During joint actions, people may not only represent individual actions required to achieve a joint outcome but also relations between individual actions. For example, they may represent whether individual contributions to a joint action from different co-actors are the same or different. We conducted two cueing experiments to address this question.
In experiment 1 (N = 24), pairs of participants performed a joint computer task that required flipping blocks to produce a joint pattern. Two types of cues were presented in sequential order before the task was fully specified: A joint cue specified the relationship between individual contributions (same or different block rotation) or provided no information. This was followed by an individual cue that specified one's own task, the partner's task or was non-informative. Response times were faster when joint cues specified the relationship between individual contributions, especially when individual cues specified the partner's action.
Experiment 2 (N = 24) investigated whether relational information about individual action contributions need to be specified prior to information about specific individual contributions or whether relational information can be effective even when the partner's action is already specified. We found that the joint cue is effective regardless of whether it precedes or follows cues that specify individual action contributions.
Overall, these results provide evidence that successful joint action does not solely rely on representations that specify individual contributions. Information regarding the joint configuration helps integrate representations of individual contributions to a full representation of the joint action and facilitates specifying one's own contribution.