Perceptual judgments made better by indirect interactions: Evidence from a joint localization task.

Pavel Valeryevich Voinov,Günther Knoblich,Natalie Sebanz,Katsumi Watanabe

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0187428

Abstract

Others’ perceptual judgments tend to have strong effects on our own, and can improve perceptual judgments when task partners engage in communication. The present study investigated whether individuals benefit from others’ perceptual judgments in indirect interactions, where outcomes of individual decisions can be observed in a shared environment. Participants located a target in a 2D projection of a 3D container either from two complementary viewpoints (Experiment 1), or from a single viewpoint (Experiment 2). Uncertainty about the target location was high on the front-back dimension and low on the left-right dimension. The results showed that pairs of participants benefitted from taking turns in providing judgments. When each member of the pair had access to one complementary perspective, the pair achieved the same level of accuracy as when the two individuals had access to both complimentary perspectives and better performance than when the two individuals had access to only one perspective. These findings demonstrate the important role of a shared environment for successful integration of perceptual information while highlighting limitations in assigning appropriate weights to others’ judgments.

Highlights

When making perceptual judgments people often rely on their own perceptual abilities, and on others’ perceptual abilities
We first report the results of a pilot study that tested whether participants were less accurate on the front-back dimension than on the left-right dimension when providing judgments from a single view point [35]
The results of Experiment 1 support the prediction that a shared environment provides an effective medium for exchanging perceptual information

Summary

Introduction

When making perceptual judgments people often rely on their own perceptual abilities, and on others’ perceptual abilities. Recent research has shown that people can be very effective in integrating perceptual information interpersonally when making judgements together if they have an opportunity to verbally communicate [5,6,7]. Less is known about how perceptual information is integrated interpersonally in indirect interactions, where individuals do not directly communicate but are exposed to evidence of one another’s judgments in a shared environment. The aim of the present study was to investigate to which extent observing one another’s perceptual judgments increases perceptual accuracy in a situation where two individuals have access to complementary or redundant visual information. Imagine two people who intend to place a reading chair right under a spotlight mounted on the ceiling.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion