Dissociable effects of averted “gaze” on the priming of bodily representations and motor actions

Evan W. Carr; Geoffrey Bird; Caroline Catmur; Piotr Winkielman

doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103225

Dissociable effects of averted “gaze” on the priming of bodily representations and motor actions

Evan W. Carr, Geoffrey Bird, Caroline Catmur, Piotr Winkielman^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

28 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Gaze direction is an important stimulus that signals key details about social (dis)engagement and objects in our physical environment. Here, we explore how gaze direction influences the perceiver's processing of bodily information. Specifically, we examined how averted versus direct gaze modifies the operation of effector-centered representations (i.e., specific fingers) versus movement-centered representations (i.e., finger actions). Study 1 used a stimulus-response compatibility paradigm that tested the priming of a relevant effector or relevant movement, after observing videos of direct or averted gaze. We found a selective priming of relevant effectors, but only after averted gaze videos. Study 2 found similar priming effects with symbolic direction cues (averted arrows). Study 3 found that averted gaze cues do not influence generic spatial compatibility effects, and thus, are specific to body representations. In sum, this research suggests that both human and symbolic averted cues selectively prime relevant body-part representations, highlighting the dynamic interplay between our bodies, minds, and environments.

Original language	English
Article number	103225
Number of pages	11
Journal	Acta Psychologica
Volume	212
Early online date	28 Nov 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103225
Publication status	Published - Jan 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Evan W. Carr conducted this research with government support under and awarded by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and Army Research Office (ARO), via the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship, 32 CFR 168a. Piotr Winkielman was supported by the Academic Senate Grant ( 059455 ) from the University of California, San Diego. Information about this project is available at OSF at https://osf.io/zt679/

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020

Keywords

Automatic imitation
Bodily representations
Gaze
Stimulus-response compatibility

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

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10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103225Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

CarrE2020DissociableFinal published version, 1.62 MBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

Cite this

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abstract = "Gaze direction is an important stimulus that signals key details about social (dis)engagement and objects in our physical environment. Here, we explore how gaze direction influences the perceiver's processing of bodily information. Specifically, we examined how averted versus direct gaze modifies the operation of effector-centered representations (i.e., specific fingers) versus movement-centered representations (i.e., finger actions). Study 1 used a stimulus-response compatibility paradigm that tested the priming of a relevant effector or relevant movement, after observing videos of direct or averted gaze. We found a selective priming of relevant effectors, but only after averted gaze videos. Study 2 found similar priming effects with symbolic direction cues (averted arrows). Study 3 found that averted gaze cues do not influence generic spatial compatibility effects, and thus, are specific to body representations. In sum, this research suggests that both human and symbolic averted cues selectively prime relevant body-part representations, highlighting the dynamic interplay between our bodies, minds, and environments.",

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Dissociable effects of averted “gaze” on the priming of bodily representations and motor actions

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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