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Higher-order action planning for individual and joint object manipulations
Marlene Meyer1, Robrecht P R D van der Wel, Sabine Hunnius
1Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. m.meyer@donders.ru.nl
Experimental Brain Research
|January 31, 2013
Summary
People engage in higher-order planning for action sequences, requiring task experience for both individual and joint actions. Learning rates and experience transfer were similar across conditions, suggesting shared planning mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Motor Control
- Human Action Science
Background:
- Complex actions involve sequential steps, prompting investigation into the extent of future planning.
- Understanding how individuals and collaborators plan action sequences is crucial for human action science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate higher-order planning in action sequences for individual versus joint performances.
- To determine if task experience influences planning and if it transfers between individual and joint actions.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed object manipulation tasks individually and with a partner, involving sequential steps.
- Grasp choices were analyzed in relation to target location (shelf height) to assess forward planning.
- Task experience was accumulated over trials to observe learning and planning development.
Main Results:
- Participants demonstrated higher-order planning, but only after gaining sufficient task experience.
- Experience gained in individual performance transferred to joint performance, and vice versa.
- Learning rates were comparable between individual and joint action conditions.
Conclusions:
- Higher-order planning for action sequences develops with task experience in both individual and joint contexts.
- Mechanisms underlying planning for individual and joint action sequences appear to be similar.
- Experience is transferable between individual and collaborative action planning.
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