What re-enactment earns us

Evidence from both behavioural and brain studies suggests that perception of actions and their outcomes may induce (overt or covert) production of related actions in perceivers. Three views of the proper function of such re-enactment have been suggested: imitation, identification, and anticipation. Here I propose that the proper function of re-enactment is to subserve anticipation of upcoming action. Re-enactment exploits the motor system's inbuilt capacity to anticipate the consequences of action and extends it from the planning-of own action to the perception of foreign action.