Action-specific perception (original) (raw)

Action-specific perception, or perception-action, is a psychological theory that people perceive their environment and events within it in terms of their ability to act. For example, softball players who are hitting better see the ball as bigger. Tennis players see the ball as moving slower when they successfully return the ball. Furthermore, the perceiver's intention to act is also critical; while the perceiver's ability to perform the intended action influences perception, the perceiver's abilities for unintended actions have little or no effect on perception.