Stimulus specificity in combined action observation and motor imagery of typing

Woodrow-Hill, Camilla and Gowen, Emma and Vogt, Stefan and Edmonds, Eve and Poliakoff, Ellen (2025) Stimulus specificity in combined action observation and motor imagery of typing. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 78 (3). pp. 575-593. ISSN 1747-0218

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Abstract

Combined action observation and motor imagery (AO+MI) can improve movement execution (ME) in healthy adults and certain patient populations. However, it is unclear how the specificity of the observation component during AO+MI influences ME. As generalised observation could result in more flexible AO+MI rehabilitation programs, this study investigated whether observing typing of target words (specific condition) or non-matching words (general condition) during AO+MI would have different effects on keyboard typing in healthy young adults. In Experiment 1, 51 students imagined typing a target word while watching typing videos that were either specific to the target word, or general. There were no differences in typing execution between AO+MI conditions, though participants typed more slowly after both AO+MI conditions compared to no observation or imagery. Experiment 2 repeated Experiment 1 in 20 students, but with a faster stimulus speed in the AO+MI conditions and increased cognitive difficulty in the control condition. The results showed that the slowed typing after AO+MI was likely due to a strong influence of task-switching between imagery and execution, as well as an automatic imitation effect. Both experiments demonstrate that general and specific AO+MI comparably impact ME. Additionally, slower ME following both AO+MI and a challenging cognitive task provides support for the motor-cognitive model of MI.