Bruner argued that the acquisition of different types of knowledge (enactive, iconic and symbolic) is age-independent (Bruner 1966). He coined the term enactive learning in order to underline the importance of experience and environment in cognitive development. Thus, enactive learning happens largely in the early stages of human development when a child learns to walk or to drink, but also later in life. Without such knowledge, we would not be able to engage in new bodily experiences such as dancing, skiing or dough-making.
