Anticipated affective action-effects as controlling factors of spatially oriented pointing movement

Ideomotor theories admit that anticipated action-effects are the basis of the action selection and initiation, but there is no common understanding of the role of anticipated affective outcomes in motor organization. This study provides substantial information that shows that anticipated affective action-effects (positive/negative) combined with the direction in which a movement is performed (rightward/leftward) significantly impact its organization. Sixty-four right-handed subjects performed right and left pointing movements on a graphic tablet to trigger the appearance of a positive or negative visual outcome. Results indicate a compatibility effect between the direction of the movement and the valence of the action-effect that facilitates cognitive processes involved in movement organization. Pointing movements were faster triggered and executed when the movement was directed to the right combined with a positive outcome and when the movement was directed to the left with a negative one. Such findings are consistent with Casasanto’s body-specificity hypothesis, which stipulates an association of the dominant hand side with positive features, and with ideomotor theory where perception and action share a common representation. This experiment confirms that voluntary movements’ organization is built through an action representation, including affective predictions.