Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Actor-Observer Effect01:23

Actor-Observer Effect

461
The actor-observer effect, a cognitive bias closely linked to the fundamental attribution error, refers to the tendency for individuals to attribute their behavior to external, situational factors while explaining others’ behavior in terms of internal, dispositional traits. This asymmetry in attribution significantly influences social perception and judgment.Cognitive Mechanisms Behind the EffectTwo primary psychological mechanisms contribute to the actor-observer effect: differences in...
461
Framing Effects03:26

Framing Effects

8.0K
Information is everywhere and its presentation—such as how and when items are presented—can impact our perceptions and decisions surrounding the info. This broad concept umbrellas framing effects—influences that occur due to the way information is framed in its appearance, whether it’s purely the order or the specific wording of a message. Let’s take a look at numerous ways in which two versions of something can objectively say the same thing, yet we respond in...
8.0K
Nonconscious Mimicry01:13

Nonconscious Mimicry

5.2K
Nonconscious mimicry occurs when individuals alter their mannerisms to match the behaviors and expressions of those nearby, without intention.
5.2K
Gestalt Principles of Perception01:21

Gestalt Principles of Perception

1.6K
Gestalt principles provide a framework for understanding how humans perceive objects as unified wholes within their context. These principles are essential in explaining the cognitive processes that make sense of complex visual stimuli by organizing them into coherent groups. One fundamental principle is proximity, which posits that objects located close to each other are perceived as a collective group. For instance, when dots are positioned near one another, the visual system interprets them...
1.6K
Attribution Theory00:56

Attribution Theory

14.0K
Behavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958).
14.0K
Fundamental Attribution Error01:14

Fundamental Attribution Error

14.0K
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is...
14.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Is This Your Final Destination? Created Steppingstone Paths Differ Depending on Whether Paths Terminate or Continue.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2025
Same author

Affordance norms for 2825 concrete nouns.

Behavior research methods·2024
Same author

The effect of experience on the perception of affordances for aperture crossing in cycling.

Psychology of sport and exercise·2024
Same author

Higher order affordances.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2024
Same author

Created stepping-stone configurations depend on task constraints.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2024
Same author

The Complexity of Head Movement is Correlated with Learning about Affordances for Walking.

Journal of motor behavior·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios
07:43

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios

Published on: August 4, 2023

2.8K

Perceiving nested affordances for another person's actions.

Jeffrey B Wagman1, Thomas A Stoffregen2, Jiuyang Bai1

  • 11 Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|January 7, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

People can perceive how another person might act by understanding nested affordances. This study shows judgments of another's actions rely on their abilities, not the observer's own capabilities.

Keywords:
AffordancesPerception–action

More Related Videos

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
07:36

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

16.5K
Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
06:53

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

13.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios
07:43

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios

Published on: August 4, 2023

2.8K
Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
07:36

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

16.5K
Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
06:53

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

13.9K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Ecological Psychology
  • Perception

Background:

  • Affordances are behaviors possible between an organism and its environment.
  • These affordances can be conceptualized in nested mean-ends hierarchies.
  • Prior research confirms sensitivity to these hierarchies for one's own actions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the perception of hierarchical affordances for another person's actions.
  • To determine if perceivers understand nested means-ends relationships in social contexts.
  • To examine whether judgments of another's capabilities are based on self-simulation or external observation.

Main Methods:

  • Participants judged the maximum reaching height of another person (actor).
  • Task constraints were manipulated to assess sensitivity to hierarchical affordances.
  • Judgments were analyzed to see if they scaled to the actor's or perceiver's abilities.

Main Results:

  • Judgments of maximum reaching height reflected task constraints, indicating sensitivity to hierarchical affordances.
  • Perceivers' judgments scaled to the actor's reaching ability, not their own.
  • This suggests perceivers used information about the actor's capabilities.

Conclusions:

  • Perceivers are sensitive to hierarchical means-ends nesting of affordances for another person.
  • Judgments of another's action capabilities are based on perceptual information about the actor.
  • This research highlights social perception of affordances and action capabilities.