Exploring mass perception with Markov chain Monte Carlo.

Several previous studies have examined the ability to judge the relative mass of objects in idealized collisions. With a newly developed technique of psychological Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling (A. N. Sanborn & T. L. Griffiths, 2008), this work explores participants' perceptions of different collision mass ratios. The results reveal interparticipant differences and a qualitative distinction between the perception of 1:1 and 1:2 ratios. The results strongly suggest that participants' perceptions of 1:1 collisions are described by simple heuristics. The evidence for 1:2 collisions favors heuristic perception models that are sensitive to the sign but not the magnitude of perceived mass differences.