Grab it! Biased attention in functional hand and tool space

This study explored whether functional properties of the hand and tools influence the allocation of spatial attention. In four experiments that used a visual-orienting paradigm with predictable lateral cues, hands or tools were placed near potential target locations. Results showed that targets appe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Attention, perception & psychophysics perception & psychophysics, 2010, Vol.72 (1), p.236-245
Main Authors: Reed, Catherine L., Betz, Ryan, Garza, John P., Roberts, Ralph J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activity levels. Psychomotricity
Attention
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive Psychology
Competition
Eyes & eyesight
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hand Strength
Hands
Humans
Influence
Male
Monkeys & apes
Neural networks
Patients
Personal Space
Psychological Studies
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychomotor activities
Space Perception
Stimuli
Studies
Topology
Vigilance. Attention. Sleep
Visual Perception
Visual Stimuli
Young Adult
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Summary:This study explored whether functional properties of the hand and tools influence the allocation of spatial attention. In four experiments that used a visual-orienting paradigm with predictable lateral cues, hands or tools were placed near potential target locations. Results showed that targets appearing in the hand’s grasping space (i.e., near the palm) and the rake’s raking space (i.e., near the prongs) produced faster responses than did targets appearing to the back of the hand, to the back of the rake, or near the forearm. Validity effects were found regardless of condition in all experiments, but they did not interact with the target-in-grasping/raking-space bias. Thus, the topology of the facilitated space around the hand is, in part, defined by the hand’s grasping function and can be flexibly extended by functional experience using a tool. These findings are consistent with the operation of bimodal neurons, and this embodied component is incorporated into a neurally based model of spatial attention.
ISSN:1943-3921
1943-393X
DOI:10.3758/APP.72.1.236