Contribution of visually perceived size to the scaling of fingertip forces when lifting a 'small' object

The effects of visually perceived size of an object on the scaling of fingertip forces during lifting tasks were investigated using a small and lightweight object. A grip apparatus was attached to the top surface of three different size boxes of equal weight. 15 healthy adults were asked to grasp the grip apparatus with the thumb and index finger, lift it to a height of 5 cm, hold it for 8 sec., and then put it down. Force transducers embedded in the grip apparatus measured grip and load forces. When subjects lifted the same size object repeatedly, there were no size effects on the grip and load forces used by each subject. When the size was pseudorandomly varied, however, the grip and load forces exerted by 7 subjects significantly increased with increased size, while there were no size effects for the remaining subjects (n = 8). These results suggest a smaller contribution of information on size to the force programming when lifting a small object than when lifting a larger and heavier object as used in previous studies.