Effect anticipation and action control

According to the authors' 2-phase model of action control, people first inc identally acquire bidirectional associations between motor patterns and mov ement-contingent events and then intentionally use these associations for g oal-directed action. The authors tested the model in 4 experiments, each co mprising an acquisition phase, in which participants experienced co-occurre nces between left and right keypresses and low- and high-pitched tones, and a test phase, in which the tones preceded the responses in forced-and free -choice designs. Both reaction time and response frequency in the test phas e depended on the learned associations, indicating that presenting a tone a ctivated the associated response. Results are interpreted as evidence for a utomatic action-outcome integration and automatic response priming through learned action effects. These processes may be basic for the control of vol untary action by the anticipation of action goals.