Tool use and the effect of action on the imagination

Three studies examined the claim that hand movements can facilitate imagery for object rotations but that this facilitation depends on people's model of the situation. In Experiment 1, physically turning a block without visio n reduced mental rotation times compared with imagining the same rotation w ithout bodily movement. In Experiment 2, pulling a string from a spool faci litated participants' mental rotation of an object sitting on the spool. In Experiment 3, depending on participants' model of the spool, the exact sam e pulling movement facilitated or interfered with the exact same imagery tr ansformation. Results of Experiments 2 and 3 indicate that the geometric ch aracteristics of an action do not specify the trajectory of an imagery tran sformation. Instead, they point to people's ability to model the tools that mediate between motor activity and its environmental consequences and to t ransfer tool knowledge to a new situation.