Data_Sheet_2_The Feeling Is Mutual: Clarity of Haptics-Mediated Social Perception Is Not Associated With the Recognition of the Other, Only With Recognition of Each Other.CSV

The enactive theory of perception hypothesizes that perceptual access to objects depends on the mastery of sensorimotor contingencies, that is, on the know-how of the regular ways in which changes in sensations depend on changes in movements. This hypothesis can be extended into the social domain: perception of other minds is constituted by mastery of self-other contingencies, that is, by the know-how of the regular ways in which changes in others’ movements depend on changes in one’s movements. We investigated this proposal using the perceptual crossing paradigm, in which pairs of players are required to locate each other in an invisible one-dimensional virtual space by using a minimal haptic interface. We recorded and analyzed the real-time embodied social interaction of 10 pairs of adult participants. The results reveal a process of implicit perceptual learning: on average, clarity of perceiving the other’s presence increased over trials and then stabilized. However, a clearer perception of the other was not associated with correctness of recognition as such, but with both players correctly recognizing each other. Furthermore, the moments of correct mutual recognition tended to happen within seconds. The fact that changes in social experience can only be explained by the successful performance at the level of the dyad, and that this veridical mutual perception tends toward synchronization, lead us to hypothesize that integration of neural activity across both players played a role.

知觉生成理论（enactive theory of perception）假设，对客体的知觉通达依赖于对感觉运动偶联（sensorimotor contingencies）的掌握，即依赖于关于“感觉变化如何随运动变化呈现规律性关联”的实践知识。该假说可拓展至社会领域：对他心（other minds）的知觉由对自我-他者偶联（self-other contingencies）的掌握所构成，亦即依赖于“他人的运动变化如何随自身运动变化呈现规律性关联”的实践知识。我们采用知觉交叉范式（perceptual crossing paradigm）对这一设想展开研究：该范式要求成对参与者借助极简触觉界面（minimal haptic interface），在不可见的一维虚拟空间中彼此定位。我们记录并分析了10组成年参与者的实时具身社会互动（embodied social interaction）数据。研究结果揭示了一种内隐知觉学习过程：平均而言，对他人在场的知觉清晰度随试次逐步提升并最终趋于稳定。不过，对他人的更清晰知觉本身与识别准确率并无直接关联，而是与两名参与者均成功识别对方相关。此外，正确的相互识别时刻往往发生在数秒之内。社会经验的变化仅能通过双人组（dyad）层面的成功互动加以解释，且这种真实的相互知觉趋向同步——这一事实促使我们提出假设：两名参与者的神经活动跨个体整合或许发挥了作用。