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Representational momentum and Michotte's (1946/1963) "launching effect" paradigm
T L Hubbard1, J A Blessum, S E Ruppel
1Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth 76129, USA. t.hubbard@tcu.edu
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|February 24, 2001
Summary
In Michotte's launching effect, observers showed reduced memory displacement for targets. This suggests a belief that impetus from the launcher transfers to the target and then dissipates.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Perception
- Motion Perception
Background:
- A. Michotte's launching effect describes a moving object (launcher) contacting a stationary object (target), causing the target to move after the launcher stops.
- Understanding how observers perceive and remember motion events is crucial for cognitive psychology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate memory displacement for target locations in modified launching effect displays.
- To explore the influence of launcher-target interactions on spatial memory.
Main Methods:
- Observers viewed modified launching effect displays.
- Memory for target locations was assessed after the display.
- Displacement of remembered target locations was measured and compared across conditions.
Main Results:
- Forward displacement of targets in launching effect displays was significantly decreased compared to isolated, independently moving targets.
- This reduction in displacement was observed even when targets moved at various velocities or decelerated.
- Displacement patterns were also reduced when target motion was orthogonal to the launcher's prior motion.
Conclusions:
- The findings support naive impetus theory, suggesting observers attribute a transferred impetus from the launcher to the target.
- The results indicate that perceived impetus dissipates over time, influencing spatial memory.
- Explanations involving simple motion deceleration or landmark attraction were not supported by the data.