Using Biological Motion to Perceive Human Movement During a Remote Task

Our ability to see meaningful actions when presented with point-light traces of human movement is commonly referred to as the perception of biological motion. While traditional explanations have emphasized the spontaneous and automatic nature of this ability, more recent findings suggest that attention may play a larger role than is typically assumed. In two studies we show that the speed and accuracy of responding to point-light stimuli is highly correlated with the ability to control selective attention. In our first experiment we measured thresholds for determining the walking direction of a masked point-light figure, and performance on a range of attention-related tasks in the same set of observers. Mask-density thresholds for the direction discrimination task varied quite considerably from observer to observer and this variation was highly correlated with performance on both Stroop and flanker interference tasks. Other components of attention, such as orienting, alerting and visual search efficiency, showed no such relationship. In a second experiment, we examined the relationship between the ability to determine the orientation of unmasked point-light actions and Stroop interference, again finding a strong correlation. Our results are consistent with previous research suggesting that biological motion processing may requite attention, and specifically implicate networks of attention related to executive control and selection.

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Modulating Subjective Timing through Looming and Receding Biological Motion

Timing & Time Perception ◽

10.1163/22134468-bja10006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3-4) ◽

pp. 221-238

Author(s):

Helena Sgouramani ◽

Ioannis Chatziioannou ◽

Argiro Vatakis

Keyword(s):

Biological Motion ◽

Visual Stimulation ◽

Incongruent Condition ◽

Human Movement ◽

Social Relevance ◽

Sound Stimulation ◽

Reproduction Task ◽

Motion Direction ◽

Perceptual Asymmetry ◽

Temporal Domain

Our timing estimates are often prone to distortions from non-temporal attributes such as the direction of motion. Motion direction has been reported to lead to interval dilation when the movement is toward (i.e., looming) as compared to away from the viewer (i.e., receding). This perceptual asymmetry has been interpreted based on the contextual salience and prioritization of looming stimuli that allows for timely reactions to approaching objects. This asymmetry has mainly been studied through abstract stimulation with minimal social relevance. Focusing on the latter, we utilized naturalistic displays of biological motion and examined the aforementioned perceptual asymmetry in the temporal domain. In Experiment 1, we tested visual looming and receding human movement at various intervals in a reproduction task and found no differences in the participants’ timing estimates as a function of motion direction. Given the superiority of audition in timing, in Experiment 2, we combined the looming and receding visual stimulation with sound stimulation of congruent, incongruent, or no direction information. The analysis showed an overestimation of the looming as compared to the receding visual stimulation when the sound presented was of congruent or no direction, while no such difference was noted for the incongruent condition. Both looming and receding conditions (congruent and control) led to underestimations as compared to the physical durations tested. Thus, the asymmetry obtained could be attributed to the potential perceptual negligibility of the receding stimuli instead of the often-reported salience of looming motion. The results are also discussed in terms of the optimality of sound in the temporal domain.

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Visual Recognition of Biological Motion is Impaired in Children With Autism

Psychological Science ◽

10.1111/1467-9280.01434 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 151-157 ◽

Cited By ~ 314

Author(s):

Randolph Blake ◽

Lauren M. Turner ◽

Moria J. Smoski ◽

Stacie L. Pozdol ◽

Wendy L. Stone

Keyword(s):

Visual Recognition ◽

Biological Motion ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Human Movement ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Autistic Children ◽

Brain Areas ◽

Visual Tasks ◽

Point Light ◽

Line Elements

Autistic children and typically developing control children were tested on two visual tasks, one involving grouping of small line elements into a global figure and the other involving perception of human activity portrayed in point-light animations. Performance of the two groups was equivalent on the figure task, but autistic children were significantly impaired on the biological motion task. This latter deficit may be related to the impaired social skills characteristic of autism, and we speculate that this deficit may implicate abnormalities in brain areas mediating perception of human movement.

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Exploring the Spatio-Temporal Properties of Simple Conducting Gestures using a Synchronization Task

Music Perception An Interdisciplinary Journal ◽

10.1525/mp.2008.25.3.225 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 225-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Geoff Luck ◽

John Sloboda

Keyword(s):

Biological Motion ◽

Human Movement ◽

Rate Of Change ◽

Radius Of Curvature ◽

Temporal Properties ◽

Instantaneous Speed ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Point Light ◽

Beat Induction

THE SPATIO-TEMPORAL PROPERTIES OF HUMAN movement that induce the percept of a visual beat were investigated in three experiments. Experiment 1, in which participants synchronized key presses with point-light representations of simple conducting gestures, showed that visual beat induction was related to acceleration along the trajectory (a), and, to a lesser extent, high instantaneous speed (v). Experiment 2, in which the curvature component of the gestures was held constant, largely supported this finding. Experiment 3, in which the speed component of the gestures was held constant, indicated that neither radius of curvature (r) nor rate of change of radius of curvature (r') alone were related to visual beat induction. In addition, analysis of the characteristics of the gestures highlighted inconsistencies between descriptions of the beat in the conducting literature, and descriptions of biological motion in the human movement literature,with the gestures used here conforming to the latter.

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