Target-directed vision in action-specific perception

Abstract

Golf players who hit with more success judge the hole to be bigger than do their less successful counterparts. This phenomenon, labeled action-specific perception, is consistent with one of the main tenets of embodied perception—that performance capabilities moderate an actor’s perception of the environment. However, the processes that mediate action-specific effects are largely unknown. We present two studies in which we show that target-directed vision is a prerequisite for action-specific perception. In the first study, we used a throwing-and catching task paradigm and showed that action-specific effects emerge only for primary action targets, but not for intermediate targets. In the second study, we replicated previously reported action-specific effects on perception in golf putting, but when vision toward the target was diverted or withheld, no action-specific effects emerged. Our results provide evidence to suggest that vision toward the action target is crucial for the emergence of action-specific effects.