Memory for the Functional Characteristics of Climbing Walls: Perceiving Affordances

In 2 experiments, differences in visual perception of climbing routes (route finding) between 7 expert climbers, 4 novices, and 9 inexperienced participants were studied. In both experiments, participants reproduced on a scale model the locations and orientations of 23 holds of a climbing wall. The results showed that the expert climbers recalled more information and recalled clusters of information and that they focused on the functional aspects of a climbing wall, whereas they neglected its structural features. Inexperienced participants did not recall such clustered information, and they reported almost exclusively the structural features of the holds. The perception of nested affordances and the expert climbers' neglect of details are discussed.     

Memory for the functional characteristics of climbing walls: perceiving affordances

In 2 experiments, differences in visual perception of climbing routes (route finding) between 7 expert climbers, 4 novices, and 9 inexperienced participants were studied. In both experiments, participants reproduced on a scale model the locations and orientations of 23 holds of a climbing wall. The results showed that the expert climbers recalled more information and recalled clusters of information and that they focused on the functional aspects of a climbing wall, whereas they neglected its structural features. Inexperienced participants did not recall such clustered information, and they reported almost exclusively the structural features of the holds. The perception of nested affordances and the expert climbers' neglect of details are discussed.     

Increasing accuracy of rock-climbing techniques in novice athletes using expert modeling and video feedback

Several studies have examined the efficacy of behavior analytic coaching strategies in sports to increase performance fluency. Rock climbing is a multifaceted sport requiring mastery of several complex behavior chains in order to successfully navigate climbing surfaces. To date, most investigations have focused on the physiological aspects of rock climbing, as opposed to training specific rock-climbing movements. In this replication and extension, researchers used a multiple baseline design across skills to examine an expert video modeling plus video and verbal feedback training package on foundational rock-climbing skills of novice adult climbers. Results demonstrated that all participants showed an increase in accurate performance for all three skills that were targeted in the intervention.     

Skill transfer specificity shapes perception and action under varying environmental constraints

Using an ecological dynamics framework, this study investigated the generality and specificity of skill transfer processes in organisation of perception and action using climbing as a task vehicle. Fluency of hip trajectory and orientation was assessed using normalized jerk coefficients exhibited by participants as they adapted perception and action under varying environmental constraints. Twelve recreational climbers were divided into two groups: one completing a 10-m high route on an indoor climbing wall; a second undertaking a 10-m high route on an icefall in a top-rope condition. We maintained the same level of difficulty between these two performance environments. An inertial measurement unit was attached each climber’s hips to collect 3D acceleration and 3D orientation data to compute jerk coefficient values. Video footage was used to record the ratio of exploratory/performatory movements. Results showed higher jerk coefficient values and number of exploratory movements for performance on the icefall route, perhaps due to greater functional complexity in perception and action required when climbing icefalls, which involves use of specific tools for anchorage. Findings demonstrated how individuals solve different motor problems, exploiting positive general transfer processes enabling participants to explore the pick-up of information for the perception of affordances specific to icefall climbing.     

The Role of Anxiety in Perceiving and Realizing Affordances

Three experiments were conducted to examine the role of anxiety in perceiving and realizing affordances in wall climbing. Identical traverses were situated high and low on a climbing wall to manipulate anxiety. In Experiment 1, participants judged their maximal overhead reachability and performed maximal reaches on the climbing wall. Anxiety was found to reduce both perceived and actual maximal reaching height. In Experiment 2, participants climbed from right to left and back again on the high and low traverses, which now entailed an abundance of holds. Consistent with the reduction of perceived and actual maximal reaching height found in Experiment 1, anxiety led to the use of more holds. Finally, in Experiment 3, points of light were sequentially projected around the participants while they were climbing to measure attention. As participants detected fewer lights in the high-anxiety condition, it was concluded that anxiety narrowed attention. In general, the results underscored that the actor's emotional state plays an important role in perceiving and realizing affordances and that the perception of affordances changes as the accompanying action capabilities change.     

暴力视频游戏中不同攻击动机对玩家攻击性的影响

分别采用词汇按键反应任务和EAST范式测查了攻击性认知的流畅性和内隐攻击性评价,旨在考察游戏中攻击动机对攻击性的影响,结果发现：暴力视频游戏的影响效应不仅与暴力内容有关,还受制于攻击动机和玩家的暴力游戏经验;且长期玩暴力游戏会使被试对暴力产生脱敏,表现为攻击性认知的流畅性低,对攻击的评价更积极。本研究表明,暴力视频游戏对个体攻击性的影响需综合考虑多种因素。     

游戏暴力合理性对攻击性的影响:一个有中介的调节模型

本研究基于道德推脱和道德自我调节理论,以62名大学生为被试,通过实验探讨了游戏暴力合理性对个体攻击性的影响,并考察了内疚感的中介作用以及游戏经验的调节作用。结果表明：游戏经验调节了游戏暴力合理性对内疚感和攻击性的影响。对无经验的被试来说,不合理暴力条件下的内疚感显著高于合理暴力条件,攻击性显著低于合理暴力条件;而对有经验的被试来说,合理与不合理暴力条件下的内疚感和攻击性均无显著差异。同时,研究还发现了有中介的调节作用模型,内疚感在暴力合理性对攻击性的影响中发挥中介作用,而游戏经验是有中介的调节变量。     

Eyeheight-scaled information about affordances: a study of sitting and stair climbing

Previous work has shown that both the perceived and actual critical (maximum) heights of surfaces that afford "sitting on " and "climbing on" can be expressed as constant proportions of each actor's leg length. The current study provides evidence that these judgments of critical action boundaries are based on an existing source of size and distance information that is already scaled with reference to the actor's eyeheight. In Experiment 1 changes in judgments of "perceived eyeheight" (an index of the intrinsic scalar) as a function of viewing distance were shown to be highly correlated with changes in the maximum height that was perceived to afford sitting on or climbing on. In Experiments 2 and 3 observers wore 10-cm blocks and made judgments about whether the heights of various surfaces afforded sitting or climbing. The use of eyeheight-scaled information as the basis for their estimates predicted the obtained pattern of errors in these judgments. With a modicum of experience wearing the blocks, however, observers were able to retune accurately their critical action boundary to a degree that would not have been predicted from their consistent overestimation of the height of the block on which they were standing. These results have implications for understanding how observers obtain information about their specific action boundary.     

Sequence learning by action,observation and action observation

The serial reaction time (SRT) task was used to compare learning of a complex sequence by action (participants responded to sequential stimuli), by observation (participants watched but did not respond to sequential stimuli), and by action‐observation (participants watched an expert model responding to sequential stimuli). Each of these groups was compared with an untrained control group. Experiment 1 indicated that both observation and action‐observation were sufficient to support learning of a 12‐item second‐order conditional (SOC) sequence. Experiment 2 confirmed these findings, and showed that, as indexed by reaction time (RT), the extent of learning by observation and by action‐observation was comparable to that of action‐based learning. Using a recognition test, Experiment 2 and 3 also provided evidence that, whereas learning by stimulus observation was explicit, learning by action‐observation was implicit. These findings are consistent with a connection between motor systems and implicit learning, but do not support the hypothesis that overt action is necessary for implicit learning.     

Action–effect congruence during observational learning leads to faster action sequence learning

Common coding theory suggests that any action (pressing a piano key) is intimately linked with its resultant sensory effect (an auditory musical tone). We conducted two experiments to explore the effect of varying auditory action–effect patterns during complex action learning. In Experiment 1, participants were assigned to 1 of 4 groups, watched a silent video of a hand playing a sequence on a piano keyboard with no auditory action effect (observation) and were asked to practise and perform the sequence on an identical keyboard with varying action effects (reproduction). During reproduction, Group 1 heard no auditory tones (identical to observed video), Group 2 heard typical scale-ascending piano tones with each key press, Group 3 heard fixed but out-of-sequence piano tones with each key press, and Group 4 heard random piano tones with each key press. In Experiment two, new participants were assigned to 1 of 2 groups and watched an identical video; however, the video in this experiment contained typical, scale-ascending piano sounds. During reproduction, Group 1 heard no auditory tones while Group 2 heard typical, scale-ascending piano tones with each key press (identical to observed video). Our results showed that participants whose action–effect patterns during reproduction matched those in the observed video learned the action sequence faster than participants whose action–effect patterns during reproduction differed from those in the observed video. Additionally, our results suggest that adding an effect during reproduction (when one is absent during observation) is somewhat more detrimental to action sequence learning than removing an effect during reproduction (when one is present during observation).     

Intention in motor learning through observation

The purpose of this experiment was to assess whether learning an action through observation is enhanced by the intention to reproduce the observed behaviour. Two groups of participants observed a model practise a timing task and performed a 24-hour delayed retention test. Participants in the first group of observers were explicitly instructed that they would be required to execute the timing task that they had observed as accurately as possible during the delayed retention test. Observers in the second group were instructed that they would be required to describe as accurately as possible the behaviour that they had observed. A control group of participants, who did not observe the model, was also administered the delayed retention test. The results of the retention test indicated that absolute timing (parameterization) was learned by the observers to the same extent with or without intention to reproduce the task. Indeed, on the retention test absolute timing for the two groups of observers was as effective as that for the models. However, observing with an intention to reproduce the task was beneficial for learning the movement's relative timing structure. Results are discussed with respect to a potential mechanism by which intention enhances observation.     

Intention in motor learning through observation

The purpose of this experiment was to assess whether learning an action through observation is enhanced by the intention to reproduce the observed behaviour. Two groups of participants observed a model practise a timing task and performed a 24-hour delayed retention test. Participants in the first group of observers were explicitly instructed that they would be required to execute the timing task that they had observed as accurately as possible during the delayed retention test. Observers in the second group were instructed that they would be required to describe as accurately as possible the behaviour that they had observed. A control group of participants, who did not observe the model, was also administered the delayed retention test. The results of the retention test indicated that absolute timing (parameterization) was learned by the observers to the same extent with or without intention to reproduce the task. Indeed, on the retention test absolute timing for the two groups of observers was as effective as that for the models. However, observing with an intention to reproduce the task was beneficial for learning the movement's relative timing structure. Results are discussed with respect to a potential mechanism by which intention enhances observation.     

Programming tool-use actions

When humans plan to execute a tool-use action, they can only specify the bodily movement parameters by taking into account the external target or goal of the tool-use action and the target-movement mapping implemented by the tool. In this study, the authors used the movement precuing method to investigate how people prepare for actions made with tools. More specifically, they asked whether people would be able to specify the spatial target and the target-movement mapping of the tool-use action independently of each other, and to what degree they would be able to prepare these components in advance. In 3 experiments, they precued either the target or the target-movement mapping of tool-use actions involving either a compatible or an incompatible target-movement mapping. Results indicate that participants benefit from partial advance information about the target-movement mapping, whereas no significant effects were found for precuing the spatial target of the action. These results occurred regardless of whether the target-movement mapping was compatible or incompatible and provide evidence for the notion that the target-movement mapping of a tool-use action is part of its cognitive representation.     

Preschoolers’ oculomotor behaviour during their observation of an action task

Adult and child oculomotor behaviour was measured during the observation of a naturalistic action task. Adult and 4-year-old participants viewed a video presentation of an actor making a root-beer float. Eye movements were monitored to examine fixation patterns during a series of means–end action sequences. Look-ahead fixations (i.e., gaze anticipation) were measured to determine if children would saccade to the goal site prior to the completion of each action sequence as adults do. Look-ahead fixations were observed in both the adult and child groups, with no significant age differences found in levels of gaze anticipation.     

Training with anxiety has a positive effect on expert perceptual–motor performance under pressure

In two experiments, we examined whether training with anxiety can prevent choking in experts performing perceptual–motor tasks. In Experiment 1, 17 expert basketball players practised free throws over a 5-week period with or without induced anxiety. Only after training with anxiety did performance no longer deteriorate during the anxiety posttest. In Experiment 2, 17 expert dart players practised dart throwing from a position high or low on a climbing wall, thus with or without anxiety. Again, only after training with anxiety was performance maintained during the anxiety posttest, despite higher levels of anxiety, heart rate, and perceived effort. It is concluded that practising under anxiety can prevent choking in expert perceptual–motor performance, as one acclimatizes to the specific processes accompanying anxiety.     

A common perceptual parameter for stair climbing for children,young and old adults

In this paper we examine whether a common perceptual parameter is available for guiding old adults, young adults and children in climbing the highest stair mountable in a bipedal fashion. Previous works have shown that the ratio between the height of the stair and the hip height was the body-scaled invariance adopted as information for selecting the highest stair by young adults [Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 10 (1984) 683-703] but not by older adults [Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 3 (1992) 691-697]. Indeed, for older adults additional bio-mechanical parameters needed to be added to the model due to their decrease in leg strength and flexibility.Up to now, no perceptual invariant has been identified yet for determining the relevant information used for guiding the stair climbing action for normal healthy people. We propose a new parameter as the angle defined by the ratio between the height of the stair and the distance taken from the feet to the top edge of the stair before the initiation of the movement. We show that this angle is the same for children, young adults and older adults despite the different kinematics of the motion, the anthropometrics and the skill ability exhibit by the participants. In summary we show that even when the climbability judgments, based on the simple ratio leg length-stair height, are influenced by differences in age, participants use a common perceptual variable when they are coordinating their stair climbing action.     

Infants' perception of goal‐directed actions on video

Imitation studies and object search studies show that infants have difficulties using action information presented on video to guide their own behaviour. The present study investigated whether infants also have problems interpreting information shown on video relative to real live information. It was examined whether 6‐month‐olds interpret an action with a salient action effect as goal‐directed when it is performed by an actor on a video‐screen and when it is performed by a live actor. A video presentation of a goal‐directed action display was presented to one group of infants, and another group received the same action display, matched in all details, live on a stage. Results indicate that 6‐month‐olds in the video group as well as in the live group interpreted the human action as goal‐directed. Moreover, comparison across both groups revealed no difference in the overall looking pattern between the video and the live presentation group. Thus, our findings show that infants as young as 6 months of age can take important information from video clips and interpret televised actions in meaningful ways that is equivalent to their interpretation of live actions.     

Attribution of movement: Potential links between subjective reports of agency and output monitoring

According to agency memory theory, individuals decide whether “I did it” based on a memory trace of “I am doing it”. The purpose of this study was to validate the agency memory theory. To this end, several hand actions were individually presented as samples, and participants were asked to perform the sample action, observe the performance of that action by another person, or imagine performing the action. Online feedback received by the participants during the action was manipulated among the different conditions, and output monitoring, in which participants were asked whether they had performed each hand action, was conducted. The rate at which respondents thought that they themselves had performed the action was higher when visual feedback was unaltered than when it was altered (Experiment 1A), and this tendency was observed across all types of altered feedback (Experiment 1B). The observation of an action performed by the hand of another person did not increase the rate at which respondents thought that they themselves had performed the action unless the participants actually did perform the action (Experiments 2A and 2B). In Experiment 3, a relationship was observed between the subjective feeling that “I am the one who is causing an action” and the memory that “I did perform the action”. These experiments support the hypothesis that qualitative information and sense of “self” are tagged in a memory trace and that such tags can be used as cues for judgements when the memory is related to the “self”.     

When affordances climb into your mind: Advantages of motor simulation in a memory task performed by novice and expert rock climbers

Does the sight of multiple climbing holds laid along a path activate a motor simulation of climbing that path? One way of testing whether multiple affordances and their displacement influence the formation of a motor simulation is to study acquired motor skills. We used a behavioral task in which expert and novice rock climbers were shown three routes: an easy route, a route impossible to climb but perceptually salient, and a difficult route. After a distraction task, they were then given a recall test in which they had to write down the sequence of holds composing each route. We found no difference between experts and novices on the easy and impossible routes, whereas on the difficult route, the performance of experts was better than that of novices. This suggests that seeing a climbing wall activates a motor, embodied simulation, which relies not on perceptual salience, but on motor competence. More importantly, our results show that the capability to form this simulation is modulated by individuals’ motor repertoire and expertise, and that this strongly impacts recall.     

Valuing intervention and observation

Understanding causal relations is fundamental to effective action but causal data can be confounded. We examined the value that participants placed on data derived from a hypothetical intervention or observation. Our materials involved a possible cause ("bottled water"), a possible confound ("food"), and a context ("a restaurant"). We supposed that participants seek to draw as specific a causal inference as possible from presented data and value information sources more highly that allow them to do so. On this basis, we predicted that in circumstances where an intervention removed the confounding causal factor but observation did not, participants would prefer data derived from an intervention when the possible cause was present (the bottled water was drunk) but show the reverse preference when the possible cause was absent (the bottled water was not drunk). Experiment 1 confirmed this prediction. Using a between-subjects design, Experiment 2 tested for a difference in confidence in causal judgements given identical data, including data on the confound, as a function of method of data collection (intervention or observation). There was no significant difference in confidence ratings between the two methods but confidence ratings were sensitive to the probability of an effect (illness) given the cause. Using a within-subjects design, Experiment 3 revealed systematic individual differences in preference for the two methods. Participants were divided between those who considered intervention more confounded and those who considered observation more confounded. Our experiments point to the subtleties of participants' evaluation of data from studies of human beings.