Viewpoint-dependent priming effects in the perception of human actions andbody postures

The identification of human actions and body postures viewed from different viewpoints was examined in four long-term priming experiments with static pictures of a human model. In Experiments 1 and 2 participants had to name or describe the pictures, and in Experiments 3 and 4 participants had to de cide whether the pictures showed a possible or impossible body pose. Reliab le priming effects were obtained only when priming and primed action or pos e shared the same in-depth orientation (Experiments 1 and 4) and left-right reflection (Experiments 2 and 3). Having seen the same action or pose in a different orientation did not reliably facilitate identification performan ce later on. Also, there was no priming for poses that are impossible to pe rform with a human body, not even when an identical same-view prime was use d. These findings suggest that the stored representations that mediate the identification of human actions and postures are viewpoint specific.