The psychological reality of the body schema: a test with normal participants.
Neuropsychological dissociations suggest the existence of a body schema, a representation of the spatial relations among body parts, not used for other spatial stimuli. Four experiments verify the psychological reality of the body schema in normal participants. In Experiments 1 and 2, proprioceptive information concerning one's own body position influences visual perception of others' body positions. Contrary to expectations, facilitation is observed rather than interference in the dual-performance task. Experiment 3 eliminates the possibility that the effect is due to a particular mnemonic strategy. In Experiment 4, this effect is shown to be specific to the perception of bodies, as opposed to other complex 3-dimensional forms.
Reed
C L
CL
Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Colorado 80208, USA.
Farah
M J
MJ
D001828:Body Image; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D014796:Visual Perception