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A Preliminary Study on the Role of Movement Imagery in Spatial Perception

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Spatial Cognition IX (Spatial Cognition 2014)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 8684))

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Abstract

According to dance theory, dancers are uniquely aware of the relationship between the environment and their body, making them a type of spatial expert. Inherent in their practice are the abilities to assess the location of other people, objects and the environment relative to their body, and to use movement imagery. The current study tests if dancers perceive the world differently than non-dancers. To test this, dancers performed a battery of spatial tasks (egocentric and exocentric distance estimates, a height judgment, and affordance judgments, i.e., perceived vertical and horizontal passability, stepability, and jumpability) and completed paper-and-pencil spatial ability tests. Dancers differed from non-dancers in their movement imagery ability but superior imagery ability did not result in greater accuracy in imagined distance estimates. Height judgments were overestimated in both groups but less so in dancers. Dancers were found to be, on average, less conservative in their affordance judgments than non-dancers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sage Center for the Study of the Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA

    Margaret R. Tarampi

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Michael N. Geuss, Jeanine K. Stefanucci & Sarah H. Creem-Regehr

Authors
  1. Margaret R. Tarampi
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  2. Michael N. Geuss
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  3. Jeanine K. Stefanucci
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  4. Sarah H. Creem-Regehr
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Bremen, Enrique-Schmidt-Str. 5, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Christian Freksa  & Thomas Barkowsky  & 

  2. Department of Computer Science, Universität Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 52, 79110, Freiburg, Germany

    Bernhard Nebel

  3. University of California, 93106, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Mary Hegarty

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Tarampi, M.R., Geuss, M.N., Stefanucci, J.K., Creem-Regehr, S.H. (2014). A Preliminary Study on the Role of Movement Imagery in Spatial Perception. In: Freksa, C., Nebel, B., Hegarty, M., Barkowsky, T. (eds) Spatial Cognition IX. Spatial Cognition 2014. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 8684. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11215-2_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11215-2_27

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-11214-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-11215-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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