The joint flanker effect: less social than previously thought.
Research on joint action has been taken to suggest that actors automatically co-represent the tasks and/or actions of co-actors. However, recent findings on the joint Simon effect have provided evidence for a nonsocial account, which renders automatic co-representation unlikely. In the present study, we aimed to test whether a nonsocial account is also feasible for the joint version of the flanker task. In particular, we manipulated the social nature of the "co-actor" who could be another human or a Japanese waving cat. Contrary to the social interpretation of the joint flanker effect, the results demonstrated a "joint" flanker effect, irrespective of whether participants shared the task with another person or with the Japanese waving cat.
Department of Psychology, Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, dolk@cbs.mpg.de.
Thomas
T
Dolk
Bernhard
B
Hommel
Wolfgang
W
Prinz
Roman
R
Liepelt
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012919:Social Behavior; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult