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Witt, J. K., & Proffitt, D. R. (2008). Action-specific influences on distance perception: a role for motor simulation. Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance, 34(6), 1479-92. doi: 10.1037/a0010781.Perception is influenced by the perceiver’s ability to perform intended actions. For example, when people intend to reach with a tool to targets that are just beyond arm’s reach, the targets look closer than when they intend to reach without the tool (Witt, Proffitt, & Epstein, 2005). This is one of several examples demonstrating that behavioral potential affects perception. However, the action-specific processes that are involved in
relating the person’s abilities to perception have yet to be explored. Four experiments are
presented that implicate motor simulation as a mediator of these effects. When a perceiver intends to perform an action, the perceiver runs a motor simulation of that action. The perceiver’s ability to perform the action, as determined by the outcome of the simulation, influences perceived distance.
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