Thomas, E. 1 , Yon, D. . 1 , de Lange, F. . 2 & Press, C. 1
1 Birkbeck, University of London
2 Donders Institute, Radboud University
Studies have shown that predicted action outcomes are perceived to be less intense than the same stimuli when externally delivered. These effects are thought to be explained via ?cancellation? models, whereby expected sensory consequences of action are subtracted from the percept. However, given that these models contradict assumptions made outside of the action literature - i.e., that predicted information is frequently facilitated within the percept, or that we ?perceive what we expect? - we examined whether tactile events predicted on the basis of action are really perceived to be less intense than their passively delivered counterparts. To this end, we required participants to make movements with their right index finger, which either made contact with a button positioned directly above their left index finger, or stopped just before contact was made. Participants rated the intensity of taps to their left index finger presented in synchrony with their movement, or presented on trials where they did not move. Taps synchronous with movement were perceived less intensely than passive taps only on contact trials; on no contact trials, tactile events were perceived to be more intense than comparison passive events. These findings suggest that the cancellation model provides an oversimplification of the influence of action on perception, and that predicted consequences of action are frequently facilitated within perception. Therefore, more broadly, action may not have a domain-specific functional influence on perception, and models developed within the broader sensory cognition literature likely apply also to the domain of action.