September 2024
Volume 24, Issue 10
Open Access
Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting Abstract  |   September 2024
People take Newtonian physics into account in sensorimotor decisions under risk
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Fabian Tatai
    Institute of Psychology, Technical University Darmstadt
    Centre for Cognitive Science, Technical University Darmstadt
  • Dominik Straub
    Institute of Psychology, Technical University Darmstadt
    Centre for Cognitive Science, Technical University Darmstadt
  • Constantin A. Rothkopf
    Institute of Psychology, Technical University Darmstadt
    Centre for Cognitive Science, Technical University Darmstadt
  • Footnotes
    Acknowledgements  This research was supported by 'The Adaptive Mind', funded by the Excellence Program of the Hessian Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Art. We additionally acknowledge support by the European Research Council (ERC; Consolidator Award 'ACTOR'-project number ERC-CoG-101045783).
Journal of Vision September 2024, Vol.24, 1026. doi:https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.24.10.1026
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      Fabian Tatai, Dominik Straub, Constantin A. Rothkopf; People take Newtonian physics into account in sensorimotor decisions under risk. Journal of Vision 2024;24(10):1026. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.24.10.1026.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

People skillfully manipulate objects on a daily basis, despite uncertainties in both their perceptual inferences and action outcomes. As actions lead to consequences, every movement subject to uncertainty becomes a decision under risk. Such sensorimotor decisions have been shown to follow the predictions of expected utility theory contrary to economic decisions, which systematically fail to maximize expected gains. However, as object manipulations are inescapably governed by the laws of physics, the question arises, how people act under such circumstances. Here, participants slid pucks to targets for gains and losses within a virtual environment, enabling the subjects to interact with an actual standard hockey puck while viewing its trajectory through a head-mounted display. As this novel setup enables subjects to interact with a real-world object through the use of motion capturing, we ensure that subjects have an immersive, naturalistic experience while playing our puck sliding game. In this task, variability inherent in sensorimotor control interacts with the physical relationships governing objects’ kinematics under the influence of friction embedded in an economic decision. Therefore, our task features a unique interaction between three cognitive faculties: 1. Economic decision-making, 2. Sensorimotor control and 3. Intuitive physics. We construct an ideal actor model based on statistical decision theory including the kinematics of sliding and show that subject behavior is in coherence with its predictions. Taken together, this demonstrates that subjects use their sensorimotor uncertainty and its interaction with physical relationships and economic demands of the task in guiding their actions.

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