title: Dissecting the response in response-effect compatibility.
abstract: Voluntary actions are guided by sensory anticipations of body-related as well as environment-related action effects. Even though action effects in the environment typically resemble the action goal proper, anticipations of body-related effects can cause interference if they do not correspond to intended environment-related effects. The present study explored which specific response features cause such interference: the spatial location of the moving limb or its anatomical connection to the body causes such interference? Using a response-effect compatibility design with normal and crossed hand-key mappings, we show that environment-related effects are predominantly related to spatial rather than anatomical response features, ensuring that goal-directed behavior is flexible and efficient at the same time. Furthermore, results indicate that this mechanism applies to both, free- and forced-choice actions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology III, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Röntgenring 11, 97070, Würzburg, Germany. roland.pfister@psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kunde
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult