A replication study of ‘Brief learning negates the bias of action-outcome expectations on ambiguous motion perception’

Abstract

Our perception does not always accurately represent reality, but instead, is highly influenced by expectations formed by prior experiences. According to the ideomotor theory, action can create a representation of the action outcome, which influences perception of the outcome. The current study replicates the study of Dogge, Gayet, Custers and Aarts (unpublished data), which found a structural expectation on the perception of a bistable structure-from-motion sphere and that a temporary expectation can alter this long-term effect by creating a new learning experience. Participants performed a learning task in which they learned action-outcome associations, which were either compatible or incompatible with the structural expectation. In a subsequent test phase, it was examined how the acquired associations in the induction phase influences the participants’ percept of a bistable stimulus (i.e. an ambiguous rotation direction of a sphere). Dogge et al. (unpublished data) found no difference in the prediction consistency of the of the compatible learning condition compared with the baseline condition. The results also showed that incompatible learning alters the structural bias. The significant difference between incompatible learning and baseline indicates that short-term learning could alter long-term associations. The current study replicates these results, thereby concluding that temporary expectations can alter structural ones.