Nintendo Wiimote and Experimental Psychology: Blending Cognition and Action
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We chose a very simple learning task to explore how arm movements may reflect learning. In this task, 15 pairs of Bodoni-font shapes were randomly created for each participant. In each trial, participants first saw two shapes at the top left and right of the projected screen:

 
NB: These figures do not accurately reflect position of the
shapes and size of the screen. They are for illustration purposes
only. For those details please consult the paper.

A fixation circle appeared, and they used the Wiimote to click this, thus revealing a new shape that is to be matched with one of the first two choices.

Participants move their arm up towards the left or right shape and choose a possible match (one of which is the correct match). Feedback is given, and participants gradually come to acquire the random pairs of shapes (it is important to note that for each participant these pairs were completely randomized -- so any relationship like symmetry, etc. cancels out across participants).

We all know that learning a motor tasks involves getting better at motor movement. In this case, however, the task does not necessarily require detailed motor dynamics: Participants are acquiring shape pairs, not movements. Do the arms come to reflect the confidence of this learning though? They do. Below are the results from the first experiment, showing that movement changes as participants learn the shape pairs.

These experiments are meant to demonstrate a fundamental characteristic of our cognitive system: It is hooked intricately into our bodies. The action dynamics that we reveal in everyday life can carry information about the thought processes that we engage in. Even as we learn a new task, our whole bodies covary with our thinking and learning.