Bibliographic Information
Creator: Wolf, Christian; Drewing, Knut
Contributor: Wolf, Christian; Bergmann Tiest, Wouter M.; Drewing, Knut
Funding: German Research Foundation (SFB/TRR 135)
Title: A mass-density model can account for the size-weight illusion. Research data of three experiments.
Year of Publication: 2018
Citation: Wolf, C., Bergmann Tiest, W.M., & Drewing, K. (2018). A mass-density model can account for the size-weight illusion. Research data of three experiments. [Translated Title] (Version 1.0.0) [Data and Documentation]. Trier: Center for Research Data in Psychology: PsychData of the Leibniz Institute for Psychology ZPID. https://doi.org/10.5160/psychdata.wfcn13ma18
Abstract
When judging the heaviness of two objects with equal mass, people perceive the smaller and denser of the two as being heavier. Despite the high number of theories, covering bottom-up and top-down approaches, none of them can fully account for all aspects of this size-weight illusion and thus for human heaviness perception. Here we propose a new Bayesian-type model which describes the illusion as the weighted average of two heaviness estimates: One estimate derived from the object’s mass, and the other from the object’s density, with the weights based on the estimates’ relative reliabilities. In two magnitude estimation experiments, we tested model predictions for the visual and the haptic size-weight illusion. Participants lifted objects which varied in mass and density. We additionally varied the reliability of the density estimate by varying the quality of either visual (Experiment 1) or haptic (Experiment 2) volume information. Like predicted, with increasing quality of volume information, heaviness judgments were increasingly biased towards the object’s density: Objects of the same density were perceived as more similar and big objects were perceived as increasingly lighter than small (denser) objects of the same mass. This perceived difference increased with an increasing difference in density. In a further two-alternative forced choice heaviness experiments, we replicated that the illusion strength increases with the quality of volume information (Experiment 3). Overall, the results highly corroborate our model, which seems promising as unifying framework for the size-weight illusion and human heaviness perception.
Codebook
Codebook_wfcn13ma18_wolf_0064_kb1
Codebook_wfcn13ma18_wolf_0064_kb1
| Position | Name | Label | Valid_values | Missing_values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | Participant | 1-17 "Participant number" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 2 | VIS | Visibility Condition | 1 "No Vision" 2 "Poor Vision" 3 "Medium Vision" 4 "Full Vision" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 3 | BLOCK | Block number (repetition) | 1-6 "Block number" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 4 | D_SET | Density set the lifted object belongs to | 1 "Small set" 2 "Equal density set" 3 "Big set" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 5 | S_ID | Stimulus identifier; Number identifying each stimulus | 1 "Small set, 60g" 2 "Small set, 100g" 3 "Small set, 140g" 4 "Small set, 170g" 5 "Small set, 200g" 6 "Small set, 230g" 7 "Equal density set, 55g" 8 "Equal density set, 85" 9 "Equal density set, 112" 10 "Equal density set, 139" 11 "Equal density set, 165" 12 "Equal density set, 198" 13 "Big set, 60g" 14 "Big set, 100g" 15 "Big set, 140g" 16 "Big set, 170g" 17 "Big set, 200g" 18 "Big set, 230g" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 6 | MASS | Mass of lifted stimulus | 55-230 "Mass of lifted stimulus in grams" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 7 | VOL | Volume of the lifted object in cm3 | 32-596 "Volume of the lifted object in cm3" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 8 | DENS | Density of the lifted object in g/cm3 | 0-8 "Density of the lifted object in g/cm3" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 9 | ME | Magnitude Estimate; Estimated heaviness of the lifted object | 0-1000000 "Estimated heaviness of the lifted object" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
Codebook_wfcn13ma18_wolf_0064_kb2_1
Codebook_wfcn13ma18_wolf_0064_kb2_1
| Position | Name | Label | Valid_values | Missing_values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | Participant | 1-24 "Participant number" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 2 | GRIP | Grip Type Condition | 1 "String" 2 "Precision Grip" 3 "Enclosure" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 3 | BLOCK | Block number (repetition) | 1-6 "Block number" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 4 | D_SET | Density set the lifted object belongs to | 1 "Small set" 2 "Equal density set" 3 "Big set" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 5 | S_ID | Stimulus identifier; Number identifying each stimulus | 1 "Small set, 60g" 2 "Small set, 100g" 3 "Small set, 140g" 4 "Small set, 170g" 5 "Small set, 200g" 6 "Small set, 230g" 7 "Equal density set, 55g" 8 "Equal density set, 85" 9 "Equal density set, 112" 10 "Equal density set, 139" 11 "Equal density set, 165" 12 "Equal density set, 198" 13 "Big set, 60g" 14 "Big set, 100g" 15 "Big set, 140g" 16 "Big set, 170g" 17 "Big set, 200g" 18 "Big set, 230g" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 6 | MASS | Mass of lifted stimulus | 55-230 "Mass of lifted stimulus in grams" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 7 | VOL | Volume of the lifted object in cm3 | 32-596 "Volume of the lifted object in cm3" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 8 | DENS | Density of the lifted object in g/cm3 | 0-8 "Density of the lifted object in g/cm3" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 9 | ME | Magnitude Estimate; Estimated heaviness of the lifted object | 0-1000000 "Estimated heaviness of the lifted object" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
Codebook_wfcn13ma18_wolf_0064_kb2_2
Codebook_wfcn13ma18_wolf_0064_kb2_2
| Position | Name | Label | Valid_values | Missing_values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | Participant | 1-10 "Participant number" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 2 | EXP | Experimental number | 2 "Experiment on the haptic size-weight illusion" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 3 | GRIP | Grip Type Conditition | 1 "Precision Grip" 2 "Enclosure" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 4 | SET | Density set the lifted object belongs to | 1 "Small set" 2 "Big set" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 5 | BLOCK | Block number (repetition) | 1-20 "Block number" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 6 | COMP | Comparison identifier; Number identifying each comparison stimulus | 1-9 "Number identifying each comparison stimulus" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 7 | VOL | Volume of the lifted object in cm3 | 0-800 "Volume of the lifted object in cm3" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 8 | POS | Position of the standard stimulus | 1 "Standard stimulus was presented first and the comparison stimulus second" 2 "Standard stimulus was presented second and the comparison stimulus first" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 9 | RESP | Participants' response (2-alternative forced choice / 2AFC) | 1 "First object is larger" 2 "Second object is larger" | 0 "Fehlender Wert" |
Codebook_wfcn13ma18_wolf_0064_kb3
Codebook_wfcn13ma18_wolf_0064_kb3
| Position | Name | Label | Valid_values | Missing_values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | Participant | 1-10 "Participant number" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 2 | EXP | Experimental number | 3 "2AFC Experiment on the haptic size-weight illusion" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 3 | GRIP | Grip Type Conditition | 1 "Precision Grip" 2 "Enclosure" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 4 | SET | Density set the lifted object belongs to | 1 "Small set" 2 "Big set" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 5 | BLOCK | Block number (repetition) | 1-10 "Block number" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 6 | COMP | Comparison identifier; Number identifying each comparison stimulus | 1-14 "Number identifying each comparison stimulus" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 7 | MASS | Mass of the comparison stimulus in g | 60-230 "Mass of the comparison stimulus" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 8 | POS | Position of the standard stimulus | 1 "Standard stimulus was presented first and the comparison stimulus second" 2 "Standard stimulus was presented second and the comparison stimulus first" | NaN "Fehlender Wert" |
| 9 | RESP | Participants' response (2-alternative forced choice / 2AFC) | 1 "First object is heavier" 2 "Second object is heavier" | 0 "Fehlender Wert" |
Study Description
Research Questions/Hypotheses: Heaviness perception can be described as a weighted average of a heaviness estimate derived from mass and a heaviness estimate derived from density. The contribution of each estimate depends on its relative reliability.
Research Design: Experimental Design, Laboratory Experiment; repeated measurements
Measurement Instruments/Apparatus:
Participants lifted objects with different mass, size and density. Heaviness was either judged in a free magnitude estimation task (Experiment 1 and 2) or using a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) task (Experiment 3). More detailed information can be found in Wolf et al. (2018).
Data Collection Method:
Data collection in the presence of an experimenter
– Individual Administration
Population: Healthy adults
Survey Time Period:
Due to the length of Experiment 2 and 3, they have been split up into several recording sessions.
Sample: Convenience sample
Gender Distribution:
Experiment 1:
20% female subjects (n=3)
80% male subjects (n=12)
Experiment 2:
50% female subjects (n=10)
50% male subjects (n=10)
Experiment 3:
50% female subjects (n=5)
50% male subjects (n=5)
Age Distribution: 19-44 years
Spatial Coverage (Country/Region/City): Germany/-/Gießen
Subject Recruitment: Participants were psychology students from Giessen University and received course credit in return.
Sample Size: Experiment 1: 15 individuals; Experiment 2: 20 individuals; Experiment 3: 10 individuals
Return/DropOut:
Literature
Publications Directly Related to the Dataset
| Publications Directly Related to the Dataset |
|---|
| Wolf. C., Bergmann Tiest, W.M., & Drewing K. (2018). A mass-density model can account for the size-weight illusion. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0190624. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190624 |