McGill University, Canada.
Perception. 2024 Jan;53(1):17-30. doi: 10.1177/03010066231207324. Epub 2023 Oct 19.
Everyday experiences suggest that a container, such as a box of cereal, can convey pertinent information about the nature and quantity of its content. This study investigated how well people can judge large quantities of objects in a container through haptic perception. Stimuli consisted of plastic drinking straws cut to "small" (1.5 cm) or "big" (4.5 cm) pieces contained in plastic food containers. Participants performed both a magnitude estimation of the number of objects and a direct estimation of the proportion of the container perceived to be filled with objects. Overall, participants demonstrated considerable accuracy for both tasks and irrespective of the size of the content. Post-experiment interviews revealed three potential strategies. Participants either focused on the container's contents, the excess space in the container, or the perceived weight of the container (content).
日常经验表明，一个容器，如一盒麦片，可以传达有关其内容的性质和数量的相关信息。本研究调查了人们通过触觉感知能多好地判断容器中的大量物体。刺激物由塑料吸管组成，切成“小”（1.5 厘米）或“大”（4.5 厘米）的块，放在塑料食品容器中。参与者对物体的数量进行了数量估计，并对容器中感知到的装满物体的比例进行了直接估计。总的来说，参与者在两个任务中都表现出相当高的准确性，而与内容的大小无关。实验后的访谈揭示了三种潜在的策略。参与者要么关注容器的内容，要么关注容器中的多余空间，要么关注容器的感知重量（内容）。
