According to a team of Dutch scientists, walking backward helps people think more clearly.

The study, published in the Washington-based journal Psychological Science, tested the ability of 38 men and women to quickly name the colors in which different words were displayed.

During the tests, participants were told to step four paces to the left, right, backward or forward. In a subset of the trickier trials (ones where the words didn't relate in any way to the colors they were displayed in) performance was quickest when the subjects stepped four paces backward.

"Backward locomotion appears to be a very powerful trigger to mobilize cognitive resources," conclude the authors, of Radboud University Nijmegen. "Thus, whenever you encounter a difficult situation, stepping backward may boost your capability to deal with it effectively."

In case you were wondering why the researchers conducted such a seemingly nutty experiment to begin with: It's part of a larger field of study of the way body movements alter people's thinking/emotions.

Flexing or extending the arms, for example (the motions involved in either pulling or pushing) can make someone more apt to like or dislike something, respectively, researchers have reported.

Pushing and backing away are both avoidance actions - such actions are "usually performed in the context of aversive or problematic conditions that require enhanced control in order to focus on relevant information and to ward off negative consequences," the authors say.

一组荷兰科学家的研究表明，向后走路有助于人们更清醒的思考。

这项研究发表在心理科学 (Psychological Science)上。研究者给38名男性和女性受试呈现不同的单词，并让他们快速说出单词的颜色。

在测试过程中，受试者还被要求向前、或向后、或向左、或向右走4步。 一部分测试中给受试呈现的单词与颜色是无关的，在这样的测试中，如果被试向后走四步时反应最快。

“向后运动似乎可以非常有效的触发认知资源的分配，”来自Radboud University Nijmegen的作者总结道。“因此，当你遇到困难时，倒着走可以有效的提升你解决问题的能力。”

也许你想知道研究者为什么会进行如此疯狂的实验：它其实是一个更大的研究人身体运动对思维和情绪影响的研究项目的一小部分。

比如，研究者已经发现，弯曲或伸展手臂（涉及推或拉的运动）会分别使人更倾向于喜欢或不喜欢的某一个东西。

推动和后退都是回避行为——这种行为“通常是在厌恶或出现问题时完成，这时需要加强控制，以便把注意集中在相关信息上并可以抵御消极后果，”作者说。