Beyond the scientific objectification of the human body: Differentiated analyses of human motion and object motion

Vision researchers typically objectify the human body in their studies of body perception by adopting the same theoretical approaches and experimental methodologies used in studies of object perception. While the human body can be understood as a physical object, it is also much more. Numerous behavioral and neurophysiological studies with adult and infant observers have demonstrated important differences in the visual perception of human motion and object motion. At least three factors; motor experience, visual experience, and emotional processes, differentiate the visual perception of animate, or at least observer-like, entities from inanimate entities.