The motor system automatically suppresses action toward others’ property.
Evidence
Finally, Constable et al. (2011) demonstrated that the automatic tendency to respond to objects’ affordances (i.e., action potentialities evoked by objects) is inhibited once we know that it belongs to someone else. In a stimulus–response compatibility task (see Tucker & Ellis 1998), the classic compatibility effect was abolished when participants had to respond to an object owned by the experimenter. This suggests that the action system is automatically inhibited and blind to the potential for action toward another person’s possession. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 584
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to Baumard et al. partner-choice theory the reader is using: ownership recognition as a proximally embodied precursor to moral/respect behavior toward others’ goods, relevant to the fumi-e’s theft/desecration of sacred objects. — connects to: Automatic behavior is your brain’s efficiency strategy; the basal ganglia and other subcortical structures can run learned behaviors without conscious input. — Can Your Subconscious Take Over? Automatic Behavior; Automatic threat mechanisms reduce risk by discouraging nerve tests