Extension of Dancer's Legs: Increasing Angles Show Motion

Stefano Mastandrea; John M Kennedy

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.706004

Extension of Dancer's Legs: Increasing Angles Show Motion

Front Psychol. 2022 Jan 4:12:706004. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.706004. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Stefano Mastandrea¹, John M Kennedy²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Education, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy.
² Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Usain Bolt's Lightning Bolt pose, one arm highly extended to one side, suggests action. Likewise, static pictures of animals, legs extended, show animation. We tested a new cue for motion perception-extension-and in particular extension of dancer's legs. An experiment with pictures of a dancer finds larger angles between the legs suggest greater movement, especially with in-air poses and in lateral views. Leg positions graded from simply standing to very difficult front and side splits. Liking ratings (a small range) were more related to Difficulty ratings (a large range) than Movement ratings (a moderate range).

Keywords: dancer; difficulty; extension; leg; liking; motion; static pictures.