You are always on my Mind: Representing Others' Actions and Intentions

Natalie Sebanz

ISBN 978-3-8325-0564-6
155 pages, year of publication: 2004
price: 40.50 €

Three series of experiments explore how co-acting modulates action planning. First, the author proves that perceiving a complementary action at the disposal of a co-actor affects individual actions. But what happens when the actions are no longer complementary? It is shown that also in this situation the anticipated actions are integrated in one's action planning.The representations of one's own and the other's action interact.

An astonishing fact about the obtained results was that individuals represented a co-actor's task although this was not required by their own task. There was no need for action coordination at all. Why, then, was the other constantly on one's mind?

To anticipate others' actions, one must have an understanding of their tasks. Creating shared task representations can thus be regarded as one of several special demands on individuals coordinating their actions. It is conceivable that this demand has shaped cognitive systems in a way that individuals cannot help representing others' actions and their effects, and integrating them in their own action planning when possible.