Reference frame conflict: Blindfolding and the crossed-hands deficit

Abstract

The crossed-hands temporal order judgment deficit highlights the automatic remapping of tactile stimuli from a body-surface representation into a body-independent representation. In considering the source of the deficit two potentially complementary ideas have emerged — the transformation could be slowed by the awkward posture (Yamamoto and Kitazawa, 2001) or it may take time to resolve the conflict between the internal and external frames of reference (Shore et al., 2002). We manipulated the availability of visual information across four experiments varying in their response demands. When observers responded with the hand that was stimulated (as opposed to with the foot pedals) there was a significant reduction in the size of the crossed-hands deficit when vision was prevented by blindfolding. These data support a conflict resolution account of the deficit over a slower remapping account.