A review of ideomotor approaches to perception, cognition, action, and language: advancing a cultural recycling hypothesis

Abstract

The term "cultural recycling" derives from the neuronal recycling hypothesis, which suggests that representations of cultural inventions like written words, Arabic numbers, or tools can occupy brain areas dedicated to other functions. In the present selective review article, we propose a recycling hypothesis for the ideomotor mechanism. The ideomotor approach assumes that motor actions are controlled by the anticipation of the expected perceptual consequences that they aim to generate in the environment. Arguably, such action-perception mechanisms contribute to motor behaviour for human and non-human animals since millions of years. However, recent empirical studies suggest that the ideomotor mechanism can also contribute to word processing, number representation, and arithmetic. For instance, it has been shown that the anticipatory simulation of abstract semantics, like the numerical quantitative value of three items can prime processing of the associated Arabic number "3". Arabic numbers, words, or tools represent cultural inventions, so that, from a theoretical perspective, we suggest an ideomotor recycling hypothesis for the interaction with such artefacts. In this view, the ideomotor mechanism spreads its influence to other functions beyond motor control, and is recycled to flexibly adapt different human behaviours towards dealing with more abstract concepts.

Predicted action consequences are perceptually facilitated before cancellation.

“…Our logic assumes that prior experience has established predictive relationships -a prior contingent relationship has existed between executed and observed actions (Cook, Bird, Catmur, Press & Heyes, 2014;Hommel et al, 2001) -and that the non-contingent experience present in the experiment is insufficient to extinguish these predictions (Baeyens et al, 2005). Under this assumption, the effects observed here would also be predicted in paradigms where contingent relationships are present within the context of the experiment (see Badets et al, 2016 for a review).…”

The Time Course of Spatial Attention Shifts in Elementary Arithmetic

“…Theoretical (neural network) studies have shown that recycling is computationally efficient 28–31 . Moreover, much data has been garnered at both neural 7, 32, 33 and behavioral levels for the recycling hypothesis 34–36 . Mental arithmetic and space may just be one instance of this general phenomenon.…”

Exploring Modality Compatibility in the Response-Effect Compatibility Paradigm

“…In the present study, two experiments aimed to explore the role of modality compatibility in an R-E task, introducing the notion of modality-specificity into research on action control based on ideomotor theory (Badets et al, 2016; Greenwald, 1970; Shin et al, 2010). …”

“…In the REC paradigm, the participant receives a response-contingent effect which is either compatible or incompatible with their response (e.g., Janczyk, Pfister, & Kunde, 2012; Janczyk, Yamaguchi, Proctor, & Pfister, 2015; Keller & Koch, 2006; Koch, Keller, & Prinz, 2004; Kunde, Koch, & Hoffmann, 2004; Pfister, Kiesel, & Melcher, 2010; Pfister & Kunde, 2013; see also Badets, Koch, & Philipp, 2016; Shin, Proctor, & Capaldi, 2010, for reviews). For example, Kunde (2001, Experiment 2) instructed participants to press keys softly or forcefully, which then either led to a quiet or loud tone (manual-auditory R-E mapping).…”