Opposing effects of prior information on relational representation and visual cues in dynamic social interaction...

Social interaction, as a crucial component of relational representation, is essential for understanding human social cognition. While visual cues play a pivotal role in perceiving interactions, little is known about how individuals utilize past visual and interaction-related relational judgments when making decisions under uncertainty. This study investigated how past visual information and interpersonal relational judgments influence the current interaction perception. Participants continuously evaluated the interaction state of two avatars presented at varying distances and facing orientations. The findings revealed a dissociation where the perception of the current interaction state tends to be biased toward past interaction states rather than past distance cues, and this only occurs when the prior interaction information comes from the same sensory modality and is consciously attended to. For the distance cues that contribute to interaction representation, the current distance perception deviates from past distance, even when distance was not explicitly processed. This opposite influence of past information on visual cues and interaction relational representation reflects two independent processing mechanisms of prior information. When dynamically perceiving interpersonal interactions, individuals integrate the repulsive effect of visual cues with the attractive effect of past interaction relations to form stable interaction perception.