Affective Space and Motor Response: The Impact of Proprioceptive/Tactile Cues on Movement Organization

The present study investigates whether action organization is enhanced when the affectively marked space corresponding to the affective outcome of a response is primarily perceived through vision (Rv-E hypothesis) or proprioception (Rp-E hypothesis). Sixty-four right-handed participants were seated in front of a vertical computer screen and were required to perform pointing movements on a graphic tablet. This tablet was positioned horizontally or vertically, and participants used a stylus to trigger the appearance of a positive or negative visual outcome. The tablet was concealed under a device that completely hid the tablet, stylus, and participants' forearms. The results reveal three critical characteristics of motor response coding. First, coding highly depends on the affectively marked space where the movement occurs. Second, this affective coding is primarily based on predictions from proprioceptive and tactile information, which guide the movement's direction. Third, the coding of affective space must align with the affective coding of the response to ensure effective movement organization. This study provides new insights into the affective coding of motor responses by analyzing movement's temporal and spatial aspects through kinematic analysis.