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Cracco E, Liepelt R, Brass M, Genschow O. Top-Down Modulation of Motor Priming by Belief About Animacy. Exp Psychol 2023; 70:355-365. [PMID: 38602116 DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Research has shown that people automatically imitate others and that this tendency is stronger when the other person is a human compared with a nonhuman agent. However, a controversial question is whether automatic imitation is also modulated by whether people believe the other person is a human. Although early research supported this hypothesis, not all studies reached the same conclusion and a recent meta-analysis found that there is currently neither evidence in favor nor against an influence of animacy beliefs on automatic imitation. One of the most prominent studies supporting such an influence is the study by Liepelt and Brass (2010), who found that automatic imitation was stronger when participants believed an ambiguous, gloved hand to be human, as opposed to wooden. In this registered report, we provide a high-powered replication of this study (N = 199). In contrast to Liepelt and Brass (2010), we did not find an effect of animacy beliefs on automatic imitation. However, we did find a correlation between automatic imitation and perceived self-other similarity. Together, these results suggest that the gloved hand procedure does not reliably influence automatic imitation, but interindividual differences in perceived similarity do.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emiel Cracco
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Roman Liepelt
- Department of General Psychology: Judgment, Decision Making, Action, Faculty of Psychology, FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany
| | - Marcel Brass
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
| | - Oliver Genschow
- Department of Cognitive, Social- and Economic Psychology, Institute for Management and Organization, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany
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Friedrich EVC, Zillekens IC, Biel AL, O'Leary D, Singer J, Seegenschmiedt EV, Sauseng P, Schilbach L. Spatio-temporal dynamics of oscillatory brain activity during the observation of actions and interactions between point-light agents. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:657-679. [PMID: 36539944 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Predicting actions from non-verbal cues and using them to optimise one's response behaviour (i.e. interpersonal predictive coding) is essential in everyday social interactions. We aimed to investigate the neural correlates of different cognitive processes evolving over time during interpersonal predictive coding. Thirty-nine participants watched two agents depicted by moving point-light stimuli while an electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. One well-recognizable agent performed either a 'communicative' or an 'individual' action. The second agent either was blended into a cluster of noise dots (i.e. present) or was entirely replaced by noise dots (i.e. absent), which participants had to differentiate. EEG amplitude and coherence analyses for theta, alpha and beta frequency bands revealed a dynamic pattern unfolding over time: Watching communicative actions was associated with enhanced coupling within medial anterior regions involved in social and mentalising processes and with dorsolateral prefrontal activation indicating a higher deployment of cognitive resources. Trying to detect the agent in the cluster of noise dots without having seen communicative cues was related to enhanced coupling in posterior regions for social perception and visual processing. Observing an expected outcome was modulated by motor system activation. Finally, when the agent was detected correctly, activation in posterior areas for visual processing of socially relevant features was increased. Taken together, our results demonstrate that it is crucial to consider the temporal dynamics of social interactions and of their neural correlates to better understand interpersonal predictive coding. This could lead to optimised treatment approaches for individuals with problems in social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth V C Friedrich
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Imme C Zillekens
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Lena Biel
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Research Unit Experimental Psychology, Münster University, Münster, Germany
| | - Dariusz O'Leary
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Johannes Singer
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.,Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universitat Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eva Victoria Seegenschmiedt
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Paul Sauseng
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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Roberts JW, Bennett SJ. Does the threat of COVID-19 modulate automatic imitation? PLoS One 2023; 18:e0284936. [PMID: 37093873 PMCID: PMC10124885 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The tendency to involuntarily imitate the actions of others (automatic imitation) can be modulated by social affiliative cues. Here, we explored whether the disruption to our social lives caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may subsequently influence automatic imitation. Three groups were initially presented a sentence comprehension task that featured either neutral (control), safe or unsafe primes to COVID-19 infection. They then completed an automatic imitation task, where a numeric cue was presented alongside apparent motion of an index or middle finger, which was either compatible or incompatible with the required response. Reaction times were longer for the incompatible compared to compatible trials, and thus demonstrated automatic imitation. However, there was no influence of the primes indicating that automatic imitation was unaffected by the risk of COVID-19. The potential theoretical explanations and practical implications of pathogen avoidance and social bonding incentives are discussed with reference to pandemic events.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Roberts
- Brain & Behaviour Research Group, Research Institute for Sport & Exercise Sciences (RISES), Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Simon J Bennett
- Brain & Behaviour Research Group, Research Institute for Sport & Exercise Sciences (RISES), Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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