Concurrently observed actions are represented not as compound actions but as independent actions.

Abstract

Recent research suggests that we can simultaneously represent the actions of multiple agents in our motor system. However, it is unclear exactly how concurrently observed actions are represented. Here, we tested two competing hypotheses. According to the independence hypothesis, concurrently observed actions are represented as independent actions. According to the compound hypothesis, they are instead integrated, whenever possible, into compound actions. In Experiment 1 (N = 32), we first show that the standard imitation-inhibition task with a single hand can be extended to measure automatic imitation of compound actions. In Experiments 2-5 (N Total = 368), we then investigated the representation of concurrently observed actions by further extending this task to include two hands. The results showed that two hands performing two different actions (e.g., one hand lifts index finger, one hand lifts middle finger) produced an effect similar to that of both hands performing just one of those actions (e.g., both hands lift index finger) but different from that of both hands performing both actions together (i.e., a compound action; lift both index and middle finger). This indicates that concurrently observed actions are coded as independent actions in the motor system. Public Significance StatementThis study shows that concurrently observed actions are not integrated into compound actions, suggesting that the actions of different agents are processed independently in the motor system.

A Gestalt account of human behavior is supported by evidence from switching between single and dual actions

“…Our present results are also in line with other recent evidence in favor of action Gestalten: When a certain single response [A] is more frequently practiced, this practice does not appear to transfer to allow for an easier execution of the A-part of dual [A + B] responses 50 . In addition, recent research on action imitation showed that executing a dual action (lifting both index and middle finger) is facilitated by observing a corresponding dual action but not by seeing the two composite actions (i.e., one stimulus hand lifts the index finger while another stimulus hand lifts the middle finger) 51 . Note that while our present study still involves rather basic actions, we believe that similar Gestalt representation formats occur as task complexity increases (especially in complex body movements such as dancing).…”