The interplay of prior information and motion cues in resolving visual ambiguity in agent perception

Agent perception is essential for social interaction, allowing individuals to interpret and respond to the actions of others within dynamic environments. In this study, we examined whether and if so how prior information and motion information influence the temporal dynamics of perceiving agents. We presented short videos and images of three agents (a human, a robot, and an android) performing various actions while recording EEG. Using temporal representational similarity analysis (RSA) on EEG recordings, we analyzed the representation of agent identities under varying conditions: Still versus Moving stimuli and Prior versus Naive contexts. Our findings revealed that prior information and motion information interact to produce distinct temporal patterns of neural representation of agent identity. In the Naive condition (when no prior knowledge is available), agent processing was prolonged during still presentations compared to moving ones. These results demonstrate how the interplay between prior information and motion information shapes the temporal dynamics of agent perception.