Describe some empirical findings demonstrating human sensitivity to biological motion.

Describe some empirical findings demonstrating human sensitivity to biological motion.

Our ability to detect and identify biological motion is influenced by the specific kind of action performed. Dittrich (1993) found that after showing participants locomotory actions (walking, going upstairs), instrumental actions (hammering,stirring), and social actions (greeting, boxing); they recognized locomotory actions more accurately and faster than social and instrumental actions.

Another example to show that humans are sensitive to biological motion would be to present the Kozlowski and Cutting (1977) example. They have showed that obervers can discrimnate sex of actors while watching point-light figures, but not when the films were presented upside-down.

''Even babies are sensitive to biological motion. Researchers have found out that infants as young as 3 months prefer to look at coherant display of point-lights that is produced by an upright walking person than a display of a point-lights produced by an upside-down walking person''. And this has been demonstrated by Beretenthal et al., 1984.