The invisible influence: How cultural cognitive biases influence visuomotor adaptations

The process of improving the synchronization between visual perception and motor skills is called visuomotor learning. It entails adaptation of movements based on visual information. This kind of training can help with skill development and rehabilitation by enhancing motor skills. However, the explicit strategies involved in visuomotor learning might not be universal. Society and culture often control our cognitive behavior, and this leads to unconscious, cultural, and cognitive biases. This might have an impact on the explicit skills involved in visuomotor adaptations.

Against this backdrop, a research team led by Assistant Professor Chiharu Yamada, from the Center for Data Science, Waseda University, Japan, aimed to determine whether a person's cultural background influences not just their behavior but also their thoughts and reporting during specific learning activities. Their study was published online in the journal npj Science of Learning on July 02, 2025. This article has been co-authored by Professor Yoshihiro Itaguchi from Keio University, Japan, and Professor Claudia Rodríguez-Aranda at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway.

“We were intrigued by the mismatch between presumed universality of the motor learning literature and the consistent evidence from cultural psychology showing differences in decision-making and cognitive biases,” says Asst. Prof. Yamada, the main motivation behind this study.  

The researchers conducted an experiment with a total of 48 university students as participants. Among the participants, 24 students were from Norway, while the rest were from Japan. The experimental setting involved a simple aiming task on a computer, where the participants used a trackball mouse to aim at one of eight different targets displayed on the screen as quickly and accurately as possible. The researchers performed data comparison and movement analysis after completing several trials across five distinct sets.

Based on previous studies, the group hypothesized that Japanese participants would be more inclined than the Norwegian participants to alter their aim direction after missing a goal. The result showed that both groups displayed similar behavioral performance, including reaching accuracy, a key aspect of motor control that refers to the precision with which a limb reaches the target, and aftereffect amplitudes. However, in order to account for rotated visual feedback, Japanese participants aimed at areas further distant from the target. Furthermore, even after striking the target successfully, a higher percentage of Japanese individuals changed their aiming direction more frequently than Norwegian participants. These findings imply that cognitive biases are included in the explicit component, which is often estimated based on verbal reports.

The impact of cognitive bias on visuomotor adaptation has some prominent real-life applications. Verbal reports are frequently used by therapists in rehabilitation to assess patients' progress toward recovery. The results indicate that these assessments might be impacted by cultural prejudices in the use of explicit strategy, which could result in misunderstandings. In sports training centers, coaches usually give clear directions during training sessions. According to the findings of this research, athletes from various cultural backgrounds may interpret and use these instructions differently, potentially affecting their motor learning outcomes. Lastly, integrating cultural factors into educational technologies that employ adaptive motor learning systems could enhance the precision and fairness of skill evaluation.

“Our research highlights the risk of misinterpreting motor learning abilities when explicit strategies are measured without accounting for cultural bias, urging a re-evaluation of assessment tools in global research and clinical contexts,” mentions Asst. Prof. Yamada, while discussing the implications of the study. The study also highlights how cultural background plays a role in the cognitive processes involved in motor adaptation. This might prompt further research and design of culturally sensitive visuomotor-task models that can be implemented in the areas of physical rehabilitation, sports, and education.

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Reference
Authors: Chiharu Yamada¹, Yoshihiro Itaguchi², and Claudia Rodríguez-Aranda³
DOI: 10.1038/s41539-025-00335-0
Affiliations: ¹Center for Data Science, Waseda University, Japan
²Department of Psychology, Keio University, Japan
³Department of Psychology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway

About Waseda University
Located in the heart of Tokyo, Waseda University is a leading private research university that has long been dedicated to academic excellence, innovative research, and civic engagement at both the local and global levels since 1882. The University has produced many changemakers in its history, including eight prime ministers and many leaders in business, science and technology, literature, sports, and film. Waseda has strong collaborations with overseas research institutions and is committed to advancing cutting-edge research and developing leaders who can contribute to the resolution of complex, global social issues. The University has set a target of achieving a zero-carbon campus by 2032, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. 

To learn more about Waseda University, visit https://www.waseda.jp/top/en  

About Assistant Professor Chiharu Yamada from Waseda University
Chiharu Yamada is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Data Science, Waseda University, specializing in cognitive neuropsychology, motor learning, and higher brain dysfunction. She is concurrently associated with the Advanced Research Center for Human Sciences and the Research Institute for Letters, Arts, and Sciences at Waseda University. She has published more than 10 articles, with more than 50 citations, and an h-index score of 3.