Previous research indicates that sensorimotor experience with physical systems can have a positive effect on learning. However, it is not clear whether this effect is caused by mere bodily engagement or the intrinsically meaningful information that such interaction affords in performing the learning task. We investigated (N = 74), through the use of a Wii Balance Board, whether different forms of physical engagement that was either meaningfully, non-meaningfully, or minimally related to the learning content would be beneficial (or detrimental) to learning about the workings of seesaws from instructional animations. The results were inconclusive, indicating that motoric competency on lever problem solving did not significantly differ between conditions, nor were response speed and transfer performance affected. These findings suggest that adult's implicit and explicit knowledge about physical systems is stable and not easily affected by (contradictory) sensorimotor experiences. Implications for embodied learning are discussed.How does practical experience with physical systems (e.g., gear systems and levers) affect learning about its mechanisms? For example, does our experience with riding a

During silent problem solving, hand gestures arise that have no communicative intent. The role of such co-thought gestures in cognition has been understudied in cognitive research as compared to co-speech gestures. We investigated whether gesticulation during silent problem solving supported subsequent performance in a Tower of Hanoi problem-solving task, in relation to visual working-memory capacity and task complexity. Seventy-six participants were assigned to either an instructed gesture condition or a condition that allowed them to gesture, but without explicit instructions to do so. This resulted in three gesture groups: (1) non-gesturing; (2) spontaneous gesturing; (3) instructed gesturing. In line with the embedded/extended cognition perspective on gesture, gesturing benefited complex problem-solving performance for participants with a lower visual working-memory capacity, but not for participants with a lower spatial working-memory capacity.

Previous research has established that gesture observation aids learning in children. The current study examined whether observation of gestures (i.e. depictive and tracing gestures) differentially affected verbal and visual-spatial retention when learning a route and its street names. Specifically, we explored whether children (n = 97) with lower visual and verbal workingmemory capacity benefited more from observing gestures as compared with children who score higher on these traits. To this end, 11-to 13-year-old children were presented with an instructional video of a route containing no gestures, depictive gestures, tracing gestures or both depictive and tracing gestures. Results indicated that the type of observed gesture affected performance: Observing tracing gestures or both tracing and depictive gestures increased performance on route retention, while observing depictive gestures or both depictive and tracing gestures increased performance on street name retention. These effects were not differentially affected by working-memory capacity.

A B S T R A C TBackground: While both theory and empirical findings have supported impaired self-control as a crucial factor in understanding problem drinking, little is known about the relationship of self-control and drinking in naturalistic settings. The present study uses Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to examine the predictive relationships between impaired subjective self-control, craving and alcohol use in everyday life. Methods: A sample of 172 regular drinkers responded on their smartphone to three random prompts each day for seven days in which amount of perceived self-control and craving were measured with self-report. In the meantime, participants were instructed to initiate an EMA report when they started drinking alcohol. Results: Findings supported the hypotheses that impaired self-control and higher craving levels were prospectively related to the likelihood that people will drink. That is, on random assessments that preceded drinking (i.e., were within two hours of drinking), perceived self-control was lower and craving was higher compared to random assessments that were not followed by drinking. Additionally, during drink consumption, impaired selfcontrol and craving were associated with a higher amount of expected alcohol consumption. Findings further indicated that subjective self-control acted as a moderator of the relationship between craving and alcohol consumption during drinking occasions. Conclusions: By using a smartphone mobile application, this study showed that impaired subjective self-control and craving are prospectively related to alcohol use in the real-world. Furthermore, findings are consistent with theories of addiction that substance use might be associated with the interplay of control processes and increased motivation.

Background: Although active workstations, such as desk bikes, have proven to be beneficial for health, there is limited information regarding their effects on children’s acute cognitive performance during self-paced exercise. Methods: This study used a within-subjects, fully counterbalanced design with a sample of 38 preadolescent children (mean age = 12.50 y, SD = 0.62; 43% male), who performed cognitive tests while being seated or while cycling for 45 minutes with a 7-day interval. Effects of using a desk bike were evaluated on cognitive control: verbal and visuospatial working memory capacities were tested, and inhibition was assessed using a modified flanker task. In addition, subjective task experience was explored using self-report measures. Results: Cognitive control performance was not degraded but also not improved with the short-term use of desk bikes. Because of the null effects, there is no direction and magnitude of the outcomes to discuss. Conclusions: These findings suggest that schools can successfully implement desk bikes to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary time among children without compromising cognitive control processes necessary for academic achievement.