Incidental learning of actor-specific biomechanical constraints influence perceptual extrapolation of body movements
(2023) International Convention of Psychological Science — Location: Bruxelles (9.March.2023)
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- Abstract
- After seeing a moving object suddenly disappear, observers typically mislocate its final position to where that object would have been a few milliseconds later. This “forward displacement” (FD) is thought to reflect online predictions, by the visual system, of the likely future position of moving objects. Interestingly, FD for body movements is reduced or even absent when the movement would have been unlikely to continue along the same trajectory due to biomechanical constraints. In the present study, we investigated whether this effect depends on a general or on an actor-specific model of the biomechanical constraints. Participants watched videos of two actors performing upper-arm movements (shoulder rotations with the arm raised so as to form a 60° angle with the body and flexed so as to form a 90° angle between the arm and the forearm). In 80% of the trials (familiarization trials) videos depicted movements directed towards the body. Movements of the “flexible” actor started far from the body and movements of the “rigid” actor started closer from the body, reflecting the two actors’ different body biomechanics. In the remaining 20% of the trials (trials of interest), both actors performed the same movement directed away from the body. This movement was such that it would have been easy to continue for the “flexible” actor, but impossible to continue for the “rigid” actor. Participants were asked to indicate whether the arm of the actor depicted on a picture displayed shortly after the video disappeared was at the same position as at the end of the video. Analysis of participants responses to the trials of interest indicated that there was more forward displacements when participants observed the flexible than the rigid actor. Thus, implicit visual learning of actor-specific biomechanical abilities affects the perception of their movements. Interestingly, exploratory analyses indicated a similar bias in the responses of participants who reported at the end of the experiment that they did not see any difference of biomechanical abilities between the two actors. These results suggest that perceptual extrapolation of body movements relies on implicit (and unconscious) knowledge of actor-specific biomechanical abilities.
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Vandenberghe, A., & Vannuscorps, G. (2023). Incidental learning of actor-specific biomechanical constraints influence perceptual extrapolation of body movements. International Convention of Psychological Science, Bruxelles. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/29754