ENGAGING IN JOINT ACTION WITH OTHERS
Acknowledging the close links between perception and action also has implications for theorizing about joint action—social interactions wherein two or more individuals coordinate their actions in space and time to bring about a change in the environment. Some examples are doing the dishes together, rowing a canoe together, or playing a piano duet. Joint action involves sharing action representations and coordinating one’s actions with those of others to achieve common goals (Clark, 1996).
Shared Representations
While previous research has focused on the role of language and theory of mind for successful social interaction, more immediate interpersonal links may exist in the form of a common coding system for perception and action. If the actions one performs and actions one observes in others are represented in a functionally equivalent way, this would provide an optimal integration platform for performing tasks together. An implication that follows from this view is that sharing a task should be quite similar to performing it on one’s own, at least when two complementary actions are distributed across two persons. In particular, the way actions are represented should not depend on whether one has all possible actions at one’s own command or whether a part of the possible actions are at somebody else’s command.