Action Science: Foundations of an Emerging Discipline

An overview of today's diverse theoretical and methodological approaches to action and the relationship of action and cognition.

The emerging field of action science is characterized by a diversity of theoretical and methodological approaches that share the basic functional belief that evolution has optimized cognitive systems to serve the demands of action. This book brings together the constitutive approaches of action science in a single source, covering the relation of action to such cognitive functions as perception, attention, memory, and volition. Each chapter offers a tutorial-like description of a major line of inquiry, written by a leading scientist in the field. Taken together, the chapters reflect a dynamic and rapidly growing field and provide a forum for comparison and possible integration of approaches.

After discussing core questions about how actions are controlled and learned, the book considers ecological approaches to action science; neurocogntive approaches to action understanding and attention; developmental approaches to action science; social actions, including imitation and joint action; and the relationships between action and the conceptual system (grounded cognition) and between volition and action.

An emerging discipline depends on a rich and multifaceted supply of theoretical and methodological approaches. The diversity of perspectives offered in this book will serve as a guide for future explorations in action science.

Contributors
Lawrence W. Barsalou, Miriam Beisert, Valerian Chambon, Thomas Goschke, Patrick Haggard, Arvid Herwig, Herbert Heuer, Cecilia Heyes, Bernhard Hommel, Glyn W. Humphreys, Richard B. Ivry, Markus Kiefer, Günther Knoblich, Sally A. Linkenauger, Janeen D. Loehr, Peter J. Marshall, Andrew N. Meltzoff, Wolfgang Prinz, Dennis R. Proffitt, Giacomo Rizzolatti, David A. Rosenbaum, Natalie Sebanz, Corrado Sinigaglia, Sandra Sülzenbrück, Jordan A. Taylor, Michael T. Turvey, Claes von Hofsten, Rebecca A. Williamson

Wolfgang Prinz is Director Emeritus of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science in Leipzig, and the author of Open Minds: The Social Making of Agency and Intentionality (MIT Press, 2012).

Miriam Beisert is a Research Scientist for the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science in Leipzig.

Arvid Herwig is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.

Arvid Herwig is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.

Miriam Beisert is a Research Scientist for the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science in Leipzig.

Wolfgang Prinz is Director Emeritus of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science in Leipzig, and the author of Open Minds: The Social Making of Agency and Intentionality (MIT Press, 2012).

Richard Ivry is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California Berkeley.

Giacomo Rizzolatti is Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Parma.

Natalie Sebanz is Associate Professor at Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University Nijmegan, the Netherlands.