Self produced and observed actions influence emotion: the roles of action fluency and eye gaze

Hayes, Amy E.; Paul, Matthew A.; Beuger, Boukje; Tipper, Steven P.

doi:10.1007/s00426-007-0125-3

Cited by 55 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…A number of studies demonstrate that people tend to like stimuli more that are easy to understand (e. g., Jacoby and Dallas, 1981; Whittlesea, 1993). Researchers have also demonstrated that we like objects more that we have watched others interact with smoothly and efficiently, compared to objects that were interacted with awkwardly (Hayes et al, 2008), thus demonstrating a link between liking and perceived action fluidity. In the present study, we add another element to the relationship between liking and action perception: namely, that observers also tend to rate actions that are beyond their physical abilities as more likeable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of aesthetic evaluation and physical ability on dance perception

Cross¹

2011

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

138

151

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The field of neuroaesthetics attracts attention from neuroscientists and artists interested in the neural underpinnings of esthetic experience. Though less studied than the neuroaesthetics of visual art, dance neuroaesthetics is a particularly rich subfield to explore, as it is informed not only by research on the neurobiology of aesthetics, but also by an extensive literature on how action experience shapes perception. Moreover, it is ideally suited to explore the embodied simulation account of esthetic experience, which posits that activation within sensorimotor areas of the brain, known as the action observation network (AON), is a critical element of the esthetic response. In the present study, we address how observers’ esthetic evaluation of dance is related to their perceived physical ability to reproduce the movements they watch. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while evaluating how much they liked and how well they thought they could physically replicate a range of dance movements performed by professional ballet dancers. We used parametric analyses to evaluate brain regions that tracked with degree of liking and perceived physical ability. The findings reveal strongest activation of occipitotemporal and parietal portions of the AON when participants view movements they rate as both esthetically pleasing and difficult to reproduce. As such, these findings begin to illuminate how the embodied simulation account of esthetic experience might apply to watching dance, and provide preliminary evidence as to why some people find enjoyment in an evening at the ballet.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of aesthetic evaluation and physical ability on dance perception

Cross¹

2011

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

138

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In other words, the more fluently a perceiver can process a stimulus, the more positive their aesthetic response becomes. This idea has received support from research showing that observing or performing smooth reach and grasping movements toward everyday objects results in higher aesthetic ratings of those objects compared to objects that were grasped in a more awkward way (Hayes et al, 2008). In a recent paper, Montero suggested that dance training can facilitate the perception of certain aesthetic qualities of a dance, meaning that aspects such as grace, power, and precision may go unnoticed without any physical practice (Montero, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of sensorimotor experience on affective evaluation of dance

Kirsch¹,

Drommelschmidt²,

Cross³

2013

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Past research demonstrates that we are more likely to positively evaluate a stimulus if we have had previous experience with that stimulus. This has been shown for judgment of faces, architecture, artworks and body movements. In contrast, other evidence suggests that this relationship can also work in the inverse direction, at least in the domain of watching dance. Specifically, it has been shown that in certain contexts, people derive greater pleasure from watching unfamiliar movements they would not be able to physically reproduce compared to simpler, familiar actions they could physically reproduce. It remains unknown, however, how different kinds of experience with complex actions, such as dance, might change observers' affective judgments of these movements. Our aim was to clarify the relationship between experience and affective evaluation of whole body movements. In a between-subjects design, participants received either physical dance training with a video game system, visual and auditory experience or auditory experience only. Participants' aesthetic preferences for dance stimuli were measured before and after the training sessions. Results show that participants from the physical training group not only improved their physical performance of the dance sequences, but also reported higher enjoyment and interest in the stimuli after training. This suggests that physically learning particular movements leads to greater enjoyment while observing them. These effects are not simply due to increased familiarity with audio or visual elements of the stimuli, as the other two training groups showed no increase in aesthetic ratings post-training. We suggest these results support an embodied simulation account of aesthetics, and discuss how the present findings contribute to a better understanding of the shaping of preferences by sensorimotor experience.

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“…Our first hypothesis is that the user's affective appraisal of the VE depends on the playing view. This hypothesis is based on the previous finding that affective ratings for objects depend on viewing perspective (Hayes et al, 2006(Hayes et al, , 2008. Our second hypothesis is that a 1PP generates more engagement, because this perspective is known to yield a higher sense of spatial presence and more cognitive involvement (Kallinen et al, 2007).…”

Section: Aim Of the Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effects of Third Person Perspective on Affective Appraisal and Engagement: Findings From SECOND LIFE

Schuurink¹,

Toet²

2010

Simulation & Gaming

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This study investigates the influence of a first-person perspective (1PP) and a thirdperson perspective (3PP), respectively, on the affective appraisal and on the user engagement of a three-dimensional virtual environment in SECOND LIFE. Participants explored the environment while searching for five targets during a limited time span, using either a 1PP or a 3PP. No significant overall effect was found for viewing perspective on the appraisal of the three-dimensional virtual environment on the dimensions of arousal and valence. However, a 3PP yields more perceived control over the avatar and the events, which is a requirement for engagement. Analysis of the performance on the search task shows that participants using a 3PP find more objects but also need more time to find them. The present results suggest that a 3PP conveys a more distinct impression of the environment, thereby increasing engagement, and probably induces a different viewing strategy. Hence, a 3PP appears preferable for simulation and training applications in which the correct assessment of the affective properties of an environment is essential.

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Self produced and observed actions influence emotion: the roles of action fluency and eye gaze

Cited by 55 publications

References 45 publications

The impact of aesthetic evaluation and physical ability on dance perception

The impact of aesthetic evaluation and physical ability on dance perception

The impact of sensorimotor experience on affective evaluation of dance

Effects of Third Person Perspective on Affective Appraisal and Engagement: Findings From SECOND LIFE

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