The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a framework for perception and action planning.

doi:10.1017/S0140525X01000103

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The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a framework for perception and action planning.

Journal Article•DOI•

The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a framework for perception and action planning.

Bernhard Hommel¹, Jochen Müsseler², Gisa Aschersleben², Wolfgang Prinz²•Institutions (2)

Leiden University¹, Max Planck Society²

01 Oct 2001-Behavioral and Brain Sciences (Cambridge University Press)-Vol. 24, Iss: 5, pp 849-878

TL;DR: A new framework for a more adequate theoretical treatment of perception and action planning is proposed, in which perceptual contents and action plans are coded in a common representational medium by feature codes with distal reference, showing that the main assumptions are well supported by the data.

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Abstract: Traditional approaches to human information processing tend to deal with perception and action planning in isolation, so that an adequate account of the perception-action interface is still missing On the perceptual side, the dominant cognitive view largely underestimates, and thus fails to account for, the impact of action-related processes on both the processing of perceptual information and on perceptual learning On the action side, most approaches conceive of action planning as a mere continuation of stimulus processing, thus failing to account for the goal-directedness of even the simplest reaction in an experimental task We propose a new framework for a more adequate theoretical treatment of perception and action planning, in which perceptual contents and action plans are coded in a common representational medium by feature codes with distal reference Perceived events (perceptions) and to-be-produced events (actions) are equally represented by integrated, task-tuned networks of feature codes – cognitive structures we call event codes We give an overview of evidence from a wide variety of empirical domains, such as spatial stimulus-response compatibility, sensorimotor synchronization, and ideomotor action, showing that our main assumptions are well supported by the data

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Journal Article•DOI•

The functional architecture of human empathy

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Jean Decety¹, Philip L. Jackson¹•Institutions (1)

University of Washington¹

01 Jun 2004-Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews

TL;DR: A model of empathy that involves parallel and distributed processing in a number of dissociable computational mechanisms is proposed and may be used to make specific predictions about the various empathy deficits that can be encountered in different forms of social and neurological disorders.

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Abstract: Empathy accounts for the naturally occurring subjective experience of similarity between the feelings expressed by self and others without loosing sight of whose feelings belong to whom. Empathy involves not only the affective experience of the other person’s actual or inferred emotional state but also some minimal recognition and understanding of another’s emotional state. In light of multiple levels of analysis ranging from developmental psychology, social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical neuropsychology, this article proposes a model of empathy that involves parallel and distributed processing in a number of dissociable computational mechanisms. Shared neural representations, self-awareness, mental flexibility, and emotion regulation constitute the basic macrocomponents of empathy, which are underpinned by specific neural systems. This functional model may be used to make specific predictions about the various empathy deficits that can be encountered in different forms of social and neu...

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2,431 citations

Journal Article•

A sensorimotor account of vision and visual consciousness-Authors' Response-Acting out our sensory experience

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J. Kevin O'Regan, Alva Noë

01 Jan 2001-Behavioral and Brain Sciences

TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose that the brain produces an internal representation of the world, and the activation of this internal representation is assumed to give rise to the experience of seeing, but it leaves unexplained how the existence of such a detailed internal representation might produce visual consciousness.

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Abstract: Many current neurophysiological, psychophysical, and psychological approaches to vision rest on the idea that when we see, the brain produces an internal representation of the world. The activation of this internal representation is assumed to give rise to the experience of seeing. The problem with this kind of approach is that it leaves unexplained how the existence of such a detailed internal representation might produce visual consciousness. An alternative proposal is made here. We propose that seeing is a way of acting. It is a particular way of exploring the environment. Activity in internal representations does not generate the experience of seeing. The outside world serves as its own, external, representation. The experience of seeing occurs when the organism masters what we call the governing laws of sensorimotor contingency. The advantage of this approach is that it provides a natural and principled way of accounting for visual consciousness, and for the differences in the perceived quality of sensory experience in the different sensory modalities. Several lines of empirical evidence are brought forward in support of the theory, in particular: evidence from experiments in sensorimotor adaptation, visual \"filling in,\" visual stability despite eye movements, change blindness, sensory substitution, and color perception.

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2,271 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Toward a mechanistic psychology of dialogue

[...]

Martin J. Pickering¹, Simon Garrod²•Institutions (2)

University of Edinburgh¹, University of Glasgow²

01 Apr 2004-Behavioral and Brain Sciences

TL;DR: A mechanistic account of dialogue, the interactive alignment account, is proposed and used to derive a number of predictions about basic language processes, and the need for a grammatical framework that is designed to deal with language in dialogue rather than monologue is considered.

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Abstract: Traditional mechanistic accounts of language processing derive almost entirely from the study of monologue. Yet, the most natural and basic form of language use is dialogue. As a result, these accounts may only offer limited theories of the mechanisms that un- derlie language processing in general. We propose a mechanistic account of dialogue, the interactive alignment account, and use it to de- rive a number of predictions about basic language processes. The account assumes that, in dialogue, the linguistic representations em- ployed by the interlocutors become aligned at many levels, as a result of a largely automatic process. This process greatly simplifies production and comprehension in dialogue. After considering the evidence for the interactive alignment model, we concentrate on three aspects of processing that follow from it. It makes use of a simple interactive inference mechanism, enables the development of local di- alogue routines that greatly simplify language processing, and explains the origins of self-monitoring in production. We consider the need for a grammatical framework that is designed to deal with language in dialogue rather than monologue, and discuss a range of implica- tions of the account.

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2,222 citations

Cites background or methods from "The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a..."

...Parity is also increasingly advocated as a means of explaining perception/action interactions outside language (Hommel et al. 2001)....
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...These experiments therefore employ methods that reinforce the ideomotor tradition of action research that underlies Levelt’s framework (see Hommel et al. 2001)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching

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Matthew C. Davidson¹, Dima Amso¹, Loren Cruess Anderson², Adele Diamond³•Institutions (3)

Cornell University¹, University of Massachusetts Medical School², University of British Columbia³

01 Jan 2006-Neuropsychologia

TL;DR: This is one of the first studies, in children or adults, to explore: (a) how memory requirements interact with spatial compatibility and (b) spatial incompatibility effects both with stimulus-specific rules (Simon task) and with higher-level, conceptual rules.

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1,803 citations

Cites background or result from "The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a..."

...We predicted, consistent with the findings of others (Hommel et al., 2001; Kleinsorge, 1999; Meiran, 2000a,b; Rogers & Monsell, 1995; Schuch & Koch, 2004) and Diamond’s all-or-none hypothesis (Diamond, 2005), that performance would be better when both the rule and the response changed than when the rule changed but the response did not....
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...…that provides another example of the all or none principle is that it is easier to switch everything, or nothing, than to switch one thing (e.g., the rule or the response) but not the other (Hommel et al., 2001; Kleinsorge, 1999; Meiran, 2000a,b; Rogers & Monsell, 1995; Schuch & Koch, 2004)....
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..., the rule or the response) but not the other (Hommel et al., 2001; Kleinsorge, 1999; Meiran, 2000a,b; Rogers & Monsell, 1995; Schuch & Koch, 2004)....
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...We predicted, consistent with he findings of others (Hommel et al., 2001; Kleinsorge, 1999; eiran, 2000a,b; Rogers & Monsell, 1995; Schuch & Koch, 004) and Diamond’s all-or-none hypothesis (Diamond, 2005), hat performance would be better when both the rule and the esponse changed than when the rule…...
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Journal Article•DOI•

The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel, and is it unique to humans?

[...]

Thomas Suddendorf¹, Michael C. Corballis²•Institutions (2)

University of Queensland¹, University of Auckland²

01 Jun 2007-Behavioral and Brain Sciences

TL;DR: It is submitted that mental time travel is not an encapsulated cognitive system, but instead comprises several subsidiary mechanisms that allow prediction of future situations and should be considered in addition to direct evidence of future-directed action.

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Abstract: In a dynamic world, mechanisms allowing prediction of future situations can provide a selective advantage. We suggest that memory systems differ in the degree of flexibility they offer for anticipatory behavior and put forward a corresponding taxonomy of prospection. The adaptive advantage of any memory system can only lie in what it contributes for future survival. The most flexible is episodic memory, which we suggest is part of a more general faculty of mental time travel that allows us not only to go back in time, but also to foresee, plan, and shape virtually any specific future event. We review comparative studies and find that, in spite of increased research in the area, there is as yet no convincing evidence for mental time travel in nonhuman animals. We submit that mental time travel is not an encapsulated cognitive system, but instead comprises several subsidiary mechanisms. A theater metaphor serves as an analogy for the kind of mechanisms required for effective mental time travel. We propose that future research should consider these mechanisms in addition to direct evidence of future-directed action. We maintain that the emergence of mental time travel in evolution was a crucial step towards our current success.

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1,623 citations

Cites background from "The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a..."

...Hommel et al. (2001) give an overview pointing to the conclusion that “Perceived events (perceptions) and to-be-produced events (actions) are equally represented by integrated, task-tuned networks of feature codes – cognitive structures we call event codes” (p. 849)....
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References

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Open Access

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Book•

The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception

[...]

James J. Gibson¹•Institutions (1)

Princeton University¹

01 Jan 1979

TL;DR: The relationship between Stimulation and Stimulus Information for visual perception is discussed in detail in this article, where the authors also present experimental evidence for direct perception of motion in the world and movement of the self.

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Abstract: Contents: Preface. Introduction. Part I: The Environment To Be Perceived.The Animal And The Environment. Medium, Substances, Surfaces. The Meaningful Environment. Part II: The Information For Visual Perception.The Relationship Between Stimulation And Stimulus Information. The Ambient Optic Array. Events And The Information For Perceiving Events. The Optical Information For Self-Perception. The Theory Of Affordances. Part III: Visual Perception.Experimental Evidence For Direct Perception: Persisting Layout. Experiments On The Perception Of Motion In The World And Movement Of The Self. The Discovery Of The Occluding Edge And Its Implications For Perception. Looking With The Head And Eyes. Locomotion And Manipulation. The Theory Of Information Pickup And Its Consequences. Part IV: Depiction.Pictures And Visual Awareness. Motion Pictures And Visual Awareness. Conclusion. Appendixes: The Principal Terms Used in Ecological Optics. The Concept of Invariants in Ecological Optics.

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21,493 citations

"The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a..." refers background in this paper

...For instance, we share the general perspective of Dewey (1896) and Gibson (1979) that perception and action are functionally linked and that it is only their coordination that allows for adaptive behavior....
[...]
...…feet, and body, particular allocations of attention and other cognitive resources, and so forth, and that, second, action would actually run blind without being perceptually informed about its bodily and environmental preconditions, its progress, and its consequences (Dewey 1896; Gibson 1979)....
[...]
...The theory had initially been developed to account for the psychophysics of spatial orientation (Gibson 1950) and was later broadened to account for the ecology of perception in general (Gibson 1979; cf. Turvey 1977; Fowler & Turvey 1982)....
[...]

Journal Article•DOI•

Social learning theory

[...]

Albert Bandura¹•Institutions (1)

Stanford University¹

01 Jan 1977-Canadian Journal of Sociology-cahiers Canadiens De Sociologie

TL;DR: In this article, an exploración de the avances contemporaneos en la teoria del aprendizaje social, con especial enfasis en los importantes roles que cumplen los procesos cognitivos, indirectos, and autoregulatorios.

...read moreread less

Abstract: Una exploracion de los avances contemporaneos en la teoria del aprendizaje social, con especial enfasis en los importantes roles que cumplen los procesos cognitivos, indirectos, y autoregulatorios.

...read moreread less

20,904 citations

"The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a..." refers background in this paper

...There is a large variety of imitative actions, ranging from seemingly simple imitations of elementary orofacial gestures in newborns and infants (e.g., Meltzoff & Moore 1977) to instances of observational learning of habits, attitudes or even traits in adults (Bandura 1977; Bandura & Walters 1963)....
[...]

Book•

The Principles of Psychology

[...]

William James

01 Jan 1890

TL;DR: For instance, the authors discusses the multiplicity of the consciousness of self in the form of the stream of thought and the perception of space in the human brain, which is the basis for our work.

...read moreread less

Abstract: Arguably the greatest single work in the history of psychology. James's analyses of habit, the nature of emotion, the phenomenology of attention, the stream of thought, the perception of space, and the multiplicity of the consciousness of self are still widely cited and incorporated into contemporary theoretical accounts of these phenomena.

...read moreread less

14,049 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

A feature-integration theory of attention

[...]

Anne Treisman¹, Garry A. Gelade²•Institutions (2)

University of British Columbia¹, University of Oxford²

01 Jan 1980-Cognitive Psychology

TL;DR: A new hypothesis about the role of focused attention is proposed, which offers a new set of criteria for distinguishing separable from integral features and a new rationale for predicting which tasks will show attention limits and which will not.

...read moreread less

11,452 citations

"The Theory of Event Coding (TEC): a..." refers background in this paper

...One reason is that empirical research interests have shifted from dual-task paradigms to studies emphasizing selection, like in visual search (e.g., Treisman & Gelade 1980) or spatial cueing (e.g., Posner 1980)....
[...]
...Treisman and colleagues (Kahneman & Treisman 1984; Treisman & Gelade 1980) were among the first to propose a binding mechanism that serves the integration of distributedly represented visual features....
[...]

Book•

Human Problem Solving

[...]

Allen Newell¹•Institutions (1)

Carnegie Mellon University¹

01 Jun 1972

TL;DR: The aim of the book is to advance the understanding of how humans think by putting forth a theory of human problem solving, along with a body of empirical evidence that permits assessment of the theory.

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Abstract: : The aim of the book is to advance the understanding of how humans think. It seeks to do so by putting forth a theory of human problem solving, along with a body of empirical evidence that permits assessment of the theory. (Author)

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10,770 citations