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Updated: Jul 7, 2026
09:49
Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
Action-dependent perceptual invariants: from ecological to sensorimotor approaches
Matteo Mossio1, Dario Taraborelli
1IHPST, CNRS/Université Paris I, 13 rue du Four, 75006 Paris, France. matteo.mossio@ens.fr
Consciousness and Cognition
|January 30, 2008
Summary
Ecological and sensorimotor theories differ on how action shapes perception. Ecological invariants are transformation-specific, while sensorimotor invariants are motor-specific, leading to distinct empirical predictions.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Perception Research
- Action Theory
Background:
- Perceptual capacities are often explained by action-dependent invariants.
- Ecological and sensorimotor theories offer distinct frameworks for understanding perception and action.
Purpose of the Study:
- To contrast the assumptions of ecological and sensorimotor theories regarding perceptual information modulated by action.
- To investigate how movement specifies perceptual information within these theoretical frameworks.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of theoretical assumptions.
- Examination of the role of movement in specifying perceptual information.
- Distinguishing between transformation-specificity and motor-specificity of invariants.
Main Results:
- Ecological invariants are transformation-specific, not necessarily motor-specific.
- Sensorimotor theories posit perceptual invariants intrinsically linked to specific movements.
- These differences yield divergent empirical predictions for action-perception relations.
Conclusions:
- Ecological and sensorimotor theories present fundamentally different views on the action-perception relationship.
- Clarification of motor equivalence versus motor-specificity is crucial for a refined understanding.
- Further research is needed to empirically test the distinct predictions of each theory.
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