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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS One

Does experience modulate automatic imitation? A new look

  • Francesca Genovese1
  • Martina Fanghella2
  • Corrado Sinigaglia3
  • Guido Barchiesi
  1. 1Cognition in Action (CIA) Unit, PHILAB, Milano, Italy
  2. 2Department of Philosophy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
  3. 3Department of Philosophy, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
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Abstract

Automatic imitation is a stimulus-response compatibility effect wherein observing an action automatically influences motor performance. However, the mechanism underlying this effect remains controversial. Associative Sequence Learning suggests that automatic imitation arises from contingent visual and motor activity associations. Prior studies have shown that exposure to counter-imitative training can alter these visuomotor associations, suggesting that automatic imitation can be modulated by experience. Here, we aim to bring new insight into how this modulation occurs by exploring the time course of automatic imitation before and after counter-imitative training. If automatic imitation is merely a result of contingent associations, as previously suggested, the effect should consistently be modulated following such training. However, our findings show that automatic imitation is not significantly reduced after counter-imitative training at all the tested time points. This suggests that automatic imitation does not depend on contingent association, at least not as currently understood.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{genovese2026does,
  title = {{Does experience modulate automatic imitation? A new look}},
  author = {Francesca Genovese and Martina Fanghella and Corrado Sinigaglia and Guido Barchiesi},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0357821},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357821},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Does experience modulate automatic imitation? A new look
AU  - Francesca Genovese
AU  - Martina Fanghella
AU  - Corrado Sinigaglia
AU  - Guido Barchiesi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/24
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0357821
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357821
AB  - Automatic imitation is a stimulus-response compatibility effect wherein observing an action automatically influences motor performance. However, the mechanism underlying this effect remains controversial. Associative Sequence Learning suggests that automatic imitation arises from contingent visual and motor activity associations. Prior studies have shown that exposure to counter-imitative training can alter these visuomotor associations, suggesting that automatic imitation can be modulated by experience. Here, we aim to bring new insight into how this modulation occurs by exploring the time course of automatic imitation before and after counter-imitative training. If automatic imitation is merely a result of contingent associations, as previously suggested, the effect should consistently be modulated following such training. However, our findings show that automatic imitation is not significantly reduced after counter-imitative training at all the tested time points. This suggests that automatic imitation does not depend on contingent association, at least not as currently understood.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -