The role of shared visual information for joint action coordination

Cordula Vesper*, Laura Schmitz, Lou Safra, Natalie Sebanz, Günther Knoblich

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

Previous research has identified a number of coordination processes that enable people to perform joint actions. But what determines which coordination processes joint action partners rely on in a given situation? The present study tested whether varying the shared visual information available to co-actors can trigger a shift in coordination processes. Pairs of participants performed a movement task that required them to synchronously arrive at a target from separate starting locations. When participants in a pair received only auditory feedback about the time their partner reached the target they held their movement duration constant to facilitate coordination. When they received additional visual information about each other's movements they switched to a fundamentally different coordination process, exaggerating the curvature of their movements to communicate their arrival time. These findings indicate that the availability of shared perceptual information is a major factor in determining how individuals coordinate their actions to obtain joint outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)118-123
Number of pages6
JournalCognition
Volume153
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2016

Keywords

  • Interpersonal coordination
  • Joint action
  • Nonverbal communication
  • Predictability
  • Signaling

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