Action influences on visual processing near the hands

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Vision routinely provides information about how to reach for and grasp objects in the environment. Can action similarly inform our visual experience of the world? The goal of this research is to determine whether the ability to reach out and grasp an object enhances visual information that helps people interact more effectively with their immediate surroundings. The research will also assess whether training to grasp objects in novel ways can influence people's visual experience. An enhanced understanding of how the action of grasping might alter visual perception can inform the design of applications for handheld mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and can help tailor interfaces to enhance user experience and safety. In addition, the project provides opportunities for high school students and Native American college students to become involved in STEM research (through the North Dakota Governor's School program and the NSF-funded NATURE program).How does the capacity for action shape visual cognition? Observers process objects that are within peripersonal space (objects they can easily grasp with their hands) differently than objects outside of their reach. A series of psychophysical experiments evaluates the hypothesis that changes in visual processing of graspable objects near the hands reflect an adaptation of the visual system to behavioral contexts. Dr. Thomas will examine how grasp posture creates affordances for action that bias processing of action-relevant visual information. Visual biases associated with power grip and precision grip postures will also be evaluated in situations with differing visual processing task demands. Potential plasticity of alterations in visual processing near the hands will be evaluated by determining whether action-specific training alters how observers process action-relevant visual information. These experiments explore the potential influence of both bottom-up and top-down mechanisms that may contribute to altered vision near the hands and determine the relationships between visual biases associated with the planning of dynamic actions and those associated with static hand postures. More generally, the work evaluates the malleability of the relationship between body position and visual perception, attention, and memory.