Viewpoint-dependent priming effects in the perception of human actions and body postures

Author(s): Verfaillie, K.

Journal/Book: Vis Cogn. 1999; 6: 27 Church Rd, Hove BN3 2FA, East Sussex, England. Psychology Press. 665-693.

Abstract: The identification of human actions and body postures viewed from different viewpoints was examined in four long-term priming experiments with static pictures of a human model. In Experiments 1 and 2 participants had to name or describe the pictures, and in Experiments 3 and 4 participants had to decide whether the pictures showed a possible or impossible body pose. Reliable priming effects were obtained only when priming and primed action or pose shared the same in-depth orientation (Experiments 1 and 4) and left-right reflection (Experiments 2 and 3). Having seen the same action or pose in a different orientation did not reliably facilitate identification performance later on. Also, there was no priming for poses that are impossible to perform with a human body, not even when an identical same-view prime was used. These findings suggest that the stored representations that mediate the identification of human actions and postures are viewpoint specific.

Note: Article Daems A, Catholic Univ Louvain, Expt Psychol Lab, Tiensestr 102, B-3000 Louvain, BELGIUM

Keyword(s): VISUAL OBJECT RECOGNITION; IMPLICIT MEMORY; BIOLOGICAL-MOTION; STRUCTURAL DESCRIPTIONS; 3-DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS; ROTATED OBJECTS; MENTAL ROTATION; APPARENT MOTION; INVARIANCE; TRANSFORMATIONS

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