Two Types of Action Control in Response to Anticipating or Actually Experiencing a Loss of Control

Nils Wendel Heinrich

Lübeck University

When people execute continuous motor tasks in dynamic environments, they engage in action control that spans multiple levels. At the sensorimotor level, motor commands on the basis of percepts establish action-perception cycles. On the cognitive level, environmental conditions are assessed and projected in order to anticipate future situations. However, not all environmental conditions can be understood or even extrapolated. We argue that there are two different types of action control that can be applied, depending on whether the situation allows projection or whether it evolves seemingly random. In the first case, mental models of the environment can be used to effectively prepare for upcoming situations in which a loss of control is anticipated, anticipatory action control. This implies that little or no loss of control would be experienced when engaging in anticipatory action control. In the la er case, motor control and short-term goals are adapted in order to be able to cope with the situation at hand. However, as the situation was not predictable, a loss of control had already been experienced, which prompted reactionary ac on control. Participants navigate an agent that is situated in an experimental environment while their gaze is being tracked. Shifting the gaze away from the agent towards upcoming situations and positioning the agent in beneficial ways prior to entering said situations may indicate participants engaging in anticipatory action control while in contrast shifting the gaze towards the agent may indicate engaging in reactionary ac on control. We discuss how the different types of action control are tied to specific changes in self-reported judgements of control.

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