Anxiety Influences the Perceptual-Motor Calibration of Visually Guided Braking to Avoid Collisions

We investigated whether anxiety influences perceptual-motor calibration in a braking to avoid a collision task. Participants performed either a discrete braking task (Experiment 1) or a continuous braking task (Experiment 2), with the goal of stopping before colliding with a stop sign. Half of participants performed the braking task after an anxiety induction. We investigated whether anxiety reduced the frequency of crashing and if it influenced the calibration of perception (visual information) and action (brake pressure) dynamically between-trials in Experiment 1 and within-trials in Experiment 2. In the discrete braking task, anxious participants crashed less often and made larger corrective adjustments trial-to-trial after crashing, suggesting that the influence of anxiety on behavior did not occur uniformly, but rather dynamically with anxiety amplifying the reaction to previous crashes. However, when performing continuous braking, anxious participants crashed more often, and their within-trial adjustments of deceleration were less related to visual information compared to controls. Taken together, these findings suggest that the timescale and nature of the task mediates the influence of anxiety on the performance of goal-directed actions.     

Perceiving possibilities for action: on the necessity of calibration and perceptual learning for the visual guidance of action

Tasks such as steering, braking, and intercepting moving objects constitute a class of behaviors, known as visually guided actions, which are typically carried out under continuous control on the basis of visual information. Several decades of research on visually guided action have resulted in an inventory of control laws that describe for each task how information about the sufficiency of one's current state is used to make ongoing adjustments. Although a considerable amount of important research has been generated within this framework, several aspects of these tasks that are essential for successful performance cannot be captured. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the existing framework, discuss its limitations, and introduce a new framework that emphasizes the necessity of calibration and perceptual learning. Within the proposed framework, successful human performance on these tasks is a matter of learning to detect and calibrate optical information about the boundaries that separate possible from impossible actions. This resolves a long-lasting incompatibility between theories of visually guided action and the concept of an affordance. The implications of adopting this framework for the design of experiments and models of visually guided action are discussed.     

Perceptual learning and the visual control of braking

Performance on a visually guided action may improve with practice because observers become perceptually attuned to more reliable optical information. Fajen and Devaney (2006) investigated perceptual attunement, using an emergency braking task in which subjects waited until the last possible moment before slamming on the brakes. The subjects in that study learned to use more reliable optical variables with practice, allowing them to perform the task more successfully across changes in the size of the approached object and the speed of approach. In Experiment 1 of the present study, subjects completed blocks of normal, regulated braking before and after practice on emergency braking. Size and speed effects that were present at early stages diminished or were eliminated after practice, suggesting that perceptual attunement resulting from practice on emergency braking transfers to normal, regulated braking. In Experiment 2, practice on regulated braking alone also resulted in perceptual attunement. The findings suggest that braking is not always guided on the basis of an optical invariant and that perceptual attunement plays an important role in learning to perform a visually guided action.     

The Role of Concurrent Feedback in Learning to Walk Through Sliding Doors

Concurrent feedback is defined as information about performance given to participants during the execution of an action. This article investigates whether concurrent feedback is beneficial or detrimental to the learning of an ecologically relevant task. Eighteen participants were asked to walk through a virtual corridor and they practiced over 1110 trials to adjust their walking speed so as to pass through sliding doors that opened and closed at a frequency of 1 Hz. Concurrent feedback informed them about the possible need to accelerate or decelerate. Performance of participants who received concurrent feedback on 66% of the practice trials (on average) did not differ significantly from performance of participants who did not receive concurrent feedback. Furthermore, participants of both of these groups significantly outperformed participants who received concurrent feedback on all practice trials. These results are discussed in relation to the perceptual-motor mechanisms that underlie the control of the action. Also discussed are implications for future research, including the use of self-controlled feedback and the use of multisensory training programs.     

Anxiety and perceptual-motor performance: toward an integrated model of concepts, mechanisms, and processes

Under anxiety, people sometimes perform poorly. This concerns cognitive performance (e.g., taking an important exam) as well as perceptual-motor performance (e.g., picking up a cup from a table). There is still much debate about how anxiety affects perceptual-motor performance. In the current paper we review the experimental literature on anxiety and perceptual-motor performance, thereby focusing on how anxiety affects the perception, selection, and realization of action possibilities. Based on this review we discuss the merits of two opposing theoretical explanations and build on existing frameworks of anxiety and cognitive performance to develop an integrated model that explains the various ways in which anxiety may specifically affect perceptual-motor performance. This model distinguishes between positive and negative effects of anxiety and, moving beyond previous approaches, recognizes three operational levels (i.e., attentional, interpretational, and behavioral) at which anxiety may affect different aspects of goal-directed action. Finally, predictions are formulated and directions for future research suggested.     

Affordance-Based Control of Visually Guided Action

The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast existing theoretical approaches to understanding the visual guidance of action and to introduce a new approach. The focus is on tasks, such as steering, braking, and intercepting, that are (more or less) continuously guided on the basis of visual information. The prominent approach, information-based control, captures important aspects of behavior but is incompatible with the theory of affordances, a core principle of the ecological approach. Information-based control also fails to capture how actors behave in ways that take the limits of their action capabilities into account. I attempt to resolve these problems by introducing a new approach, affordance-based control, which asserts that a primary function of vision is to allow actors to see the world in terms of what they can and cannot do. Affordance-based control captures the tight coupling between information in optic flow and movement that is characteristic of visually guided action but also provides a parsimonious explanation of how actors take into account the dynamic properties of their body and the environment.     

Perceptual and perceptual-motor fluency as a basis for affective judgements: Individual differences in motor memory activation

Abstract

The current study investigated the repetition-liking effect as a function of variations in perceptual-motor processing and individual differences in use of perceptual-motor information. Turkish words from earlier repetition-liking research were used in comparing: (1) perceptual (looking) versus perceptual-motor (looking and pronouncing) processing; and (2) perceptual-motor fluency versus disfluency (pronouncing words in a consistent versus an inconsistent manner). Subjects were divided into groups based on an assessment of imagery ability, a variable associated with the tendency to reactivate motor information in memory. Words were liked more after fluent than after disfluent processing, but only in people with good imagery ability. Perceptual-motor fluency had no effect on the repetition-liking effect in poor imagers. It was concluded that perceptual-motor fluency has an important impact on liking judgements, and that this effect is mediated by individual differences in the tendency to automatically activate motor information stored during previous processing of a stimulus.     

Compensation for subliminal timing perturbations in perceptual-motor synchronization

 It is sometimes assumed that limits of temporal discrimination established in psychophysical tasks constrain the timing information available for the control of action. Results from the five perceptual-motor synchronization experiments presented here argue against this assumption. Experiment 1 demonstrates that subliminal (0.8–2%) local changes in interval duration in an otherwise isochronous auditory sequence are rapidly compensated for in the timing of synchronized finger tapping. If this compensation is based on perception of the highly variable synchronization error (SE) rather than of the local change in stimulus period, then it could be based solely on SEs that exceed the temporal order threshold. However, that hypothesis is ruled out by additional analyses of Exp. 1 and the results of Exp. 2, a combined synchronization and temporal order judgment task. Experiments 3–5 further show that three factors that affect the detectability of local deviations from stimulus isochrony do not inhibit effective compensation for such deviations in synchronized tapping. Experiment 5, a combined synchronization and detection task, shows directly that compensation for timing perturbations does not depend on explicit detection. Overall, the results suggest that the automatic processes involved in the temporal control of action have access to more accurate timing information than do the conscious decision processes of auditory temporal judgment. Received: 19 November 1998 / Accepted: 18 March 1999     

Integration of temporal and ordinal information during serial interception sequence learning

The expression of expert motor skills typically involves learning to perform a precisely timed sequence of movements. Research examining incidental sequence learning has relied on a perceptually cued task that gives participants exposure to repeating motor sequences but does not require timing of responses for accuracy. In the 1st experiment, a novel perceptual-motor sequence learning task was used, and learning a precisely timed cued sequence of motor actions was shown to occur without explicit instruction. Participants learned a repeating sequence through practice and showed sequence-specific knowledge via a performance decrement when switched to an unfamiliar sequence. In the 2nd experiment, the integration of representation of action order and timing sequence knowledge was examined. When either action order or timing sequence information was selectively disrupted, performance was reduced to levels similar to completely novel sequences. Unlike prior sequence-learning research that has found timing information to be secondary to learning action sequences, when the task demands require accurate action and timing information, an integrated representation of these types of information is acquired. These results provide the first evidence for incidental learning of fully integrated action and timing sequence information in the absence of an independent representation of action order and suggest that this integrative mechanism may play a material role in the acquisition of complex motor skills.     

On selection in vision

Summary The discrepancy between the capabilities of perceptual systems and effector systems makes mechanisms necessary that can selectively designate a subset of the perceptual information available to control an action. In vision, since foveation is neither sufficient nor necessary for this selection, central selection mechanisms have to be postulated. This study is concerned with the question of at what level this central selection takes place in one type of task, the partial-report bar-probe task. Two theories are relevant: early selection theories, asserting that central selection operates in a stage containing rapidly decaying precategorical visual information, and late selection theories, arguing that central selection operates in a stage containing abstract categorical information. A prediction following from the assumptions of early selection theories, but not of late selection theories, is that in bar-probe tasks the function relating the number of visual confusions to probe delays has to exhibit an inverted-U shape. This prediction was tested in five experiments, two with colors as items and three with letters. In all experiments, the proportion of visual confusions first increased with increasing probe delays and then decreased with still larger probe delays. The results support the early selection theories for small probe delays. For larger probe delays, late selection has to be postulated.     

A current approach to anticipation in sport / Un enfoque actual de la anticipación en el deporte

The classical cognitive concept of anticipation and timing (for example, reaction time) somewhat limits the study of sports actions under spatio-temporal pressure. The presence, duration and evolution of the information of the opponents, spatio-temporal pressure, the evolution of the athlete’s response movements or the degree of representativeness are some of the issues facilitating research into an anticipation that is better adjusted to the specific circumstances of interception tasks. This article proposes that temporalization of response actions is based on the balance between the spatio-temporal demands of the task, the athlete’s action capabilities and the evolution of the reliability of the available variables. In order to obtain good performance in these actions under pressure, individual perceptual differences and possible interactions with other information sources must also be considered.     

The scaling of information to action in visually guided braking

Braking to avoid a collision can be controlled by keeping the deceleration required to stop (i.e., ideal deceleration) in the "safe" region below maximum deceleration, but maximum deceleration is not optically specified and can vary as conditions change. When brake strength was manipulated between participants using a simulated braking task, the ratio of ideal to maximum deceleration at brake onset was invariant across groups, suggesting that calibration involves scaling information about ideal deceleration in intrinsic units of maximum deceleration. Evidence of rapid recalibration was found when brake strength was manipulated within participants, and the presence of external forces that affect brake dynamics resulted in biases in performance. Discussion focuses on the role of calibration, internal models, and affordance perception in visually guided action.     

Searching for the minimal essential information for skilled perception and action

Summary A common concern for both cognitive/computational and ecological/dynamical models of human motor control is the isolation of the minimal essential information needed to support skilled perception and action. In perception isolating essential features of the optic flow field, which are reliably informative regarding the nature of current events, from nonessential features provides a valuable step towards understanding how the computational complexity of perceptual information processing may be reduced to manageable levels and how relatively direct linkages of low dimensionality may be established between information and control variables. Likewise, in the study of action, discrimination of the movement features that remain immutable (invariant?) across changes in task conditions from the variables that are situationally determined provides a principled insight into the structural framework upon which skilled movement is built. Controversy abounds, however, in the study of perception and action as to whether features isolated as informative and immutable are centrally represented (in the form of a template or program) or are rather directly picked up (in the case of perceptual variables) or are simply an emergent consequence of the underlying dynamics (in the case of action variables). In this paper some examples of putative minimal essential information sources in perception and action are provided, strategies for uncovering such sources are discussed, and attention is directed, with the use of some recent data collected on natural skills, to some systematic expert-novice differences in the utilization of essential information and control variables. Expert-novice differences are highlighted because of the insight they may provide regarding the nature of perceptual-motor skill acquisition.     

Age-Related Differences in Acquisition of Perceptual-Motor Skills: Working Memory as a Mediator

ABSTRACT

Aging is associated with reduced performance on information processing speed, memory, and executive functions tasks. Although older adults are also less apt in acquiring new perceptual-motor skills, it is unclear whether and how skill acquisition difficulties are associated with age-related general cognitive differences. We addressed this question by examining structural relations among measures of cognitive resources (working memory) and indices of perceptual-motor skill acquisition (pursuit rotor and mirror tracing) in 96 healthy adults aged 19–80 years of age. Three competing structural models were tested: a single (common) factor model, a dual correlated factors model, and a hierarchical dual-factor model. The third model provided the best fit to the data, indicating age differences in simple perceptual-motor skill are partially mediated by more complex abilities.     

Investigation of Perceptual-Motor Behavior Across the Expert Athlete to Disabled Patient Skill Continuum can Advance Theory and Practical Application

A framework is presented of how theoretical predictions can be tested across the expert athlete to disabled patient skill continuum. Common-coding theory is used as the exemplar to discuss sensory and motor system contributions to perceptual-motor behavior. Behavioral and neural studies investigating expert athletes and patients recovering from cerebral stroke are reviewed. They provide evidence of bi-directional contributions of visual and motor systems to perceptual-motor behavior. Majority of this research is focused on perceptual-motor performance or learning, with less on transfer. The field is ripe for research designed to test theoretical predictions across the expert athlete to disabled patient skill continuum. Our view has implications for theory and practice in sports science, physical education, and rehabilitation.     

Processing deceptive information in sports: Individual differences for responding to head fakes depends on the attentional capability of the observer

In team sports, players sometimes try to deceive their opponents by providing misleading information in order to gain a temporal advantage. Head-fakes are often applied when a player gazes in one direction, while passing/shooting the ball in another direction. The opponent is challenged to focus attention on the relevant information (i.e., pass direction), while ignoring the conflicting information (i.e., gaze direction). The present study aimed to identify the link between attentional capabilities and the effectiveness of head fakes. Twenty-seven novices performed in a basketball-specific head-fake task and in the attention-window task. A correlation between performances in both tasks revealed that participants with higher attentional capabilities were better able to focus their attention on the relevant feature (pass direction), when judging basketball situations, than participants with lower attentional capabilities. The results emphasize the relevance of high attentional capabilities in team sports and indicate that focusing one’s attention to the pass direction poses a possibility of reducing the effects of head fakes.     

The amendment of large-magnitude aiming-movement errors

Summary The amendment of large-magnitude errors is discussed with particular reference to the correction of directional errors. It is argued that the correction of a large-magnitude error may be understood as a double-step tracking situation in which the second step reflects an artificially induced error signal. At issue is how the motor system may respond to such stimuli in rapid succession. The temporal integration of error stimuli predicts an initial response which reflects the weighted average of the step positions. This approach, however, does not explain the marked increase in peak velocity for the corrective response, compared to an equivalent single-step response. Alternatively, it has been argued that the initial response is initiated as if it were a single-step response to the initial step position and is subsequently amended. The superposition hypothesis argued that the two responses are planned in parallel and overlap in time, to be superimposed one on the other. This hypothesis does not explain changes in the direction of a double-step response at its initiation. The braking hypothesis argues that the initial response is halted and a corrective response initiated as rapidly as possible. This approach cannot explain changes in the slope of an ATF as a function of the second target-step amplitude. A model of double-step tracking is proposed which integrates the temporal integration and braking hypotheses. Since the braking of the initial response would involve the application of large forces, it is argued that braking is facilitated by the temporal integration of step stimuli. The corrective response is then implemented as rapidly as possible. The implications of these findings to the understanding of directional errors is discussed.     

Driver social desirability scale: A Turkish adaptation and examination in the driving context

Self-report data collection methods are widely used techniques to gather information in studies related to road safety. One of the most considerable limitations of self-reports is social desirability bias. One way to overcome the possible detrimental effects of socially desirable responding is to control it by using social desirability scales. With respect to that, the present study aims to adapt the Driver Social Desirability Scale into Turkish, examine its construct validity, and investigate the relationship between social desirability and driving-related measures. A total of 351 drivers between the ages of 19 and 59 completed a questionnaire including a demographic information form, the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), the Two-Dimensional Social Desirability Scale (SDS), and the Driver Social Desirability Scale (DSDS). Factor analysis supported the two-factor structure of the DSDS in the Turkish sample. Social desirability correlated positively with age and driving experience. Female drivers reported higher levels of driver impression management, while male drivers scored higher on self-deception. Driver impression management was associated negatively with violations and perceptual-motor skills and positively with safety skills. Lastly, driver self-deception was positively related to violations, positive driver behaviors, perceptual-motor skills, and safety skills. The study shows that the Turkish version of the DSDS is a reliable and structurally valid instrument with incremental validity compared to the general social desirability measure in predicting driving-related outcomes.     

The effect of priming on interceptive actions

Time constraints in ball sports encourage players to take advantage of any relevant advance information available to prepare their actions. Advance information, therefore, can serve to prime movement parameters (e.g. movement direction) and reduce the amount of time required to prepare the upcoming movement. Regularly, however, players face situations in which the information used to prepare the action turns out to be outdated just prior to movement initiation and the prepared action needs to be changed as soon as possible. The aim of the experiment presented here was to determine whether the priming effect, generally reported for reaction time tasks, could be generalised to interceptive actions. A secondary aim was to examine the strategies employed by the participants to cope with valid, invalid, or no advance information. The results indicate that, when available, the participants used advance information to prepare their movements. More specifically, in comparison with valid advance information, hit rate and spatial accuracy were reduced when the participants had no advance information and were even smaller when the information conveyed was invalid. The results also suggest that in the absence of valid advance information, the strategies employed to intercept the moving target were tuned to the time remaining until the interception was due to occur.