Valdes-Conroy, B. 1 , Shorkey, S. P. 2 , Román, F. J. 3 & Hinojosa, J. A. 4
1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
2 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
3 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
4 Instituto Pluridisciplinar, UCM
Substantial growth of interest about the interactions between perceptual and motor systems has provided extensive evidence of the multimodality of the peripersonal neural system. Such multimodality has been proposed to underlie basic action planning mechanisms. Surprisingly, little attention has been devoted to the role of affective attributes of objects in reaching distance perception and action. We present a real scenario experiment in which we manipulated both physical and psychological attributes of stimuli (e.g. desirability, familiarity) in order to test their influence on distance perception. Using a proximity judgment task participants were asked to indicate when an object was near enough to reach. Participant’s estimations measured in centimetres showed a tendency to perceive undesirable objects (e.g., “used condom”) as closer than desirable or familiar objects (e.g., 50€ note, own mobile phone). Individual differences taken with the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R) showed a significant correlation between extraversion and the estimation of reaching distances. These results are contrasted with a computer-based experiment in which digital objects (controlled for arousal and affect) were presented on a horizontal display surface. Together, our data highlight the relevance of emotional attributes and individual differences in the representation of objects and motor actions within peripersonal space.