Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

A Naturalistic Setup for Presenting Real People and Live Actions in Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Studies
Published on: August 4, 2023
Humans Anticipate the Goal of other People's Point-Light Actions
Claudia Elsner1, Terje Falck-Ytter, Gustaf Gredebäck
1Department of Psychology, Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract:
This eye tracking study investigated the degree to which biological motion information from manual point-light displays provides sufficient information to elicit anticipatory eye movements. We compared gaze performance of adults observing a biological motion point-light display of a hand reaching for a goal object or a non-biological version of the same event. Participants anticipated the goal of the point-light action in the biological motion condition but not in a non-biological control condition. The present study demonstrates that kinematic information from biological motion can be used to anticipate the goal of other people's point-light actions and that the presence of biological motion is sufficient for anticipation to occur.
Related Concept Videos
Nonconscious Mimicry
Social Facilitation
Impression Management Techniques III: Aligning Actions
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Hindsight Biases
Fixed Action Patterns

