TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2012//
TI  - Action-specific effects in a social context: Others' abilities influence perceived speed
JO  - Journal of experimental psychology: human perception and performance
A1  - Witt, Jessica K.
A1  - Sugovic, Mila
A1  - Taylor, J. Eric T.
SP  - 715
EP  - 725
VL  - 38
IS  - 3
N2  - According to the action-specific account of perception, perceivers see the environment relative to their ability to perform the intended action. For example, in a modified version of the computer game Pong, balls that were easier to block looked to be moving slower than balls that were more difficult to block (Witt & Sugovic, 2010). It is unknown, however, if perception can be influenced by another person's abilities. In the current experiment, we examined whether another person's ability to block a ball influenced the observer's perception of ball speed. Participants played and observed others play the modified version of Pong where the task was to successfully block the ball with paddles that varied in size, and both the actor and observer estimated the speed of the ball. The results showed that both judged the ball to be moving faster when it was harder to block. However, the same effect of difficulty on speed estimates was not found when observers watched a computer play, suggesting the effect is specific to people and not to the task. These studies suggest that the environment can be perceived relative to another person's abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0096-1523
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0026261
ID  - ref1
ER  -