A Case for Sensorimotor Simulation as a Basis for the Animate–Inanimate Distinction in Infancy
in Journal of Motor Learning and DevelopmentIn this opinion paper, we aim to delineate the development of the person–object differentiation in visuomotor behavior as established during the first two years of life, which can be conceived as a precursor for the broader distinction between animate and inanimate entities, which in turn form the basis of the more inclusive biological–nonbiological distinction (Poulin-Dubois, Lepage, & Ferland, 1996). We then discuss embodied sensorimotor simulation, which allows us to use the self as a model for perceiving objects in our environment, as a potential mechanism underlying this distinction.
Hegele and Seyfried are with the Dept. of Psychology and Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
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