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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Higher levels of motor competence are associated with reduced
interference in action perception across the lifespan
Stephanie Wermelinger
1
•Anja Gampe
1
•Moritz M. Daum
1,2
Received: 20 March 2017 / Accepted: 27 October 2017 / Published online: 7 November 2017
ÓSpringer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2017
Abstract Action perception and action production are
tightly linked and elicit bi-directional influences on each
other when performed simultaneously. In this study, we
investigated whether age-related differences in manual
fine-motor competence and/or age affect the (interfering)
influence of action production on simultaneous action
perception. In a cross-sectional eye-tracking study, partic-
ipants of a broad age range (N=181, 20–80 years)
observed a manual grasp-and-transport action while per-
forming an additional motor or cognitive distractor task.
Action perception was measured via participants’ fre-
quency of anticipatory gaze shifts towards the action goal.
Manual fine-motor competence was assessed with the
Motor Performance Series. The interference effect in action
perception was greater in the motor than the cognitive
distractor task. Furthermore, manual fine-motor compe-
tence and age in years were both associated with this
interference. The better the participants’ manual fine-motor
competence and the younger they were, the smaller the
interference effect. However, when both influencing factors
(age and fine-motor competence) were taken into account,
a model including only age-related differences in manual
fine-motor competence best fit with our data. These results
add to the existing literature that motor competence and its
age-related differences influence the interference effects
between action perception and production.
Introduction
Successful social interaction involves the anticipation of
our interlocutor’s actions (von Hofsten, 2004). This ability
is assumed to be based on shared representations for per-
ceived and produced actions (Flanagan & Johansson, 2003;
Hommel, Mu
¨sseler, Aschersleben, & Prinz, 2001; Prinz,
1997). Because of this common basis, action perception
and production elicit bi-directional influences on each other
when performed simultaneously: While concurrent and
incongruent action perception and production interfere
with each other, the opposite is true for concurrent and
congruent perception and production (e.g., Brass, Bekker-
ing, & Prinz, 2001). Furthermore, action perception and
production are influenced by motor experience (Roberts
et al., 2016) and age (Diersch, Cross, Stadler, Schu
¨tz-
Bosbach, & Rieger, 2012). In this study, we explored the
influence of age-related differences in manual fine-motor
competence on the interference effect in simultaneous
action perception and production.
Previous research has shown that action perception is
modulated by a concurrent action production. This results
in interference effects in cases in which perceived and
produced actions do not match (Jacobs & Shiffrar, 2005;
Kilner, Paulignan, & Blakemore, 2003). For instance,
Hamilton, Wolpert, and Frith (2004) asked participants to
lift boxes of different weights. At the same time, they were
asked to make judgments about the heaviness of objects
lifted by an actor. Participants perceived objects lifted by
the actor to be lighter when they themselves lifted a heavy
box and heavier when they lifted a light box. In the same
vain, action perception is facilitated by a corresponding
and simultaneously produced action (e.g., evaluation of
movement durations: Hecht, Vogt, & Prinz, 2001; dis-
crimination of hand postures: Miall et al., 2006). Similarly,
&Stephanie Wermelinger
s.wermelinger@psychologie.uzh.ch
1
Department of Psychology, University of Zurich,
Binzmuehlestrasse 14, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland
2
Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
123
Psychological Research (2019) 83:432–444
DOI 10.1007/s00426-017-0941-z
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