Data from: Inferring subjective states through the observation of actions

Estimating another person’s subjective confidence is crucial for social interaction, but how this inference is achieved is unknown. Previous research has demonstrated that the speed at which people make decisions is correlated with their confidence in their decision. Here we show that 1) subjects’ are able to infer the subjective confidence of another person simply through the observation of their actions and 2) this inference is dependent upon the performance of each subject when executing the action. Crucially, the latter result supports a model in which motor simulation of an observed action mediates the successful understanding of other minds. We conclude that kinematic understanding allows access to the higher-order cognitive processes of others, and that this access plays a central role in social interactions.推断他人的主观置信度（subjective confidence）对于社会互动而言至关重要，但目前学界尚未明确该推断过程的实现机制。既往研究表明，人们做出决策的速度与其对该决策的主观置信度存在相关性。本研究揭示两点核心发现：其一，被试（subjects）仅通过观察他人的行为，即可推断出对方的主观置信度；其二，该推断过程依赖于被试自身执行对应行为时的表现。至关重要的是，后一项发现支持了如下理论模型：对观察到的行为进行运动模拟（motor simulation），可介导对他人他心的成功理解。本研究最终得出结论：运动学理解（kinematic understanding）能够让人们洞悉他人的高阶认知过程，且该洞悉机制在社会互动中发挥核心作用。