PI: Jessica K. Witt, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Psychology

Colorado State University

Fort Collins, CO 80523

970-491-3018

Jessica.Witt [at] Colostate.edu

Dr. Witt studies how a person’s ability to act influences their perception. For example, softball players who are hitting better than others see the ball as bigger. Objects that can be reached and grasped look closer and smaller. Targets that are easier to catch look slower. These studies show that perception is action-specific.

Dr. Witt received her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 2007. Find her Vita here.

Dr. Witt is currently accepting applications for PhD students for fall 2014.

Overview of Research:

Action-specific effects have been found in many perceptual dimensions including distance, size, slant, shape, height, weight, and speed. Effects have been found using a variety of perceptual measures including verbal reports, visual matching tasks, indirect measures, and action-based measures. A range of actions lead to action-specific effects including walking, jumping, kicking, throwing, catching, hitting, swimming, lifting, pointing, reaching, and grasping.

We are also starting to work with special populations including older adults, people with obesity, people with eating disorders, and people with autism.

Publications

2013 & In Press

Glenberg, A. M., Witt, J. K., & Metcalfe, J. (in press). From revolution to embodiment: 25 years of cognitive psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science.

Witt, J. K., & Sugovic, M. (in press). Catching ease influences perceived speed: Evidence for action-specific effects from action-based measures. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Sugovic, M., & Witt, J. K. (in press). An older view of distance perception: Older adults perceive walkable extents as farther. Experimental Brain Research.

Witt, J. K., & Sugovic, M. (2013). Spiders appear to move faster than non-threatening objects regardless of one’s ability to block them. Acta Psychologica, 143, 284-291.

Witt, J. K., & Sugovic, M. (2013). Response bias cannot explain action-specific effects: Evidence from compliant and non-compliant participants. Perception, 42, 138-152.

Brockmole, J. R., Davoli, C. C., Abrams, R. A., & Witt, J. K. (2013). The world within reach: Effects of hand posture and tool-use on visual cognition. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22, 38-44.

2012

Witt, J. K., & Brockmole, J. R. (2012). Action alters object identification: Wielding a gun increases the bias to see guns. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38, 1159-1167.

Taylor, J. E. T., Witt, J. K., & Grimaldi, P. (2012). Uncovering the connection between artist and audience: Viewing painted brushstrokes evokes corresponding action representations in the observer. Cognition, 125, 26-36.

Witt, J. K., Sugovic, M., & Taylor, J. E. T. (2012). Action-specific effects in a social context: Others’ abilities influence perceived speed. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38, 715-725.

Witt, J. K., Linkenauger, S. A., & Proffitt, D. R. (2012). Get me out of this slump! Visual illusions improve sports performance. Psychological Science, 23, 397-399.

Witt, J. K., & Sugovic, M. (2012). Does ease to block a ball affect perceived ball speed? Examination of alternative hypotheses. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38, 1202-1214.

Davoli, C. C., Brockmole, J. R., & Witt, J. K. (2012). Compressing perceived distance with remote tool-use: Real, imagined, and remembered. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38, 80-89.

2011

Linkenauger, S. A., Witt, J. K., & Proffitt, D. R. (2011). Taking a hands-on approach: Apparent grasping ability scales the perception of object size. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 37, 1432-1441.

Witt, J. K. (2011). Action’s effect on perception. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 201-206.

Witt, J. K. (2011). Tool use influences perceived shape and parallelism: Indirect measures of perceived distance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 37, 1148-1156.

Witt, J. K., Schuck, D. M., & Taylor, J. E. T. (2011). Action-specific effects underwater. Perception, 40, 530-537.

Taylor, J. E. T., Witt, J. K., & Sugovic, M. (2011). When walls are no longer barriers: Perception of wall height in parkour. Perception, 40, 757-760.

2010

Witt, J. K., & Sugovic, M. (2010). Performance and ease influence perceived speed. Perception, 39, 1341-1353.

Witt, J. K., Kemmerer, D., Linkenauger, S. A., & Culham, J. (2010). A functional role for motor simulation in naming tools. Psychological Science, 21, 1215-1219.

Witt, J. K., Proffitt, D. R., & Epstein, W. (2010). When and how are spatial perceptions scaled? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 36, 1153-1160.

Miles, J. D., Witt, J. K., & Proctor, R. W. (2010). Action plans produce separate Simon effects for picking up objects and transporting them. Psychological Research, 74, 468-475.

2009

Witt, J. K., & Dorsch, T. (2009). Kicking to bigger uprights: Field goal kicking performance influences perceived size. Perception, 38, 1328-1340.

Witt, J. K., Linkenauger, S. A., Bakdash, J. Z., Augustyn, J. A., Cook, A. S., & Proffitt, D. R. (2009). The long road of pain: Chronic pain increases perceived distance. Experimental Brain Research, 192, 145-148.

Linkenauger, S. A., Witt, J. K., Bakdash, J. Z., Stefanucci, J. K., & Proffitt, D. R. (2009). Asymmetrical body perception: A possible role for neural body representations. Psychological Science, 20, 1373-1380.

Linkenauger, S. A., Witt, J. K., Stefanucci, J. K., Bakdash, J. Z., & Proffitt, D. R. (2009). The effects of handedness and reachability on perceived distance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35, 1649-1660.

2008

Witt, J. K., Linkenauger, S. A., Bakdash, J. Z., & Proffitt, D. R. (2008). Putting to a bigger hole: Golf performance relates to perceived size. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 15, 581-585.

Witt, J. K., Ashe, J., & Willingham, D. T. (2008). An egocentric frame of reference for implicit motor skill learning. Psychological Research, 72, 542-552.

Witt, J. K., & Proffitt, D. R. (2008). Action-specific influences on distance perception: A role for motor simulation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 34, 1479-1492.

2007 and earlier

Witt, J. K., & Proffitt, D.R. (2007). Perceived slant: A dissociation between perception and action. Perception, 36, 249-257.

Witt, J. K., Stefanucci, J.K., Riener, C.R., & Proffitt, D.R. (2007). Seeing beyond the target: Environmental context affects distance perception. Perception, 36, 1752-1768.

Witt, J. K., & Willingham, D.T. (2006). Evidence for separate representations for action and location in implicit motor sequencing. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 13, 902-907.

Witt, J. K., Proffitt, D.R., & Epstein, W. (2005). Tool use affects perceived distance but only when you intend to use it. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 31, 880-888.

Witt, J. K., & Proffitt, D.R. (2005). See the ball, hit the ball: Apparent ball size is correlated with batting average. Psychological Science, 16, 937-938.

Witt, J. K., Proffitt, D.R., & Epstein, W. (2004). Perceiving distance: A role of effort and intent. Perception, 33, 570-590.