Previous Publications
- 2025
M. Fanghella, E. Mussini, A. Zazio, F. Genovese, E. Satta, G. Barchiesi, A. Battaglia Mayer, M. Bortoletto, C. Sinigaglia (2025). Distinct neural dynamics in joint versus side-by-side actions: Insights from dual EEG. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 20(1), nsaf075
Abstract A dual-EEG study of twenty dyads performing closely matched joint and parallel video-game tasks. Joint action produced a larger early event-related response but a smaller later response, with the latter related to the predictability of a partner’s reaction times. The findings suggest an early processing cost for representing a collective goal followed by later facilitation as partners become mutually predictable.
- 2023
S. A. Butterfill & C. Sinigaglia (2023). Towards a mechanistically neutral account of acting jointly: The notion of a collective goal. Mind, 132(525), 1–29
Abstract The article develops an account of joint action centred on collective goals while remaining neutral about the psychological mechanisms that enable them. By separating what makes an action joint from the intentions, representations, or coordination processes that support it, the proposal offers a common framework for philosophical analysis and empirical investigation.
- 2022
G. Barchiesi, E. Zazio, M. Marcantoni, M. Bulgari, C. Barattieri di San Pietro, C. Sinigaglia & M. Bortoletto (2022). Sharing motor plans while acting jointly: A TMS study. Cortex, 151, 224–239
Abstract This TMS study tested whether an agent’s motor system represents a partner’s contribution to a collective goal. Participants performed a sequential task with a confederate under joint, parallel, and competitive conditions while motor-evoked potentials were recorded. The predicted action-specific modulation was not found; exploratory analyses identify methodological refinements for future tests of collective-goal representation.
- 2022
C. Sinigaglia & S. A. Butterfill (2022). Motor representation in acting together. Synthese, 200(2), 82
Abstract The paper asks how actions performed together become collectively directed toward an outcome. It argues that intention and knowledge alone do not provide a complete explanation: motor representations can link agents’ actions to collective outcomes and support interpersonal coordination through matching, action-oriented structures across agents.
- 2017
F. della Gatta, F. Garbarini, M. Rabuffetti, L. Viganò, S. A. Butterfill & C. Sinigaglia (2017). Drawn together: When motor representations ground joint actions. Cognition, 165, 53–60
Abstract Using an adapted circle–line drawing paradigm, the study compared two people acting jointly with two people performing the same movements in parallel. Interpersonal motor coupling emerged in the joint condition but not in the parallel condition, supporting the proposal that collective goals can be represented motorically during joint action.