Limits of end-state planning

The end-state comfort effect is the tendency to use an uncomfortable initial grasp posture for object manipulation if this leads to a comfortable final posture. Many studies have replicated the end-state comfort effect across a range of tasks and conditions. However, these tasks had in common that they involved relatively simple movements, such as picking up a dowel or sliding a pan from one place to another. Here we asked whether the end-state comfort effect extends to more complex tasks. We asked participants to grasp a transparent bowl and move the bowl to an instructed location, positioning it in an instructed orientation. We either found an initial-state comfort effect or equal degrees of comfort for end-grasps and start-grasps depending on task instructions. The end-state comfort effect was not consistently observed. The results suggest that the end-state comfort effect may be restricted to relatively simple grasping movements.