TY - JOUR
T1 - The Complexity of Head Movement is Correlated with Learning about Affordances for Walking
AU - Peterson, Nicolette A.
AU - Hajnal, Alen
AU - Wagman, Jeffrey B.
AU - Stoffregen, Thomas A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - We asked whether the quantitative kinematics of standing postural activity might be related to short-term learning of affordances. Standing participants viewed a narrow path for 15 s, and then gave perceptual reports about the distance that they could walk along the path while wearing a weighted vest (novel affordance) or while not wearing the vest (familiar affordance). In a control condition, participants gave perceptual reports about egocentric distance along the path. During the 15 s viewing intervals, we measured the kinematics of head and torso movement as standing participants made a series of 12 perceptual reports. Perceptual reports improved across trials, but only in the condition in which participants were asked to perceive a novel affordance. The dynamical complexity of head movement changed across trials as participants gave perceptual reports about the novel affordance, but did not change systematically when perceiving a familiar affordance, or a non-affordance egocentric distance. We argue that the dynamical complexity of postural activity may have served an exploratory function supporting the learning of a novel affordance. Our results are consistent with the broader hypothesis that affordances are learned through active engagement with the environment, rather than (for example) through abstract cognitive processing.
AB - We asked whether the quantitative kinematics of standing postural activity might be related to short-term learning of affordances. Standing participants viewed a narrow path for 15 s, and then gave perceptual reports about the distance that they could walk along the path while wearing a weighted vest (novel affordance) or while not wearing the vest (familiar affordance). In a control condition, participants gave perceptual reports about egocentric distance along the path. During the 15 s viewing intervals, we measured the kinematics of head and torso movement as standing participants made a series of 12 perceptual reports. Perceptual reports improved across trials, but only in the condition in which participants were asked to perceive a novel affordance. The dynamical complexity of head movement changed across trials as participants gave perceptual reports about the novel affordance, but did not change systematically when perceiving a familiar affordance, or a non-affordance egocentric distance. We argue that the dynamical complexity of postural activity may have served an exploratory function supporting the learning of a novel affordance. Our results are consistent with the broader hypothesis that affordances are learned through active engagement with the environment, rather than (for example) through abstract cognitive processing.
KW - affordance
KW - exploratory movement
KW - learning
KW - perception
KW - posture
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U2 - 10.1080/00222895.2023.2293000
DO - 10.1080/00222895.2023.2293000
M3 - Article
C2 - 38129318
AN - SCOPUS:85180238198
SN - 0022-2895
VL - 56
SP - 275
EP - 289
JO - Journal of Motor Behavior
JF - Journal of Motor Behavior
IS - 3
ER -