Action’s Effect on Perception

According to the action-specific perception account, people perceive the environment in terms of their ability to act in it. For example, softball players who are hitting better see the ball as bigger. Factors that affect ability and thus influence perception include body size, body control and coordination, energetic potential, and the challenges of the task. Acknowledging the influence of ability on perception challenges the traditional view that perception provides an objective, behaviorally independent representation of the environment. Instead, perception captures the mutual relationship between the environment and the perceiver’s abilities. Consequently, these effects are potentially adaptive for helping perceivers plan future actions based on their abilities.