The embodied nature of spatial perspective taking: embodied transformation versus sensorimotor interference

Klaus Kessler, Lindsey A. Thomson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Humans are able to mentally adopt the spatial perspective of others and understand the world from their point of view. We propose that spatial perspective taking (SPT) could have developed from the physical alignment of perspectives. This would support the notion that others have put forward claiming that SPT is an embodied cognitive process. We investigated this issue by contrasting several accounts in terms of the assumed processes and the nature of the embodiment. In a series of four experiments we found substantial evidence that the transformations during SPT comprise large parts of the body schema, which we did not observe for object rotation. We further conclude that the embodiment of SPT is best conceptualised as the self-initiated emulation of a body movement, supporting the notion of endogenous motoric embodiment. Overall our results are much more in agreement with an ‘embodied’ transformation account than with the notion of sensorimotor interference. Finally we discuss our findings in terms of SPT as a possible evolutionary stepping stone towards more complex alignments of socio-cognitive perspectives.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)72-88
Number of pages17
JournalCognition
Volume114
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2010

Keywords

  • social cognition
  • alignment
  • perspective taking
  • mental rotation
  • embodiment
  • direct posture matching

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The embodied nature of spatial perspective taking: embodied transformation versus sensorimotor interference'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this