How does visuomotor priming differ for biological and non-biological stimuli? A review of the evidence.
Visuomotor priming occurs when our actions are influenced by observing a compatible or incompatible action. Here we ask whether visuomotor priming is specific to human, biological actions or generalises to non-biological movements, such as abstract shapes or robots. Reviewing the evidence indicates that priming occurs for both types of stimuli and emphasises the contributions of both bottom-up (e.g. stimulus saliency, appearance, kinematics) and top-down (e.g. attention and prior knowledge) factors. We propose a model suggesting that although bottom-up features play a critical role, the degree of difference in priming for biological versus non-biological stimuli can be ultimately shaped by top-down factors.
Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Carys Bannister Building, Dover Street, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. emma.gowen@manchester.ac.uk
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Gowen
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Poliakoff
D059031:Anticipation, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D060865:Repetition Priming; D012371:Robotics