ABSTRACT
Embodied persuasion refers to the idea that people’s own behaviors can impact their attitudes (i.e., their likes and dislikes). As one example, when we smile, we tend to see everything in a more positive light than when we frown. Also, when we nod our heads, we tend to like things better than when we shake our heads. In one early embodiment study, individuals who were induced to nod their heads (i.e., agreement behavior) while listening to a persuasive message over headphones were more favorable to the proposal than people who were induced to shake their heads (i.e., disagreement behavior) while listening to the same message (Wells & Petty, 1980). Other research has found that information presented while performing an approach behavior (e.g., using one’s hands to pull up from underneath a table) is evaluated more positively than information presented during an avoidance behavior (e.g., pushing down on a table top surface; Cacioppo, Priester, & Bernston, 1993). Similar findings have been found for a large number of behaviors, postures, and bodily movements (for a recent review on embodied persuasion, see Briñol & Petty, 2008).
