Perception and action
Saturday, October 01st, 2011 [17:20 - 19:20]
PS_2.015 - Demystifying the social simon effect
Dolk, T. 1 , Hommel, B. 2 , Prinz, W. 1 & Liepelt, R. 3, 1
1 Department of Psychology, Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. Leipzig, Germany.
2 Cognitive Psychology Unit, and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition. Leiden University. Leiden, The Netherlands.
3 Department of Psychology, Junior Group “Neurocognition of Joint Action”. Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster. Münster, Germany.
The social Simon effect (SSE) has been considered as an index of action co-representation. However, recent findings challenge this view by suggesting that the SSE may result from salient events that provide a reference for spatially coding one's own action. The aim of the present study was to further clarify the role of action co-representation in the SSE. If referential response coding of an individual’s own action is induced by any salient event, it should not matter whether this event is social in nature or not. We manipulated the saliency and nature of reference-providing events, ranging from non-human “social” events (Experiment 1), over non-social animated events (Experiment 2) to non-animated events (Experiment 3) in an auditory go-nogo Simon task. We found reliable SSEs under solo conditions in all three experiments. We conclude that the SSE occurs whenever agents code their own action as left or right in reference to another salient event, suggesting that the effect does not necessarily require a social co-representation of another person’s action.
PS_2.016 - Spatial compatibility relationships with simple lever tools
Müsseler, J. & Skottke, E.
RWTH Aachen University, Germany
With regard to the ideomotor principle, the anticipations of action effects fulfill a generative function in motor control. When using a lever tool, subjects have to deal with two, not necessarily concordant effects of their actions: The body-related proximal effects, like tactile sensations from the moving hand, and/or representations of more external distal effects, like the moving effect points of a lever. As in tool use the intentional goal is usually directed to the distal effects, they should be predominant. Various studies tried to determine the spatial compatibility relationships between stimulus (S; at which the effects point of the lever have to aim at), respond hand (R) and effect point of the lever (E). However, in none of these studies a tool was used allowing to vary orthogonally compatible and incompatible SR, SE or RE relationships. The present study examine a tool, which fulfill these requirements.
PS_2.017 - Implicit transfer of learning and action effects
Ferraro, L. 1 , Rubichi, S. 1 , Nicoletti, R. 2 , Iani, C. 1 & Gallese, V. 3
1 University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
2 University of Bologna
3 University of Parma
Ideomotor theories predict that learning effects should be present when action effects are observed. The transfer of learning effect consists in the modulation (i.e., elimination or reversal) of the Simon effect (that is, the tendency to react toward stimulus location) when participants practice with incompatible S-R mappings before performing the Simon task. In line with ideomotor theories, in Experiment 1 we showed that the transfer of learning effect is related to observed action effects and not to real performance. Indeed, participants observed the practice task performed by the computer and then transferred to the Simon task. The Simon effect was eliminated after a spatially incompatible practice (and not after a spatially compatible practice). The transfer of learning strictly depends on the possibility to emit a manual response: no modulation occurred when a transparent screen separated participants from the response device (Experiment 2). In addition, no transfer of learning was found when during practice a standard response device was absent (Experiment 3). On the whole, results indicated that the observation of action effects activates motor representations similarly to what occurs when the action is actually performed.
PS_2.018 - About the role of distractors when performing pre-determined movements with distorted visual feedback
Sutter, C. , Skottke, E. & Müsseler, J.
Work and Cognitive Psychology. RWTH Aachen University. Aachen, Germany.
Changes in perspective challenges information processing, as the actor is often not able to handle successfully the discrepancies between the tactile/proprioceptive feedback and the visual feedback on a projection screen. In this context the present experiments will show, how visibility and motor activity of an irrelevant effector distracts from performing one-hand movements. Participants responded to visual stimuli with a pre-determined response hand while the other, non-responding hand was either kept within view or outside the viewing angle. The non-responding hand was passive (Ex.1) or active (Ex.2). Stimuli and hand(s) were covered, but presented in front of them on a display with a nonegocentric perspective that either retained or reversed left-right relations. In Ex.1 we found a remarkable decrease of performance when visual feedback reversed left-right relations. This is in accordance with previous findings by Sutter and Müsseler (2010). However, even if the present task was simpler and the responding hand was pre-determined spatial transformation effects were in effect, and this was independent from seeing the non-responding hand or not. In contrast, when the non-responding hand was also active spatial transformation effects were cancelled out. It seems as if with increasing task complexity visual monitoring becomes more important.
PS_2.019 - Cognitive determinants of efficiency of pilot's behavior in condition of visual illusion
Bednarek, H. 1, 2
1 The Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poland
2 University of Lodz, Poland
This study examined efficiency of pilots' behavior in conditions of spatial disorientation. It has been assumed that visual illusions tends to produce spatial disorientation. Spatial disorientation was analyzed in context of dependent vs independent style of perception, efficiency of attention and working memory, total air time, age and type of the aircraft. 66 pilots participated in the experiment (air-raid 1017.6 hours +/- 797.6; age 32.25; +/- 6.64). Efficiency of execution of flight profile has been defined on simulator HYPERION based on indicators of course (variability of course, asymmetry of course). Cognitive processes were researched by means of computer tasks: DIVA, SWATT, MMATT; field dependence - EFT. It appears that visual illusion influence the efficiency of pilot's behavior. The research shows that weak inhibition mechanisms and higher susceptibility to interference (selective attention), lower efficiency of working memory (low efficiency in updating, low accuracy trade-off) influence the spatial disorientation. The total air time, age and the type of the aircraft did not have an impact on the spatial disorientation.