Action observation causes implicit transfer of learning in task-sharing

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the implicit transfer of learning found in task-sharing situations occurs when one of the two participants observes the other. To this aim, two experiments using the social transfer of learning paradigm (Milanese et al., 2010) were conducted in which one of the participants observed the other performing a practice task. Then, both participants performed a joint Simon task. Results showed a modulation of the joint performance (i.e., the social Simon task), indicative of implicit transfer of learning, in both the agent and the observer. Thus, transfer of learning occurs even if the practice task is not actually performed, hence indicating that both the agent and the observer co-represent the task as involving two co-acting partners. On a more general level, these results suggest that observing another person performing his/her part of the task activates the complementary actions in the observer.