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Motor simulation in tool-use effect on distance estimation: A replication of Witt and Proffitt (2008)
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Description: This article is a Registered Replication. The submission is a two-stage process. Authors submit a proposed study. If it passes initial review, PBR will commit to publishing the results, regardless of the outcome, if the final study conforms with the initially approved proposal. Abstract : Witt and Proffit (Human Perception and Performance, 34 (6), 1479–1492, 2008) hypothesized that when people intend to reach a target, they run a motor simulation allowing them to anticipate potential reaching constraints and outcomes, which in turn affects spatial perception. They reported that participants estimated targets to be closer to them when they intended to use a reachextending tool, but only when they did not perform a concurrent motor task. The authors concluded that the concurrent motor task prevented the simulation of tool-use and its effect on perception. Reported here is a replication that extends their work through an additional control group and a larger sample size. Our results failed to support either the role of motor simulation in the tool-use effect on distance estimation or the tool-use effect itself. Moreover, a reanalysis of Witt and Proffitt’s data suggested that they should have been more nuanced in their own conclusions. Further replications are needed in order to elucidate the existence, nature, boundary conditions, and underlying mechanisms of the action constraint effects on space perception