Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Understanding projectile acceleration.

H Hecht1, M Bertamini

  • 1Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung, Universität Bielefeld, Germany. hecht@mit.edu

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance
|May 16, 2000
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

fMRI responses to horizontal and vertical symmetry axes in ascending visual hierarchy.

NeuroImage·2026
Same author

The Power of mind: Blocking visual perception by hypnosis.

Scientific reports·2017
Same author

The Auditory Kuleshov Effect: Multisensory Integration in Movie Editing.

Perception·2016
Same author

PULMONARY VASCULAR DISEASE AND COR PULMONALE.

A listing of research in the cardiovascular field·2014
Same author

Heuristics and invariants in dynamic event perception: Immunized concepts or nonstatements?

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2013
Same author

Impact of perceptual ability and mental imagery training on simulated laparoscopic knot-tying in surgical novices using a Nissen fundoplication model.

Scandinavian journal of surgery : SJS : official organ for the Finnish Surgical Society and the Scandinavian Surgical Society·2011
Same journal

Human thermal sensitivity drifts at extreme temperatures.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026
Same journal

Dynamic competition between selective attention and spatial prediction during visual search.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026
Same journal

Encapsulation of the visual perception of social events from semantic priming.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026
Same journal

Biasmapping: Idiosyncratic covert search in the vicinity of fixation.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026
Same journal

What are you still waiting for? Fricative recognition shows encapsulated processing and is partially predicted by secondary cue reliance.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026
Same journal

Eye movements reveal that drivers can predict the location of hazards in dynamic road scenes but gaze and awareness are dissociable.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026
See all related articles

Most people misunderstand the physics of throwing, wrongly believing objects accelerate after release. This study reveals poor conceptual and perceptual understanding of ballistic motion, challenging prior naive physics theories.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Physics Education
  • Motor Skill Acquisition

Background:

  • Throwing and catching are common skills, yet understanding their underlying mechanics is limited.
  • Previous research suggested intuitive physics aligns with historical theories like Aristotelian.
  • This study examines conceptual and perceptual understanding of ballistic motion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate laypeople's conceptual and perceptual understanding of simple ballistic motion.
  • To identify common misconceptions regarding object acceleration and trajectory.
  • To challenge existing theories on intuitive physics and naive understanding.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted five experiments involving paper-and-pencil tests and graphical animations.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Assessed participants' beliefs about object acceleration post-throw.
  • Evaluated perceptual judgments of anomalous object trajectories at varying distances.

    • Main Results:

    • Up to 50% of participants incorrectly believed thrown objects continue to accelerate.
    • Observers demonstrated significant tolerance for non-standard trajectory shapes.
    • Perceptual errors mirrored conceptual beliefs, especially at shallow release angles.
    • Tolerance for trajectory anomalies decreased with increased distance from the thrower.

    Conclusions:

    • Laypeople's intuitive physics of motion is not aligned with Aristotelian or medieval theories.
    • Misconceptions may stem from externalizing intentions onto the object or a sense of control.
    • Understanding of ballistic motion requires addressing both conceptual and perceptual deficits.