Lee and Schwarz (L&S) propose that cleansing effects can be explained by grounding of mental separation in the sensorimotor processes associated with physical acts of separation, and that this mechanism can be generalized to other forms of separation across various domains and other grounded procedures, such as connection. We propose that grounded procedures may also provide insights into patterns of cultural psychological variation and vice-versa. Below we discuss four ways in which culture and embodiment may be linked, and provide novel predictions based on these linkages.

First, considering how features of the environment constrain collective sensorimotor experiences may shed light on how cultural variations occur. A growing body of work suggests that patterns of cultural variation may be shaped by adaptive responses to ecological conditions (Sng, Neuberg, Varnum, & Kenrick, Reference Sng, Neuberg, Varnum and Kenrick2018; Thornhill & Fincher, Reference Thornhill and Fincher2014; Van de Vliert, Reference Van de Vliert2013; Varnum & Grossmann, Reference Varnum and Grossmann2017). This ecologically based perspective on cultural variation has been relatively agnostic about mechanisms by which these effects occur, positing that these environmental cues may lead to cultural differences both through immediate evoked responses, and through cultural transmission (i.e., values, norms, etc.) and structures (institutions). Embodied cognition might also be one mechanism by which these environmental inputs are translated into cultural outputs. The value of the embodied perspective may be especially apparent in cases where behavioral ecological theory does not as clearly specify the mechanism for environment-culture linkages, such as the relationship between resource scarcity and collectivism or interdependence. Consider, for example, that resource scarcity often necessitates greater sharing of space with others (e.g., smaller homes, shared sleeping spaces, and cohabitation with a larger number of people) and greater coordination of physical activity (e.g., modes of labor involving more coordination or synchrony). Grounding of psychological connection in these repeated sensorimotor experiences of connection may explain, at least in part, why a more connected, less distinct sense of self is more common in places and times where resources are more scarce (Grossmann & Varnum, Reference Grossmann and Varnum2011, Reference Grossmann and Varnum2015; Inglehart & Baker, Reference Inglehart and Baker2000; Kraus, Piff, Mendoza-Denton, Rheinschmidt, & Keltner, Reference Kraus, Piff, Mendoza-Denton, Rheinschmidt and Keltner2012; Santos, Varnum, & Grossmann, Reference Santos, Varnum and Grossmann2017). If these embodied experiences of connection are key, then links between scarcity and interdependence should be weaker in places where the association between wealth and dwelling size or family size is weaker, or where there is less differentiation in the sensorimotor work experiences of those low versus high in status.

Second, considering the possible functions or adaptive consequences of cultural influence on sensorimotor experiences may help explain how culturally normative actions of separation and connection emerge in the first place and why they may persist. From the threats and opportunities people perceive in their ecology eliciting collective desire to separate or avoid separation, we can postulate links to specific versions of grounded procedures shared by groups of individuals. In environments where the threat of infectious disease is high, norms that limit physical contact with others should prevail, whereas, in places where the threat of infectious disease is low, physical contact should be more normative. Thus, bowing, for example, should be a more common form of greeting in cultures where infectious disease threat is chronically high, whereas hugging and kissing should be more common as greetings in cultures where this threat is chronically low. Consistent with this idea, a recent study has shown that historic disease prevalence is negatively correlated with physicality in greetings among small scale societies (Murray, Fessler, Kerry, White, & Marin, Reference Murray, Fessler, Kerry, White and Marin2017). Thus, rituals designed to accomplish the same goal (creating a sense of affiliation) may take very different physical forms as a function of the ecology. Similar links might be observed among larger scale societies typically studied in cross-cultural research, and changes over time in levels of pathogen threat might be linked to shifts in greeting norms and behaviors.

Third, how we comport our bodies around others likely affects how we feel and think about them in relation to ourselves. There are numerous examples of cultural norms facilitating physical connection to others (e.g., joining hands in prayer and handshaking), as well as physical separation (e.g., maintaining personal space and coming-of-age rituals involving relocation from home). Norms widely shared and enforced by a society should shape collective sensorimotor experiences, such that, from the grounded perspective, pervasive psychological consequences should be observed, including variations in how one views the self (e.g., independent vs. interdependent) and the values one endorses (e.g., individualism-collectivism). For example, the impact of religiousness on these values and views of self might be moderated by the extent to which the practices of a religious group involve physical contact and connection with others. Similarly, the link between higher education and independence might be stronger in places where going to university typically involves leaving home.

Fourth, cultural psychological variables may moderate the effects of grounded procedures on psychological states. For example, L&S suggest that cleansing effects can diverge depending on whether the focal event and measured outcome of cleansing are relevant to an important aspect of the self. Someone with an interdependent self-construal may perceive the group to have inherently taken part in an individual's poor performance or moral transgression. In this case, individual cleansing could have either a diminished effect, as it would not be sufficient to separate the entire group from the event, or a vicarious effect, as the boundary is blurred between the “agent” performing the cleansing and the “patient” being cleansed.

In sum, we believe there is much to be gained by exploring the links between grounded procedures, ecology, and cultural variation. Broadly, grounded procedures may help bridge theoretical accounts of cultural variation that emphasize evoked responses to ecological conditions (e.g., Sng et al., Reference Sng, Neuberg, Varnum and Kenrick2018) and those that emphasize embodied cognition (e.g., Leung, Qiu, Ong, & Tam, Reference Leung, Qiu, Ong and Tam2011; Soliman, Gibson, & Glenberg, Reference Soliman, Gibson and Glenberg2013). Doing so may not only enhance our theoretical understanding of embodiment and cultural variation, but also be highly generative from an empirical standpoint.