Considerations on perception of "animacy" in the motion of a single object.

Many studies have focused on the factors related to attribution of meaning to motion. In the majority of these studies, two or more moving objects were used, often on a nonhomogeneous background. In the present paper the literature on the perception of animacy of a single object moving on a homogeneous background is reviewed. A pilot study was performed to study the influence on perception of animacy of the shape of the trajectory, the presence of a reference point on the screen, introduction of a sudden stop or of a pause in the motion of a single object, and influence of one or more sudden accelerations or decelerations. Although research shows that the context may favour the perception of animacy, the present analysis shows that it is possible to distinguish between animate and inanimate motion of a single object on the basis only of the kinetic conditions.