Body Image and Body Schema: Interaction Design for and through Embodied Cognition

The interdisciplinary literature on body image/body schema (BIBS), which is within the larger realm of embodied cognition, can provide HCI practitioners and theorists new ideas of and approaches to human perception and experience. In very brief terms, body image consists of perceptions, attitudes and beliefs pertaining to one's own body, whereas body schema is a system of sensory-motor capabilities that function, usually without awareness or the necessity of perceptual monitoring. The dynamic relationality and plasticity of BIBS open up different avenues for interaction design. An overview of six main ideas deriving from BIBS literature are enumerated, followed by a discussion of projects designed for chronic pain patients that demonstrate how these ideas can be adopted in interaction design processes as a perspective or attitude rather than a mere application of traditional methods. Through bridging HCI and BIBS theories and research, we can develop a holistic framework in which we design for and through embodied cognition.