1
Title:
Curvilinear Impetus Belief and Embodied Cognition: The Impact of Psychomotor Reactions on
Folk Physics Beliefs
Purpose:
McCloskey, Carmazza and Green (1980) demonstrated that participants held erroneous beliefs
about the physics of a ball exiting a spiral tube (Appendix 1). Many of the participants reported
that the ball would exit and continue on some variation of a curved path. The participants explained their answers in ways that were consistent with impetus theory (a theory consistent with
those of the Medieval Europe — that objects are imparted with an intrinsic force). The purpose
of this study is to demonstrate that these errors are confined to the conceptual or abstract part of
the mind, and that when essentially the same problem is presented in the physical realm, participants will produce fewer errors.
Methods:
The experiment contains 3 separate conditions: a condition where participants will draw trajectories from figures reproduced from previous research, a condition where participants will predict
the trajectory after seeing a physical model of the device, and a third condition where participants will actively catch the ball as it exits the tube. This design will test whether participants’
conceptions of physics are different in the abstract thinking versus how their motor system will
behave.
Participants:
The three conditions will have 20 participants each, making a total of 60 participants. Participants will be recruited via SONA at Carleton University, and will receive .25% increase in your
final grade in PSYC 1001, 1002, 2001, 2002 or NEUR 2001, 2002
Procedure:
Participants will be presented with the informed consent form, and if they sign it, will be randomly put into one of the 3 conditions. They will also be given a short questionnaire to gather
demographic data (age, gender, year in university, physics courses taken) (Appendix G).
Thereafter, in Condition 1 participants will be presented the paper and pencil spiral problem and asked to draw the trajectory of the ball.
In Condition 2, participants will be presented the physical device and be asked to choose
from 6 alternative trajectories pre-drawn on the table, without moving their arms (to avoid any
movement that may help them “feel out” the correct trajectory).
In Condition 3, participants will also be presented with the device and will be asked to
reach for the ball only after it has passed a marked point on the tube, and the deviations from the
true trajectory will be measured.
Participants in all conditions will be tested individually. After they are done, they will be
debriefed on the purpose of the experiment. The experiment should take approximately 5
minutes per participant.
Stimuli:
We will replicate the findings of McCloskey, Carmazza and Green (1980) in Condition 1 with a
simple paper and pencil diagram (Appendix A). In Condition 2 the participants will be presented
with the actual ball and tube apparatus (rather than solely a picture) and will choose from a set of
2
predefined trajectories, taken from the most likely errors in McCloskey, Carmazza and Green
(1980)(Appendix A). In Condition 3, participants will catch the ball as it exits the tube, measuring motor predictions and distance from the actual trajectory of the ball.
Materials:
Participants in Condition 1 will be provided with a No.2 graphite pencil, and a spiral diagram on
8.5” x 11” white, standard weight paper that was used in McCloskey, Carmazza and Green
(1980).
Conditions 2 and 3 will be presented with the physical device sitting on a table, positioned
45 centimetres to the left of the person (Appendix A). The device is 90cm tall, with a diameter of
44cm. For Condition 2, the device will be set alongside pre-drawn predictions of “possible” trajectories, printed on a large sheet of paper, placed so that they are aligned to the end of the tube.
The spiral will be made of one inch clear tubing and the ball bearing used in Condition 3 weighs
28.3 grams.
To determine where the participants are reaching in Condition 3, a video camera will be
placed above the area on a tripod so as to include the spiral device and the participant’s hand.
Confidentiality:
The data collected in the study will be coded so that names of participants will not be associated with the data they provide. Any information answered in the questionnaire will be of a
demographic basis, and names will not be associated with the responses. The camera used to observe the reactions in Condition 3 will be placed so as to view the plane aerially, keeping the participants’ faces out of the frame. Once the video data is coded to numerical data, the videos will
be erased. The anonymously coded data will be kept and used for research purposes. The informed consent forms and any other identifying information will be destroyed after three years.
References:
McCloskey, M., Caramazza, A., & Green, B. (1980). Curvilinear motion in the absence of external forces: naive beliefs about the motion of objects. Science, 210, 1139–1141.
Tresilian, J. R. (1995). Perceptual and cognitive processes in time-to- contact estimation: Analysis of prediction-motion and relative judgment tasks. Perception and Psychophysics, 57, 231–
245.
McCloskey, M., & Kohl, D. (1983). Naive physics: The curvilinear impetus principles and its
role in interactions with moving objects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning,
Memory, & Cognition, 9, 146-156.
3
Appendix A:
Spiral figure for Condition 1:
Spiral Device For Conditions 2 & 3:
Spiral figures for Condition 2:
4
Appendix B:
Evaluating Risk to Participants Form
1a) Is there any risk that participants will experience physical harm (e.g., pain, injury, nausea),
psychological/emotional harm (e.g., distress, upset, anxiety, guilt), and/or social harm (e.g., embarrassment/shame, stigma, loss of privacy or income, legal consequences) during or subsequent
to the experiment that would be attributable to their participation in the research?
No. The is no risk that participants will experience physical, psychological/emotional, or social
harm during, or after the experiment.
If Yes, please complete the table below. In the first column, identify the type of harm as physical
or psychological/emotional and provide an example to illustrate. Then rate the magnitude/seriousness of each type of harm in the second column. In the third column, estimate the
probability that such harm will be experienced by at least one participant (Note: where possible,
justify these estimates with evidence from prior research or from experts)
Potential Harm
Magnitude/Seriousness of
Harm
Probability of Harm
1 mild (lasts < 5 min)
2 moderate (lasts <
1hr)
3 high (lasts > 1hr)
1 < 1 in 100 participants
2 1 < 6 in 100
3 > 6 in 100
1 mild (lasts < 5 min)
2 moderate (lasts <
1hr)
3 high (lasts > 1hr)
1 < 1 in 100 participants
2 1 < 6 in 100
3 > 6 in 100
1 mild (lasts < 5 min)
2 moderate (lasts <
1hr)
3 high (lasts > 1hr)
1 < 1 in 100 participants
2 1 < 6 in 100
3 > 6 in 100
Justification of the estimates for each potential harm for (a) the magnitude/seriousness of harm
and (b) the probability of harm:
Group vulnerability: Are there any pre-existing vulnerabilities associated with the proposed
group’s participation in the study that may have a bearing on the likelihood that a member of this
5
group might experience physical, psychological/emotional, or social harm as a result of their participation?
No, there is no pre-existing vulnerabilities associated with the proposed group.
2a) If Yes, explain this vulnerability and the associated risk(s).
6
Appendix C:
Informed Consent Form
The purpose of an informed consent is to ensure that you understand the purpose of the study and
the nature of your involvement. The informed consent must provide sufficient information such
that you have the opportunity to determine whether you wish to participate in the study.
______________________________________________________________________________
Present Study: Producing and Reacting to Trajectories from a Spiral Tube
Research personnel: The following people are involved in this study, and may be contacted at
any time if you have questions or concerns:
Jay Jennings, Cognitive Science Honours Student
(email: jayjennings@carleton.ca; phone: 705-868-4905)
Dr. Jim Davies, Cognitive Science Associate Professor
(email: jim_davies@carleton.ca; phone: 613-520-2600, ext. 1109)
Jo-Anne LeFevre, Director of The Institute of Cognitive Science
(jo-anne.lefevre@carleton.ca; Phone: 613-520-2600, ext. 2693)
Concerns: Should you have any ethical concerns about this research, please contact Dr. Shelley
Brown (Chair, Psychology Ethics Board, shelley_brown@carleton.ca, 613-520-2600, ext. 1505.
For other concerns, please contact Dr. Joanna Pozzulo (Chair, Department of Psychology,
psychchair@carleton.ca, 613-520-2600, ext. 1412).
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how well participants can predict trajectories
of a ball that would exit a spiral tube.
Task requirements. You will be given a short questionnaire about certain demographics. Then
you will be asked to predict the trajectory of a ball upon it’s exit from a spiral.
Benefits/compensation. You will receive a .25% increase in your final grade in PSYC 1001,
1002, 2001, 2002 or NEUR 2001, 2002 for participating in this study. The general public will
receive no compensation.
Potential risk/discomfort. There are no physical risks to participating in this study. If you feel
any discomfort or distress, you may choose to leave the experiment at any time, and you will not
be penalized in any way if you do this. The debriefing form at the end of the study provides contact information for local support services that you may contact if you need or want help.
Anonymity/Confidentiality. The data collected in this study are strictly confidential. All data
are coded such that your name is not associated with the data or responses you provide. In the
reaction condition, a camera will be positioned overhead, so that only the hand of the participant and the spiral device is visible. All camera data will be destroyed after it has been converted to numerical data. The informed consent form and all other identifying information will be
destroyed after three years. The anonymously coded data will be kept and will be used for research and teaching purposes.
Right to withdraw. Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. At any point during the
study, you have the right to withdraw without penalty. If you withdraw, you have the right to request that your data be deleted.
_____________________________________________________________________________
This study has received clearance by the Carleton University Psychology Research Ethics Board
(Reference #12-xxx, insert your ethics reference number once obtained).
7
______________________________________________________________________________
Signatures
I have read the above form and understand the conditions of my participation. My participation
in this study is voluntary, and I understand that if at any time I wish to leave the experiment, I
may do so without having to give an explanation and with no penalty whatsoever. Furthermore, I
am also aware that the data gathered in this study are confidential and anonymous with respect to
my personal identity. My signature indicates that I agree to participate in this study.
Participant's Name: _______________________
Participant's Signature: ____________________
Researcher’s Name: ______________________
Researcher’s Signature: ___________________
Date: __________________________________
8
Appendix D:
Debriefing Form:
General:
There were 3 conditions in the current study, one of which you participated in. A paper and pencil condition was conducted to replicate past research that found that participants consistently
made prediction errors by drawing curved trajectories. A second condition built upon research
that demonstrated that given multiple options, including the correct trajectory, participants continued to make prediction errors. In this condition, the physical device was presented, but no reaction was required. The third condition tested motor responses to a ball in the spiral tube and
was novel in that it elaborated on previous experiments by bridging the gap between the conceptual, paper and pencil tests, and the physical reactions people usually engage in when interacting
with moving objects. Mild deception was used in this study by leaving out the descriptions of
the three conditions in the informed consent form. If the three conditions had been described in
detail, a potential confound may have presented itself, as participants may have guessed at the
hypothesis of the study.
What was the study investigating?
The study was trying to determine if people make more errors when predicting the path of a ball
in an abstract diagram, opposed to a real spiral. These errors in judgments are classified under
the term "folk physics”, or our everyday conceptions of how the world works. To test the hypothesis that as the spiral problems move from the abstract paper and pencil condition to the
physical conditions, the prediction of trajectories of the ball will be more accurate. If the results
are in accordance with the hypothesis, then it will illustrate that even though the parts of the
brain that control movement can react to a problem in the real world accurately, the abstract and
conceptual parts of the brain make more mistakes.
Why is this important?
If there is a significant difference between the conditions as we hypothesize, it will demonstrate
that there is a fundamental difference between how people abstractly conceptualize motion problems, and how they physically react to them. If people make significantly fewer errors in the motor task, then it may be that the abstract processing pathways in the human brain, usually considered to be more advanced, are in fact less accurate than the older areas of the brain responsible
for movement and physical reaction. These anticipated results will demonstrate how the body is
an active component of the cognitive process. Embodied Cognition claims that the brain does
not just receive input, form computations, and then execute motor commands (as would be the
case in the more abstract conditions), but rather the brain is part of a system that uses perceptual
and sensory information, as well as action, to produce behaviour (as would be the case in the motor condition).
What is the hypothesis?
The hypothesis is that as the experimental conditions progress from abstract, to semi-abstract,
and to physical, the typical curved prediction errors will decrease, indicating a better understanding and anticipation of the physics of the problem.
Is there anything I can do if I found this experiment to be emotionally upsetting?
9
Yes. If you feel any distress or anxiety after participating in this study, please feel free to contact
the Carleton University Health and Counseling Services at: 613-520-6674, or the Distress Centre
of Ottawa and Region at 613-238-3311 (http://www.dcottawa.on.ca).
What if I have questions later?
If you have any remaining concerns, questions, or comments about the experiment, please feel
free to contact:
Jay Jennings, Cognitive Science Honours Student
(email: jayjennings@carleton.ca; phone: 705-868-4905)
Dr. Jim Davies, Cognitive Science Associate Professor
(email: jim_davies@carleton.ca; phone: 613-520-2600, ext. 1109)
Jo-Anne LeFevre, Director of The Institute of Cognitive Science
(jo-anne.lefevre@carleton.ca; Phone: 613-520-2600, ext. 2693)
Should you have any ethical concerns about this research, please contact Dr. Shelley Brown
(Chair, Psychology Ethics Board, shelley_brown@carleton.ca, 613-520-2600, ext. 1505. For
other concerns, please contact Dr. Joanna Pozzulo (Chair, Department of Psychology,
psychchair@carleton.ca, 613-520-2600, ext. 1412.
Where can I learn more?
J Thompson. (2012, Feb 20). Embodied Cognition: What It Is & Why It's Important [Web log
article]. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-words
A Wilson. (2013, Aug 2). Is Embodied Cognition a “no brainer”? [Web log post]. Retrieved
from http://psychsciencenotes.blogspot.ca/search/label/embodied%20cognition
S McNerney. (2011, Nov 4). A Brief Guide to Embodied Cognition: Why You Are Not Your
Brain [Web log article]. Retrieved from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guestblog/2011/11/04/a-brief-guide-to-embodied-cognition-why-you-are-not-your-brain/
McCloskey, M., Caramazza, A., & Green, B. (1980). Curvilinear motion in the absence of external forces: naive beliefs about the motion of objects. Science, 210, 1139–1141.
Tresilian, J. R. (1995). Perceptual and cognitive processes in time-to- contact estimation: Analysis of prediction-motion and relative judgment tasks. Perception and Psychophysics, 57,
231–245.
McCloskey, M., & Kohl, D. (1983). Naive physics: The curvilinear impetus principles and its
role in interactions with moving objects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning,
Memory, & Cognition, 9, 146-156.
Thank you for participating in our research
10
Appendix E:
Informed Consent to the Use of Data
The purpose of this informed consent is to ensure that you now understand the true purpose of
the study and that you agree to allow your data to be used for research or teaching purposes. Because you were only told of the procedures and not the purpose of this study at the outset, we are
now asking for your consent to allow your data to be used for research or teaching purposes.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess whether participants made more errors when
predicting the path of a ball in an abstract spiral than if they are actually looking at a real spiral,
or they are actually reaching for it. The reason for not describing or using the term “folk physics”
was so as gather natural productions of trajectories and natural reactions to trajectories, without
the participants analyzing the problem in physics terms.
Anonymity/Confidentiality: The data collected in this study are kept anonymous and confidential. The consent forms are kept separate from your responses.
Right to withdraw data: You have the right to indicate that you do not wish your data to be
used in this study. If you indicate this is your choice, then all measures you have provided will be
destroyed.
Signatures: I have read the above description of the study investigating the Curvilinear Impetus
Belief and Embodied Cognition: The Impact of Psychomotor Reactions on Folk Physics Beliefs.
The data in the study will be used in research publications or for teaching purposes. My signature
indicates that I agree to allow the data I have provided to be used for these purposes.
Full Name (Print): ______________________________________
Participant Signature: ___________________________________
Date: ________________________________________________
Researcher Signature: ___________________________________
Date: ________________________________________________
11
Appendix F:
SONA Recruitment Notice
Study Name: Curvilinear Impetus Belief and Embodied Cognition: The Impact of Psychomotor
Reactions on Folk Physics Beliefs
Description: This study asks participants to draw the path of a ball as it would exit from a spiral
on paper, choose a path from among multiple paths while sitting in front of the physical device,
or reach for the ball as it exits the spiral. Participants will also be asked to fill out a brief personal questionnaire about their basic demographics, such as age, sex, and how many physics courses
they have taken.
Eligibility Requirements: We are looking for either first or second language proficient English
speakers with good or corrected vision (with soft contact lenses).
Duration and Locale: 15 minutes at VSIM 5210N
Compensation: You will receive .25% towards your course (PSYC 1001, 1002, 2001, 2002 or
NEUR 2001, 2002). The general public will not be compensated.
Researchers: Jay Jennings (Principal Investigator); Jim Davies (Faculty Sponsor)
Phone: 613-520-2600 ext 1109 Email: jim.davies@carleton.ca
This study has received clearance by the Carleton University Psychology Research Ethics Board
(Reference #xx-xxx, insert your ethics reference number once obtained).
______________________________________________________________________________
12
Appendix G:
Please fill out this short survey:
Age?_____
Sex?_____
What year of University are you Currently in? _____
How many physics courses have you ever taken? (including high school) ____
Thank You