Journal Article

Realistic Stimuli Reveal Selective Effects of Motor Expertise During a Mental Body Rotation Task

Laure Lejeune-Poutrain, Corinne Molinaro, Hamdi Habacha

2017

Overview

To investigate the effects of stimulus features on the implementation of motor expertise in body rotations during a mental body rotation task, 2 experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, we investigated the mental rotation abilities in 27 male participants: 14 experts in real body rotations (national level gymnasts) and 13 nonexperts (national handball players). The mental rotation task used left–right judgments and involved 3 types of stimuli: images of a stick figure person, images of line drawings of the human body, and photographs of real male persons. In Experiment 2, 10 experts and 11 nonexperts performed a mental body rotation task on the same stimuli as in Experiment 1 using this time a same–different judgment. Results showed that stimulus features had a significant effect on the mental rotation of the participants because the more realistic stimuli resulted in shorter response times. Furthermore, experts outperformed nonexperts when the stimuli were presented in unfamiliar orientations (180° rotation). However, this pattern was significant only during the mental rotation task of photographs with left– right judgments, suggesting that stick figure person and line drawings of the human body did not differentiate experts and nonexperts. In conclusion, results suggest the existence of optimal stimulus features to elicit optimal embodiment and allow revealing selective effects of motor expertise in body rotations.

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Subject: Adult / Athletes / Axes of rotation / Body image / Cognition / Cognitive science / Court decisions / embodiment / Exercise / Experiments / Experts / Experts versus novices / Handball / Human body / Humanities and Social Sciences / Humans / Image rotation / Imagination - physiology / Judgment / Line drawings / Male / Males / Memory / mental body rotation task / Mental imagery / Mental rotation / Mental task performance / Motor ability / Motor Activity - physiology / motor expertise / Motor skills / Neuroscience / Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology / Photography / Process controls / Psychological aspects / Psychological research / Psychology / Reaction time / Rotating bodies / Rotating mirrors / Rotation / Soccer / Social Sciences / Space Perception - physiology / Stimuli / Stimuli (Psychology) / Stimulus / stimulus features / T tests / Transformative learning / Young Adult