How tool use and arm position affect peripersonal space representation.
Experiment 1 investigated whether tool use can expand the peripersonal space into the very far extrapersonal space. Healthy participants performed line bisection in peripersonal and extrapersonal space using wooden sticks up to a maximum of 240 cm. Participants misbisected to the left of the true midpoint, both for lines presented in peripersonal and for those presented in extrapersonal space, confirming a peripersonal space expansion up to a distance of 240 cm. Experiment 2 investigated whether arm position could influence the perception of peripersonal and extrapersonal space during tool use. Participants performed line bisection in the peripersonal and in the extrapersonal space (up to a maximum of 120 cm) using wooden sticks in two different conditions: either with the arm bent or with the arm stretched. Results showed stronger pseudoneglect in the stretched arm condition.
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 12, 35131, Padua, Italy.
Bruno
B
Seraglia
Konstantinos
K
Priftis
Simone
S
Cutini
Luciano
L
Gamberini
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001132:Arm / Q000502:physiology*; D004215:Distance Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D010550:Personal Space; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult