Theory of Event Coding (TEC) V2.0: Representing and controlling perception and action

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human Perception and Action

Background:

• The Theory of Event Coding (TEC) posits perception and action share identical sensorimotor codes organized into 'event files'.
• Previous emphasis was on representational aspects, but recent advancements suggest a more integrated perspective.
• This update incorporates control processes operating on shared codes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an updated version of the Theory of Event Coding (TEC).
• To explore recent theoretical developments enhancing the integration of perception and action.
• To elucidate the role of goals, metacontrol, feature binding, and social context in event file processing.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical review and integration of recent developments in TEC.
• Analysis of how current goals and metacontrol states influence event file integration and retrieval.
• Examination of the relationship between feature binding and event learning.
• Comparison of non-social and social event integration within the TEC framework.
• Application of Simon task variants as case examples.

Main Results:

• Event file integration and retrieval are significantly modulated by current goals.
• Metacontrol states play a crucial role in managing event file processing.
• Feature binding is intrinsically linked to the learning of event representations.
• The integration of social events shares mechanisms with non-social event integration, with added complexities.

Conclusions:

• The updated TEC provides a unified framework for understanding perception-action interactions.
• The theory now better accounts for the dynamic interplay between shared codes and control processes.
• Empirical evidence, particularly from Simon task variations, supports the extended theoretical model.